Antioch Covenant Church

Allowing Other In

Exodus 18

“I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons.”  vs. 6

Baggage

There is a dating show on GSN called Baggage. It is  a lot like the Dating Game show of the 70’s and 80’s and is a show that  is a dating show where people reveal things in their life that people don’t necessarily know about and that if they did they may not want to date them. The contestants have 3 pieces of info about themselves that they reveal and each time they revel each new piece of info (the size of the luggage increases as well)  it is more sensational than the last.

(Have props on stage and do a mock run thru of the show.)

So let me show you how it might work. Try to sound like Jerry Springer: Open the first bag and say “I take a shower every day with knife.” Then pretend like the show is happening and run through it a bit.

You know, we all have baggage.  We all have things we don’t want people to know about us and things that are maybe somewhat embarrassing. Today we are going to see this scenario of baggage in our life played out with a guy named Jethro in Exodus 18:

Read Passage – Exodus 18:5-27

⁵ Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, together with Moses’ sons and wife, came to him in the wilderness, where he was camped near the mountain of God. ⁶ Jethro had sent word to him, “I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons.” ⁷ So Moses went out to meet his father-in-law and bowed down and kissed him. They greeted each other and then went into the tent. ⁸ Moses told his father-in-law about everything the LORD had done to Pharaoh and the Egyptians for Israel’s sake and about all the hardships they had met along the way and how the LORD had saved them. ⁹ Jethro was delighted to hear about all the good things the LORD had done for Israel in rescuing them from the hand of the Egyptians. ¹⁰ He said, “Praise be to the LORD, who rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians and of Pharaoh, and who rescued the people from the hand of the Egyptians. ¹¹ Now I know that the LORD is greater than all other gods, for he did this to those who had treated Israel arrogantly.” ¹² Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, brought a burnt offering and other sacrifices to God, and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat a meal with Moses’ father-in-law in the presence of God. ¹³ The next day Moses took his seat to serve as judge for the people, and they stood around him from morning till evening. ¹⁴ When his father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he said, “What is this you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit as judge, while all these people stand around you from morning till evening?” ¹⁵ Moses answered him, “Because the people come to me to seek God’s will. ¹⁶ Whenever they have a dispute, it is brought to me, and I decide between the parties and inform them of God’s decrees and instructions.” ¹⁷ Moses’ father-in-law replied, “What you are doing is not good. ¹⁸ You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone. ¹⁹ Listen now to me and I will give you some advice, and may God be with you. You must be the people’s representative before God and bring their disputes to him. ²⁰ Teach them his decrees and instructions, and show them the way they are to live and how they are to behave.²¹ But select capable men from all the people—men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain—and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. ²² Have them serve as judges for the people at all times, but have them bring every difficult case to you; the simple cases they can decide themselves. That will make your load lighter, because they will share it with you. ²³ If you do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied.” ²⁴ Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said. ²⁵ He chose capable men from all Israel and made them leaders of the people, officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. ²⁶ They served as judges for the people at all times. The difficult cases they brought to Moses, but the simple ones they decided themselves. ²⁷ Then Moses sent his father-in-law on his way, and Jethro returned to his own country.

Sent Away

As our story begins Moses has sent away his wife and sons and they have gone back to her Father, Jethro. We find that in verses 2-3:

“After Moses had sent away his wife Zipporah, his father-in-law Jethro received her ³ and her two sons.” vs. 2-3

We are not sure why Moses sent his wife and daughters away.  It doesn’t say when or why.

-Before the plagues so they wouldn’t be affected? Or experience Pharaoh’s wrath. (Not likely)

-During their walk in the wilderness so they wouldn’t experience the harsh journey? (Not likely)

-Maybe to protect the children during the fighting with people they would encounter?

-Maybe they just went on a vacation so Moses could focus on God’s work.

-Or, maybe Moses and Zipporah wer having marital differences.

Who knows. We are not told and anything that is conjectured is just a guess.

Jethro the Midian Priest

I wish I knew why they were sent away but here we see Jethro bringing Zipporah and her two sons back to Moses. (if you are like me I have a hard time not thinking about Jethro on The Beverly Hillbillies when I say his name.)

Jethro was also called Reuel. Reuel meant friend of God, while Jethro meant excellence. Reuel was apparently his personal name, while Jethro may have been a more official or honorary name.

The Midianites originated from Midian, a son of Abraham (Genesis 25:1-2), which therefore actually made Jethro and Moses distant cousins. The Midianite territory consisted mostly in the area east of The Dead Sea and The Jordan River, but during the time of Moses also included a large part of the Sinai.

During the long time that Moses lived and worked keeping Jethro’s flocks, Jethro no doubt taught him all about desert life. Many are surprised when they first read that Moses spent 40 years out in the desert wilderness before returning to Egypt for the Exodus. Certainly by then he would have become well familiar and accustomed to life in the Sinai, where he would later spend another 40 years leading the Israelites during their Wilderness Journey before their entry into the Promised Land.

A Big Job

Moving this large group of people and organizing everything is a big job; probably an such a big job that it must have seemed overwhelming at times.  God is about to give His laws to the Israelites but Moses can’t focus with all the other things he is doing, he is having a difficult time telling the major things form the minor things and he is overworking himself.  So God uses Jethro to move him into a place to hear God.

He observes Moses  acting as judge and there are these long lines of people that are having disputes and they are coming to him to solve them.  (Is this any surprise when we hear how much they complain in the wilderness?) So they are coming to Moses and he is working all day settling their disputes.  Jethro sees this and tells Moses he is burning himself out and he can’t keep going this way and suggests Moses break the people down into manageable groups of thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens and then tells him to appoint judges to rule on their disputes. (vs. 17) It seems like a good idea to Moses and he does it.

When I read this I realized how important it is to look at what jethro did and how that applies to our lives.

Letting Others Speak Into Our Life

So this morning, let’s look to Jethro to gain insight into letting others speak into our life. Let’s see how he sees this.

• Find People You Can Trust

First, it is important for us to find people you can trust to speak into your life. Verse 9:

“Jethro was delighted to hear about all the good things the LORD had done for Israel in rescuing them from the hand of the Egyptians.” Vs. 9

Remember, Jethro, is a Godly man. He looks at what is going on and affirms all that God is doing through Moses. He is supportive of Moses and the work that God has done through him. We need people that affirm the things God is doing in our life.  It helps too that people affirm what God is doing even if they are not believers.  Not everyone that we allow to speak into our live needs to be a Christian but they need to be able to affirm our values and morals, the Godly ones we put into our life.

Ill. I recently wrote an article in the Antioch Hearl and took some flack for quoting Ghandi.  Ghandi may not have been a Christian, but he still had some good things to say.

Ex. Financial advice – We sometimes have smart and wise people tha can help us with our business, finances, real estate, etc. that are not believers but they can affirm our values and help us with the situations of our life. Solomon, the wisest man that ever lived said in Prov. 12:26:

“The righteous choose their friends carefully…” Proverbs 12:26

We should choose our friends carefully because if we allow them to speak inot our life we need to be able to trust what they say. Hopefully, that will be fellow believers but don’t discount someone just because they are not a believer. Sometimes believers lead us astray as well.

Ex. Someone was having difficulty in their business and some well meaning believers told them to just walk away from their commitment.

• Open Up To Others

Second, we have to have people we can open up to. We need people to chare our stores with. Verse 8:

“Moses told his father-in-law about everything the LORD had done to Pharaoh and the Egyptians for Israel’s sake and about all the hardships they had met along the way and how the LORD had saved them.” vs. 8

People love to tell their story. We love to share.  When you find someone you can trust you can open up to them and tell your story. It makes you feel better, it makes you feel affirmed, it t is therapeutic. Sometimes I don’t want someone to help me solve my problems or fix things for me, although that can be a benefit too, but we just need someone to listen and to open up to. That is a real friend.  Again, Solomon said in  Prov. 18:24:

“There is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” Proverbs 18:24

I would encourage you to find people to open up to.  Many will stick close to you; closer than a relative, brother as Solomon said. Really what his is is dropping the waterline. (the analogy of an iceberg, you only see 10% of it and we only let people see our 10%) Drop the waterline and open up to others.

• Hear What Others Say

Third, we also have to be willing to listen. Notice what happens in verse 17-19:

“Moses’ father-in-law replied, “What you are doing is not good. You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone. Listen now to me and I will give you some advice, and may God be with you.” vs. 17-19

When we share with others, especially when we are opening ourselves up to them, we need to be willing to hear the words they speak into our life. Jethro hears what Moses is saying, he sees what is going on, and then he speaks into his life.  It’s not in the form of a question but he is essentially asking Moses permission to speak into his life. Let’s go back to Solomon one more time, Prov. 1:5:

“Let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance.” Prov. 1:5

Wise people look for others they can trust and open up to, to speak into their life and they have a willingness to hear what is being said. You don’t have to do it alone. In fact, we might need to acknowledge that we can’t do it alone. That doesn’t make us less of a person or less valuable, it actually makes us stronger and as Solomon says, valuable.

One note: make sure you take it back to God.  Don’t forget to pray and ask for God’s wisdom and discernment.

• Have A Willingness To Act

Finally, we should have the willingness to act.  Notice verse 24:

“Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said.” vs. 24

Jethro had some good advice to give Moses and Moses did it.  He could have blown him off, done what he wanted, or even discounted what his father-in-law said. I mean really, what would Jethro know about leading this many people. But Moses was willing to act on the advice from Jethro. James 2:17 says:

“In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” James 2:17

Our actions speak louder than our words. Moses was humble enough and open enough to hear these words and do exactly what was being told to him.  I would bet he prayed about it to but the story doesn’t say that.

Caution

Finally, let me caution you; I believe everything I just told you but there are times where it will back fire on us.  We can open up to others and they will break our trust, hurt us, laugh at us, put us down, and maybe use it against us. That is way it’s important to find people we can trust.

There is a great ending here we shouldn’t miss. Do you know what happens just after this story? Moses goes to Mt. Sinai and he speaks with God and God gives him the 10 Commandments. God used Jethro to clear out the things in Moses life  that were not allowing him time to spend with God and to hear God. Because of Jethro’s actions Moses was freed up to go meet with God and spend time with God and get further instruction, the 10 Commandments. Pretty cool how God used Jethro.

Love Always Perseveres

Ruth 3:1-18

“This kindness is greater than that which you showed earlier…” vs. 10

How Do I Love Thee?

Poem by Eliz. B Browning

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.
I love thee to the level of every day’s
Most quiet need, by sun and candlelight.
I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.
I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood’s faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints, I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life! and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.

Read passage – Ruth 3

 ¹ One day Ruth’s mother-in-law Naomi said to her, “My daughter, I must find a home for you, where you will be well provided for. ² Now Boaz, with whose women you have worked, is a relative of ours. Tonight he will be winnowing barley on the threshing floor. ³ Wash, put on perfume, and get dressed in your best clothes. Then go down to the threshing floor, but don’t let him know you are there until he has finished eating and drinking. ⁴ When he lies down, note the place where he is lying. Then go and uncover his feet and lie down. He will tell you what to do.”  ⁵ “I will do whatever you say,” Ruth answered. ⁶ So she went down to the threshing floor and did everything her mother-in-law told her to do. ⁷ When Boaz had finished eating and drinking and was in good spirits, he went over to lie down at the far end of the grain pile. Ruth approached quietly, uncovered his feet and lay down. ⁸ In the middle of the night something startled the man; he turned—and there was a woman lying at his feet!  ⁹ “Who are you?” he asked. “I am your servant Ruth,” she said. “Spread the corner of your garment over me, since you are a guardian-redeemer of our family.”  ¹⁰ “The LORD bless you, my daughter,” he replied. “This kindness is greater than that which you showed earlier: You have not run after the younger men, whether rich or poor. ¹¹ And now, my daughter, don’t be afraid. I will do for you all you ask. All the people of my town know that you are a woman of noble character. ¹² Although it is true that I am a guardian-redeemer of our family, there is another who is more closely related than I. ¹³ Stay here for the night, and in the morning if he wants to do his duty as your guardian-redeemer, good; let him redeem you. But if he is not willing, as surely as the LORD lives I will do it. Lie here until morning.” ¹⁴ So she lay at his feet until morning, but got up before anyone could be recognized; and he said, “No one must know that a woman came to the threshing floor.”

 ¹⁵ He also said, “Bring me the shawl you are wearing and hold it out.” When she did so, he poured into it six measures of barley and placed the bundle on her. Then he^[c] went back to town. ¹⁶ When Ruth came to her mother-in-law, Naomi asked, “How did it go, my daughter?” Then she told her everything Boaz had done for her ¹⁷ and added, “He gave me these six measures of barley, saying, ‘Don’t go back to your mother-in-law empty-handed.’”  ¹⁸ Then Naomi said, “Wait, my daughter, until you find out what happens. For the man will not rest until the matter is settled today.”

The Widow

The focal point of this story is Ruth, a young Moabite woman who is going about her “normal” life when disaster hits.  She has married into a family where she has a mother-in-law, Naomi, and we know of at least one brother and sister-in-law, Orpah, (by the way Oprah was named after her but they got the letters wrong). Anyway, tragedy strikes. First her father-in-law dies and then her husband and Orpah’s husband dies as well.  So we enter this story with Ruth learning to deal with being a widow at a young age, loyal to mother-in-law. Her mother-in-law encourages her, and Orpah, to go back to her family and try to start over stating that she is young enough to find a new husband and begin all over. Ruth has a sweet, sensitive, and caring spirit, at least that’s how I perceive it.  So when she is confronted here, she answers with what has become a famous line in the Christian tradition:

But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. ¹⁷ Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me.” Ruth 1:16-17

This line has since been quoted over and over again through the ages as a standard for loyal to family, friends, and to God.

Orpah goes back to her family but from this point Naomi and Ruth travel back to Naomi’s family in hopes of finding a new life.

The Wedding Planner

As they arrive and try to settle in their new surroundings, Naomi realizes that she needs to take care of Ruth because not only is it too late for her to find a husband and start over, but she could die and that would leave Ruth without anything.  So, she takes on a new role, the role of matchmaker and wedding planner. She is pretty forward about this and in verse 1 tells her;

“One day Ruth’s mother-in-law Naomi said to her, “My daughter, I must find a home for you, where you will be well provided for.” vs. 1

What’s happened is Ruth goes to the local fields to glean grain to make bread and provide food for themselves. It would seems Naomi is too old or not in good enough health, or maybe they just feel Ruth has the best chance of being successful with this. She goes to the loc al field and begins following behind the harvesters and picking up a grain here and a grain there, anything they missed or left behind. The owner of the field shows up and notices her. He’s heard about Naomi and Ruth’s situation and is impressed with Ruth’s loyalty and devotion to Naomi so he instructs his workers to leave a little bit more behind, provide water for here and to make sure no one harms her in any way. When she comes home with a lot of grain and tells Naomi about the day Naomi remembers that Boaz, the owner, is related to them and he might be the solution to her matchmaking issue. So she instructs Ruth in vss. 2-3:

“Tonight he will be winnowing barley on the threshing floor. Wash, put on perfume, and get dressed in your best clothes. Then go down to the threshing floor…” vss. 2-3

Ruth has so much respect and trust for Naomi that she doesn’t hesitate to do what she instructs her to do. Listen to her response:

“I will do whatever you say,” Ruth answered. Vs. 5

It’s pretty typical to focus on Ruth with this story. But this morning, I want us to focus on Boaz. To continue the story, Ruth goes to Boaz at night. He’s had a long day of work, the sun has goine down and he goes in for dinner. Probably had a little wine with dinner too and then he lays down on the winnowing floor for a night of sleep. Ah yes, the life of a bachelor; just sleep wherever. He goes out and while he is sleeping Ruth follows Naomi’s instructions and goes in, uncovers his feet, lays down art his feet and puts his shawl over his feet.

This may seem odd but here’s the idea behind it. Boaz in recognized as being the kinsmen redeemer, the one who could be the next in line to take care of a family member who was widowed. Ruth placing herself at his feet is showing that she recognized him as the kinsmen redeemer and laying herself at his feet was a sign of humility; that’s where servants would sleep.

Boaz Shows Real Love

So what do we learn from Boaz, a man of God, a business man, a practical and smart man, a man who was willing to do the right thing. He is a Good man, likes to help others, those down on their luck (in today’s world might volunteer at soup kitchens), he’s honest, and he has  integrity, And don’t forget, he was a man who noticed Ruth and probably had some infatuation and interest in her.

• Love Protects

Boaz teaches us quite a bit about love and integrity. The first thing is that love protects:

“The LORD bless you, my daughter,” he replied. “This kindness is greater than that which you showed earlier: You have not run after the younger men, whether rich or poor.” vs. 10

He realizes that he is much older and not as attractive to her as many of the other young suiters around. This could be his one chance to actually get a girl. Don’t forget he saw her heart for her mother-in-law and he respected that. Now he sees that she goes beyond the norm of picking a man and he wants her to feel safe and secure, not just an old man trying to take advantage of her. He is going to protect her and her reputation. 1 John tells us:

“But perfect love drives out fear…” 1 John 4:18

The power of love is the opposite of the spirit of fear. Real love draws people in and protects. We are called to be people of love. That kind of love should be something people want and draw closer to. Remember when Ruth was in the field, Boaz saw her love for her mother-in-law and that endeared him to her. Aren’t you drawn to people of love? I am.

• Love Respects

The second thing that Boaz teaches us is that love respects. Notice what happens has Ruth is about to leave in the morning, verse 11:

“And now, my daughter, don’t be afraid. I will do for you all you ask. All the people of my town know that you are a woman of noble character.” vs. 11

Boaz doesn’t want to tarnish her character. He respects her too much to do that. So many people go into love relationships with what they can get out of them at the expense of others. Boaz teaches us what it looks like to enter relationships with what we can give to others and honor and protect them. It reminds me of Paul’s famous passage in 1 Cor. 13:7:

“It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” 1 Cor. 13:7

I love the words that are used here, protection, trust, hope and perseverance. Listen to howThe Message puts it: Love, Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth, Puts up with anything, Trusts God always, Always looks for the best, Never looks back, But keeps going to the end. I love that line always looks for the best.

• Love Uplifts

Then we see the third attribute that Boaz brings out to us, love uplifts. Verse  15:

“He also said, “Bring me the shawl you are wearing and hold it out.” When she did so, he poured into it six measures of barley and placed the bundle on her. Then he went back to town.” vs. 15

He could have been upset that she put his integrity on the line, or suspicious that he was being used. Instead, he blesses her.  He give her gifts as she leaves. This guy is a real gentleman with style.  His protection nd respect now plays itself out in his actions. 1 John 3:18 says:

“Let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.” 1 John 3:18

An important aspect of our love is to not just say it but to live it out in our actions. This week we are celebrating Valentine’s Day.  That is a day when we are expected to show our love in action.

A Businessman In Love

The end of this story is classic.  Again, Boaz being a man of integrity realizes he is not the first in live to be the kinsman redeemer. So he calls the guy who is first in line and calls him to the public forum to make sure everything is on the up and up. So in front of everyone he tells the first guy, “Hey our relative died and his land is available and you’re first in line to buy it. You want it? The guys says, “Sure.” Then Boaz says, “Oh and buy the way, when you buy the land you buy the girl too.” Then the guy goes “whoa, whoa, whoa,. Girl? No way. I can’t do that.” Boaz wins! In the end, love wins! Or as the title says “Love Always Perseveres!”

Everyone Matters

Numbers 27:1-11

“Why should our father’s name disappear from his clan because he had no son?” vs. 4 

Crying Together

There is a story I read on the internet some time back about a little girl. In the course of the day, her friend lost her favorite doll which she’d brought over to play with. She was heartbroken, and sat on the steps and began to cry. When the first little girl’s mother came outside to check on the girls, she found them both sitting on the step sobbing. When she asked what was wrong, she was told through the tears that the little friend, Suzie had lost her favorite doll. The mother looked puzzled for a bit, then asked her daughter, “did you lose your doll too?” “No”, the daughter sobbed. “Then what’s wrong with you?” “Nothing” she sobbed. “I’m just helping Suzie cry.” That is empathy: when our heart breaks for another. 

Read Passage – Numbers 27:1-11

 ¹ The daughters of Zelophehad son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Makir, the son of Manasseh, belonged to the clans of Manasseh son of Joseph. The names of the daughters were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milkah and Tirzah. They came forward ² and stood before Moses, Eleazar the priest, the leaders and the whole assembly at the entrance to the tent of meeting and said, ³ “Our father died in the wilderness. He was not among Korah’s followers, who banded together against the LORD, but he died for his own sin and left no sons. ⁴ Why should our father’s name disappear from his clan because he had no son? Give us property among our father’s relatives.” ⁵ So Moses brought their case before the LORD, ⁶ and the LORD said to him, ⁷ “What Zelophehad’s daughters are saying is right. You must certainly give them property as an inheritance among their father’s relatives and give their father’s inheritance to them. ⁸ “Say to the Israelites, ‘If a man dies and leaves no son, give his inheritance to his daughter. ⁹ If he has no daughter, give his inheritance to his brothers. ¹⁰ If he has no brothers, give his inheritance to his father’s brothers. ¹¹If his father had no brothers, give his inheritance to the nearest relative in his clan, that he may possess it. This is to have the force of law for the Israelites, as the LORD commanded Moses.’ 

Who Is The Leader?

If you go back to Chapter 16 there is a rebellion taking place among the Israelite community. There were a group of people rebelling against Moses being the leader.  There are three main leaders of this rebellion; Korah, Dathan and Abiram. They didn’t want Moses leading them and their main focus was on taking over the leadership themselves. The question is “Who is the leader?” They thought it was Moses because they forgo the real leader, and the one who appointed Moses, was God. They confront Moses and he calls for this big meeting the next day. (Cool thing is that he doesn’t sem to panic). He tells them all to carry these censer’s and God will choose who is the leader.  Moses has not forgotten God is the leader. They gather the next day in front of the Tent of Meeting before the Lord.  God tells Moses to tell the people to all back away from these guys. So these men and their families are all standing together and God causes the ground to open up and swallow Korah, Dathan and Abiram and all their families. It’s like something right out of a movie. And then the earth closes back up and it’s just this flat ground like nothing was ever there. Wow 

Feeling Abandoned

Zelophehad’s daughters were feeling abandon by their community and their people.  They were 5 daughter’s of one man and the passage tells us that they had no brother. Many people in Israel had just died.  Our text makes the distinction; Zelophehad was not one of those opposing Moses. Verse 3:

“Our father died in the wilderness. He was not among Korah’s followers, who banded together against the LORD…” vs. 3

These women confront Moses in front of this same tent that all those rebellious people did and were swallowed up. Their father is gone and in their community women were not given the same status as men and, in fact, once the male figure of the family was gone they were abandoned unless there was a Kinsman Redeemer to take them under his wings and care for them.  It would appear there is not Kinsman Redeemer in this situation.

They don’t want to appear to be challenging Moses based on what happened in chapter 16 but they are now alone.  They have no one. We can only imagine how they must have felt; alone, abandoned, on the verge of homelessness and poverty, and uncared for. The really cool thing is these women take the higher ground. They could go around complaining, grumbling, and mayber even stirring up negativity but they don’t.  They take some action, they do something 

The Bold Request

The action they take is to speak up, to ask Moses; they make a bold request to him, vs. 4

“Why should our father’s name disappear from his clan because he had no son? Give us property among our father’s relatives.”  vs. 4

They had no man to speak up for them so they make a bold move.  In a situation where they seem to have no power they just put out there what they want and need to survive.

This month is February and it a month that reminds us to look at our relationships. So this month I want to focus in relationships. We learn a lot from these women. Today I want to look at the concept that everyone matters and as God’s people, as Christians, how we treat people says a lot to them about how they see God. 

Divine Empathy Involves…

This morning, let’s look at what God is telling us about our relationships and how we view others. Today we are going to look at that from the aspect of divine empathy.

Empathy – the action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another

Sympathy – the act or capacity of entering into or sharing the feelings or interests of another. It’s more of the idea of feeling sorry for someone.

We want to focus on empathy, divine empathy, the idea that God works in and through us to help others. God was working through these women and through Moses.

• A Listening Ear

The first thing that we see happening in the passage is that Moses has a listening ear. Verse 5:

“They came forward and stood before Moses, Eleazar the priest, the leaders and the whole assembly at the entrance to the tent of meeting and said…” vs. 2

Notice all the people that are there:

Moses – The man who was acting as judge for the people in all their disputes

Eleazar – The Priest

The leaders – The political aspect

The whole assembly – their peers

Everyone is in on this and watching what is going to happen.

There are two concerns they bring up:

1. Their family name will be lost – family names hugely important
2. They will lose their land – their only means of existence

We are reminded in James 1:19:

“Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak…” James 1:19

It is some important to be heard. Sometimes it is just enough ot know that someone hears us. In this case, everyone heard Zelophehad’s daughters.

•  Getting It (Understanding/Feeling/Caring/Relating)

The second thing that divine empathy involves is getting it; understanding, feeling caring, and relating.

(Notice in your outline is says that. You might want to write “Getting it”) Verse 5:

““So Moses brought their case before the LORD…” vs. 5

Moses could have easily dismissed their case. They were woman and really didn’t have rights.  But he hears them and empathizes with them and wants to do the right thing. He takes it to the one person he knows will understand; God. God understands, cares, feels, and relates.  He knows because of all that Christ went through. Hebrews 4:1:

“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are…” Hebrews 4:1

Because Jesus went through all that we go through, he can relate and he relates it to God for us. This is how much God gets it. When Moses goes to writing down all the laws in Deut., he makes provision for this. It changed the outcome from that point on.

ASIDE: There is a great story in the laws of Moses from Deut. 25:5-10 where it talks about the brother of the dead man claiming the property and if he won’t the man’s widow is to take off her sandal and spit in his face and say to him “That’s what happens to a man who will not carry on his brother’s name.” It’s a crack up. Isn’t that cool!

• Action

Finally, the third aspect of divine empathy is taking action. Verse 7:

“What Zelophehad’s daughters are saying is right. You must certainly give them property as an inheritance among their father’s relatives” vs. 7\

God instructs Moses to act on these woman’s request. We are called to hear, to empathize, but it only comes to fruition when we act on it.

Ex. Segment on Primetime on T.V. Friday night:  What Would You Do. They place a man (who appears to be blind and begging for money) near a catering snack truck (roach coach). They have a plant at the truck ordering coffee but not having enough money so they go over and take a dollar out of the blind man’s hat to pay for their coffee. The set up is intended to see if people will really stand up for this bland guy.  Luckily most do.

It reminds me of the passage in James 2:18:

“Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds.” James 2:18

Our faith is made complete when we act on it. 

Changing Clothes

British statesman and financier Cecil Rhodes, whose fortune was used to endow the world-famous Rhodes Scholarships, was a stickler for correct dress—but apparently not at the expense of someone else’s feelings. A young man invited to dine with Rhodes arrived by train and had to go directly to Rhodes’s home in his travel-stained clothes.

Once there he was appalled to find the other guests already assembled, wearing full evening dress. After what seemed a long time Rhodes appeared, in a shabby old blue suit. Later the young man learned that his host had been dressed in evening clothes, but put on the old suit when he heard of his young guest’s dilemma.

Today in the Word, February, 1991, p. 10

Laban: The Cheater Cheats The Cheater

Genesis 29:15-30

“So Jacob served seven years to get Rachel…” vs. 20

Bus Accident

Frederick Edwin Smith, 1st Earl of Birkenhead (July 12, 1872 – Sept. 30, 1930), best known as F. E. Smith, was a British Conservative statesman and lawyer of the early 20th century. He was a skilled orator, noted for his staunch opposition to Irish nationalism, his wit, pugnacious views, and hard living and drinking. He is perhaps best remembered as Winston Churchill‘s greatest personal and political friend until Birkenhead’s death at age 58 from pneumonia caused by cirrhosis of the liver.

F. E. Smith was a capable lawyer with a quick wit who served as the British attorney general from 1915 until 1919. On one occasion he cross-examined a young man claiming damages for an arm injury caused by the negligence of a bus driver. He questions the young man and asks,“Will you please show us how high you can lift your arm now?” asked Smith. The young man gingerly raised his arm to shoulder level, his face distorted with pain. “Thank you,” said Smith. “And now, could you show us how high you could lift it before the accident?” The young man eagerly shot his arm up above his head. He lost the case. The young man lost the case. Today in the Word, July 1995, p. 27

One thing that seems somewhat satisfying to most of us is when we see someone who lives a shady life get what is coming to them.  Take the example of this young man.

Read Passage – Genesis 29:15-30

After Jacob had stayed with him for a whole month, ¹⁵ Laban said to him, “Just because you are a relative of mine, should you work for me for nothing? Tell me what your wages should be.”  ¹⁶ Now Laban had two daughters; the name of the older was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. ¹⁷ Leah had weak eyes, but Rachel had a lovely figure and was beautiful. ¹⁸ Jacob was in love with Rachel and said, “I’ll work for you seven years in return for your younger daughter Rachel.”  ¹⁹ Laban said, “It’s better that I give her to you than to some other man. Stay here with me.”  ²⁰ So Jacob served seven years to get Rachel, but they seemed like only a few days to him because of his love for her. ²¹ Then Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife. My time is completed, and I want to make love to her.”  ²² So Laban brought together all the people of the place and gave a feast. ²³ But when evening came, he took his daughter Leah and brought her to Jacob, and Jacob made love to her. ²⁴ And Laban gave his servant Zilpah to his daughter as her attendant.  ²⁵ When morning came, there was Leah! So Jacob said to Laban, “What is this you have done to me? I served you for Rachel, didn’t I? Why have you deceived me?”  ²⁶ Laban replied, “It is not our custom here to give the younger daughter in marriage before the older one. ²⁷ Finish this daughter’s bridal week; then we will give you the younger one also, in return for another seven years of work.”  ²⁸ And Jacob did so. He finished the week with Leah, and then Laban gave him his daughter Rachel to be his wife. ²⁹ Laban gave his servant Bilhah to his daughter Rachel as her attendant. ³⁰ Jacob made love to Rachel also, and his love for Rachel was greater than his love for Leah. And he worked for Laban another seven years.

What Goes Around

There is some background to this story that is important for us to remember as we begin. Jacob has not lived a  life that is on the up and up and he is meeting his match.

Here is Jacobs life of cheating

1. At birth it looks like he is going to be the oldest and his arm comes out and they tie a string around his wrist to mark that he is the oldest but then his arm goes back into his mom and Esau is actually born first. Interestingly enough, he ends up grabbing Esau’s heel. We don’t really know exactly what this means but it sure seems like a sign of things to come.

2. Esau is out hunting, catches nothing, and comes home to find Jacob cooking and he is famished. So Jacob lures him to eat but only if he gives him his birthright. He wants the oldest priviledges.

3. As their father is dying he wants to bless Esau so he asks him to go catch him some food, cook it, and feed it to him but Jacob’s mom hears about it and helps Jacob cook some food, dress, smell and act like his brother, feed his father and swindle Esau out of his blessing.

Jacob has lived a life of deception and now what goes around comes around, he has met his match with Laban and is getting his just desserts. But Jacob has a situation arise, he has happen to him what happens to a lot of guys, he is love struck.  He has fallen in love with a beautiful girl.

Help! I Married The Wrong Sister!

So Jacob strikes a deal with Laban. The Marital Agreement

Payment – commonly 30 to 40 sheckels.  A shepherd typically made 10 shekels a year.  Jacob agrees to 7 yrs of work, a premium price for his wife.

7 yrs later Leah is still not married. The bride is veil in public ceremonies, Jacob doesn’t really see her until the morning, after they have slept together. The marriage is a binding thing and sleeping together makes it a solid commitment.

Leah – Name means “cow”

Weak eyes – eyes a component of beauty.  Footnote: delicate,

“Leah had weak eyes, but Rachel had a lovely figure and was beautiful.” vs. 17

Rachel – Name means “ewe”

Strong, beautiful, confident, stocky

Many people focus on Jacob, today we are going to focus on Laban. Laban is a a pretty shrewd business man amd pretty smart too. In his day daughters were a commodity, a possession, and a  money maker when it comes to getting married

Get this: Laban figured out a way to get rid of his “cow” and it is thru his “ewe”.

The Golden Rule

Laban was familiar with the whole idea of loving God but he never got to hear Jesus words that guide us through life.  Laban had heard the Deut. part but that was it.  When Christ is asked about it he responds by letting us know that there are 2 really important thing is life, Matt. 22:

“Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.” Matt. 22:37-39

Jesus tells us the 2 most important things are growing in our relationship with God and making Him first and foremost in all our decisions and the second is how we treat others.  This is why we place so much importance on “The Golden Rule” which are Christ’s words from Luke 6:

“Do to others as you would have them do to you.” Luke 6:31

God wants us to treat and love others in a way that honors him. And sometimes we have great examples of that and other times we have great examples of what not to do.  Today, we are going to discover from Laban, what not to do.

Laban the Deceiver or Dealing With Difficult People

As we learn from Laban the Deceiver let me remind you that we all deal with difficult people.  Part of life is dealing with people that can be abrasive and hurtful and deceitful. The great thing about the Bible is that God also helps us by giving us the antidote.

Antidote – a remedy to counteract the effects of poison (Dictionary) Isn’t that a great definition?  So let’s look at how Laban the Deceiver dealt with people and what God’s antidote is. It is important to remember that many times our actions speak louder than our words.

-Uses Flattery and Manipulates

First, Laban, and difficult people, use flattery and manipulate others. Verse 19:

Laban said, “It’s better that I give her to you than to some other man. Stay here with me.”  vs. 19

This seems like an innocent verse but let’s dig a bit deeper. Laban thought this thing out, He not only tricked Jacob but many others as well.  He had this whole ruse about Jacob marrying Rachel and he had to pull it off in convincing fashion. He planned the wedding, the guests, the whole things was set up to look like one thing when he knew all along what he was going to do. He reaaly didn’t care what it looked like to everyone, he had a plan and he was going to make this thing work and get something out of it too. This was extremely well thought out and carried out with the greatest precision. He sets up Jacob knowing full well what he wanted but what he was going to do. He used others. Flattery and manipulation were the means of getting what he wanted.

Antidote: Truth

The antidote that God has for us is truth.  Pauyl in Ephesians 4 says

“Instead, speaking the truth in love…” Eph. 4:15

Laban could have told him their customs ahead of time, he could have told him what needed to happen before he could marry Rachel.  But he uses him. Our call is to speak the truth and sometimes that can be really hard. Our truth should be tempered with love.

-Breaks Their Promise

Second, Laban, and difficult people break their promises. Verse 23:

“But when evening came, he took his daughter Leah and brought her to Jacob, and Jacob made love to her.” vs. 23

He should never have made this agreement with Jacob, but he did. His oaths were only a means to his end.  Also, notice, Leah went along with this. She had not voice and would not go against her father. Who knows, Laban might have thought that somehow within the 7 years Leah would surely find a husband, Someone would come along.  But that doesn’t happen and Laban carries out his plan.

Antidote: Keep Your Word

The antidote that God has for us here is to keep our word.  James 5:12 says:

“Let your “Yes” be yes, and your “No,” no, or you will be condemned.” James 5:12

It’s is important for people to be able to trust us and count on us.  There should not be wishy–washy (that’s a technical Biblical term J) –ness about us. People whoudl be able to count on us when we commit to something.

-Justifies Their Deceit

Third, Laban, and difficult people make excuses and justify their deceit. Verse 26:

“Laban replied, “It is not our custom here to give the younger daughter in marriage before the older one.” vs. 26

We live in a world and in a time when excuses are par for the course. When we have our thoughts and motives on what is only good for us and when we feel a sense of entitlement about things, we justify our bad actions and make excuses instead of owning up to the situation.

Antidote: Walking Humbly With God

The antidote from God is to trust him and walk humbly with Him. We all make mistakes, We all fall short but how we handle our shortcomings and dela with them has a lot to do with people seeing God in our actions

“He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” Micah 6:8

As I said, we all make mistakes but the integrity of a person and the character of a follower of God is the willingness to submit to his plan, admit our mistakes and walk in humility with God. Most of us struggle because we have our own plan, our own agenda, and we feel entitled. God says trust me, wlak humbly with me and draw close to me.

Relying On God

Let me end today by synopsizing the rest of the story.  You might feel sorry for Leah, even think this poor woman named cow lived a crazy maybe even miserable life and was long forgotten.

But God renames Jacob Israel and his 12 children become the 12 tribes of Israel.. His first wife Leah, had his first 4 children; Rueben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah.  She later had 2 more; Issachar and Zebulun. Leah is the matriarch of 6 of the tribes of Israel. Also, her 4 son, Judah, it was through him that the line of David came and the eventually in that same line: Jesus Christ. She has an eternal honor that will be forever. Pretty cool. God used her in ways no one coul have ever imagined. Wow!

The God Who Sees

Genesis 16

“You are the God who sees me.” vs. 13

Do You Believe In Dragons?

An atheist was out fishing in Scotland, when all of a sudden a huge Dragon type Amphibian began to emerge from the water. With snarling teeth it slithered closer to the atheist. In desperation he cried out, “Dear God, Please save me!”
All of a sudden, the heavens opened and a deep voice said, “I thought you didn’t believe in Me.”
To that the atheist responded, “Give me a break, two minutes ago I didn’t believe in the Loch Ness Monster either!”

That may be how the main character in today’s sermon felt. We’re going to look at a woman named Hagar. She may or may not have believed in God before He spoke to her. But she surely believed in Him afterwards.

There are some people in the Bible who were incredibly blessed, they were the ones who heard directly from God. God spoke face to face with Adam and Eve in the Garden; he spoke to Noah; last week we studied about how God spoke with Abram and Abimelech. This week we’re going to look at a woman named Hagar — a woman who might have thought that God would ever take notice of her. Genesis chapter 16.

Read Passage – Genesis 16

¹ Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. But she had an Egyptian slave named Hagar; ² so she said to Abram, “The LORD has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my slave; perhaps I can build a family through her.” Abram agreed to what Sarai said. ³ So after Abram had been living in Canaan ten years, Sarai his wife took her Egyptian slave Hagar and gave her to her husband to be his wife. ⁴ He slept with Hagar, and she conceived. When she knew she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress. ⁵ Then Sarai said to Abram, “You are responsible for the wrong I am suffering. I put my slave in your arms, and now that she knows she is pregnant, she despises me. May the LORD judge between you and me.” ⁶ “Your slave is in your hands,” Abram said. “Do with her whatever you think best.” Then Sarai mistreated Hagar; so she fled from her. ⁷ The angel of the LORD found Hagar near a spring in the desert; it was the spring that is beside the road to Shur. ⁸ And he said, “Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?” “I’m running away from my mistress Sarai,” she answered. ⁹ Then the angel of the LORD told her, “Go back to your mistress and submit to her.” ¹⁰ The angel added, “I will increase your descendants so much that they will be too numerous to count.” ¹¹ The angel of the LORD also said to her: “You are now pregnant and you will give birth to a son. You shall name him Ishmael, for the LORD has heard of your misery. ¹² He will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone’s hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers.” ¹³ She gave this name to the LORD who spoke to her: “You are the God who sees me,” for she said, “I have now seen^[c] the One who sees me.” ¹⁴ That is why the well was called Beer Lahai Roi; it is still there, between Kadesh and Bered. ¹⁵ So Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram gave the name Ishmael to the son she had borne. ¹⁶ Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore him Ishmael.

A Difficult Life

Hagar was not an important person. She was not wealthy. She was not full of faith. In fact, her only claim to fame was that she ended up in the middle of a big, ugly, complicated, mess between a husband and wife. The fact is Hagar had nothing of her own and was living in a life of slavery. Verse 1:

“Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. But she had an Egyptian slave named Hagar.” vs. 1

In our story there is a husband and wife, Abraham and Sarai, and Sarai had a slave; someone to cook, clean, help her with whatever she needed done. No matter when or where you are a slave, iti s not an easy life.  It is difficult. You don’t decide things for yourself, you don’t have much of a say in most matters. Hagar was a slave, Sarah’s property, acquired by Abram during his unauthorized trip to Egypt (ch 12). She was treated as a non-person; Sarah not even once called her by her name. Inverse 2 & 5 she calls her “my slave” and in Genesis 21 she calls her “that slave girl.’ Nobody asked Hagar how she felt about this arrangement, about marrying Abram, about anything! And marriage really didn’t change her status, she was still considered a commodity, an object, something to be owned, a possession.

Taking Over God’s Plan

Let’s look back for a moment about what is really going on here. God has promised Abraham that He would be the father of many nations.  He promised Sarah that she would bear a child. What an awesome promise! Their greatest pain was the barrenness. God was going to take care of that problem and them much, much more. Have you ever had God speak a promise to you and for weeks you’re walking on air in the excitement of it? I’m sure Abraham and Sarah were quite excited when God spoke that promise to them.

Now here’s the downer. Ten years later, it hasn’t happened. Abraham is 85 years old. Instead of the circumstances getting better, they get worse every year. The likelihood of conception, in their eyes, is getting less, not more, with every year that passes. By the time our text opens in Genesis 16 we’ve got a couple that is pretty discouraged. I can see Abraham and Sarah trying to figure out what’s going on. Did we or did we not hear the Lord? Abraham had the advantage of actually receiving the revelation. So Sarah has to rely upon his account of what the Lord said. It just seems like it is time to do something. Verse 1-2:

“So she said to Abram, “The LORD has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my slave; perhaps I can build a family through her.” vs. 1-2

One of the greatest tests of our faith comes when God says trust Me; we do that for awhile; but circumstances seem to get worse instead of better. In this passage we see it come out really clear as Sarai says “I” in this verse. Her focus and trust was on herself not God. When you’re going through it (as some of you very well know) it’s much different that just theorizing about it. There was tremendous pressure on Sarah to make something happen—address the problem. So Sarah works up a plan. She takes over for God.  Abraham’s isn’t really much better here, he goes along with the idea. So to make sure it’s all above board, Hagar marries Abraham and they sleep together and just like that she is pregnant.

Used and Abused

Ever get buyer’s remorse?  How about decision remorse? That is what happens to Sarai, Her plan worked but she is realizing that it wasn’t really what she wanted and it really begins to eat at her. So, to add insult to injury, poor Hagar is not getting treated very well by Sarah.

“Then Sarai mistreated Hagar; so she fled from her.”  vs. 6

Now Hagar did her part in this to exasperate the situation.  She becomes pregnant right away and she then begins to taunt Sarai and basically provoke her to anger. We’re not told exactly what Sarai does but it is pretty clear that Sarai wasn’t handling this or Hagar well. So Hagar makes a decision; to run. Can you identify with that? I can. When things get tough we have the propensity to run, check out, take a hike. Sometimes it’s literal, and sometimes it’s mental.

Ex. Story about running for cover when I helped my friend, Lori, when we were walking to school and her brother was hiding and going to scare her.  I yelled down the street and warned Lori.  Boy did her brother get mad at me.  He threatened to beat me up. So, for the next week I took different ways to school, avoided Ricky at recess. I was on the run.  You now, I can’t even remember how this got resolved but I know I never did get beat up.

Life Lessons From Hagar

We are looking at some lesser known people in the Bible this year. I think we can learn quite a bit from this woman, Hagar, from this story.

-God’s Plan Is Not What We Would Choose

The first and most glaring thing that happens in this story is that God does not take Hagar out of the situation, quite the opposite, He sent Hagar back to Sarai and Abram.

“Then the angel of the LORD told her, “Go back to your mistress and submit to her.” vs. 9

So many times I pray, “God get me out of this situation!” But notice God sends her back into the difficulty.  Sometimes we learn the most when it is the most difficult and I think that is because we have to trust God and not ourselves. My choice is to be rescued and released. God’s choice is for me to trust him.

This isn’t the only time this happens in the bible. Remember in the N.T. God sends Philemon, also a slave, back to his predicament. It doesn’t seem right to us.  Not our choice. That’s when we go back to the verse that tells us that God’s ways are not our ways. He helps us in our difficulties but does it in such a way that we are continually being drawn closer to Him. That way it is for His glory.

-God Hears Us

A second lesson we learn is that God hears us. Verser  11:

“You shall name him Ishmael,for the LORD has heard of your misery.” vs. 11

We can feel exactly like Hagar, down and in the dessert feeling like we are going to die. But God hears us. For me, it is always reassuring to know that I am heard.  God gives Hagar a gift; her son Ishmael.  Did you know that Ishmael means “God hears”? Isn’t that cool.  When she would say his name it was a reminder to her that God hears her.

Ex. My two daughters names

Madison – Strong Christian

Natalie – to be born of noble birth/a child of the king

Helps my wife and me remember what special gifts these two girls are to our lives.

David said in Psalm 33:

“ But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love.” Psalm 33:18

-God Sees Us

And that verse teaches us that God sees us as well.  Hagar knew that lesson too; verse 13:

“She gave this name to the LORD who spoke to her: “You are the God who sees me,” vs. 13

Hagar gets who God is and gives Him a name, the God who sees me, in Hebrew “El Roi.” She realizes that God’s grace is with her and that the difficulties she is going through are not hidden from God. You might feel that God can’t understand what you’re going through and that he might not even ber aware of them.  Not so. God sees. Romans 15:5:

“May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had…” Romans 15:5

God hears and sees and even better, he gets it. Don’t forget that Jesus went through difficulties. He walked on this earth, was ridiculed, mocked, tortured, and even murdered. God sees your hurt and difficulties and he understands.  He gets it

-God’s Plan Gives Us Something To Look Forward To

And finally, the 4^th lessons we learn from Hagar is that God gives us something to look forward to.  Verse 10:

“The angel added, “I will increase your descendants so much that they will be too numerous to count.” vs. 10

Sometimes in the moment, it seems hopeless and depressing.  It seems that there is no way out. But remember that God had made a promise to Hagar, that the descendants of Ishmael would be so numerous that they couldn’t be counted. Short term it looked bad.  Long term, God’s plan would work out. He would prevail.  The lesson here is to have faith in the promises of God regardless of how bleak the immediate looks.

Strength Through Weakness

Let’s wrap up our lessons from Hagar with a thought from Paul and a look at the rest of Hagar’s story. First from Paul; he says in 2 Cor. 12:10:

“That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” 2 Cor. 12:10

And this is how Hagar’s story goes from Genesis 21:

-She has a son Ishmael but he is a rough guy and a bully

-Sarah has a son, Isaac, and he is really the chosen one and the one through whom many prophecies would be fulfilled.

-Ishmael picks on Isaac just like Hagar picked at Sarai.

-Hagar and Ishmael again flee and they are in the desert and Hagar thinks they are going to die. They are down to the last of their water and all seems lost.  She give s the last drops to Ishmael and then turns away because she can’t stand to watch him dies.

-Again in her despair, God appears, he sees her, hears her, and responds to her by providing a oasis froh er to get more water.

When God promises, it happens.  He said she would be okay and he was taking care of her. She didn’t learn the first time (sound familiar?, I know I don’t always learn the first time) but God is faithful and his promises never fail.  It’s only when we are weak that He can be strong.

Do-It-Yourself Solutions

Genesis 20

“Yes, I know you did this with a clear conscience…” vs. 6

Owner’s Manual

Not too long ago our refrigerator was a bit out of tilt. I thought maybe we weren’t shutting the door tight or something was pushing against a door. I would go to get milk in the morning and it would be warmer than it should but not bad.  I’d get frozen yogurt at night and it would be soft, and this wasn’t soft serve yogurt. Not good. I kept trying to figure what was wrong and then it dawned on me that the doors a bit tilted but I didn’t have the owner’s manual to look up how to fix it.  We bought the refrigerator used and we didn’t get a manual but it is by far the best refrigerator I’ve ever owned and I wasn’t ready to throw in the towel on it. But I am a bit stubborn about hiring someone, especially when I think I can fix it myself. I was stumped for a bit until my wife suggested that I go on line and look up the manufacturer and see if the manual is on line. I hadn’t thought about that and so I went on line and the manufacturer had all the manuals for all their different models on line and they were easy to print out and follow. I felt a sense of pride and assurance about fixing the refrigerator. It is amazing how much is available on line. I was thinking back and quite a few years ago a trend started to help people be able to do things on their own. It was with those “Dummy” books; you know “Refrigerators for Dummies” and “Piano for Dummies” and Computer’s for Dummies” and the list goes on. It was a trend that gave people a sense of pride and accomplishment in being able to do some things on their own that maybe they never thought they could or would. So what can you fix by yourself? It would be really nice if everything had a Do-It-Yourself Dummy book that could get you through some of the most of the tough situations of life. “Oh, your have a relationship problem, follow these steps.” Your marriage is not working right? Follow these 6 easy steps. Let’s look at a story from Genesis 20 where Abraham used his own Do-It-Yourself fix-it plan.

Read Passage – Genesis 20

 ¹ Now Abraham moved on from there into the region of the Negev and lived between Kadesh and Shur. For a while he stayed in Gerar, ² and there Abraham said of his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” Then Abimelek king of Gerar sent for Sarah and took her.  ³ But God came to Abimelek in a dream one night and said to him, “You are as good as dead because of the woman you have taken; she is a married woman.”  ⁴ Now Abimelek had not gone near her, so he said, “Lord, will you destroy an innocent nation? ⁵ Did he not say to me, ‘She is my sister,’ and didn’t she also say, ‘He is my brother’? I have done this with a clear conscience and clean hands.”  ⁶ Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know you did this with a clear conscience, and so I have kept you from sinning against me. That is why I did not let you touch her. ⁷ Now return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not return her, you may be sure that you and all who belong to you will die.”  ⁸ Early the next morning Abimelek summoned all his officials, and when he told them all that had happened, they were very much afraid. ⁹ Then Abimelek called Abraham in and said, “What have you done to us? How have I wronged you that you have brought such great guilt upon me and my kingdom? You have done things to me that should never be done.” ¹⁰ And Abimelek asked Abraham, “What was your reason for doing this?”  ¹¹ Abraham replied, “I said to myself, ‘There is surely no fear of God in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.’ ¹² Besides, she really is my sister, the daughter of my father thouh not of my mother; and she became my wife. ¹³ And when God had me wander from my father’s household, I said to her, ‘This is how you can show your love to me: Everywhere we go, say of me, “He is my brother.”’”  ¹⁴ Then Abimelek brought sheep and cattle and male and female slaves and gave them to Abraham, and he returned Sarah his wife to him. ¹⁵ And Abimelek said, “My land is before you; live wherever you like.”  ¹⁶ To Sarah he said, “I am giving your brother a thousand shekels of silver. This is to cover the offense against you before all who are with you; you are completely vindicated.”  ¹⁷ Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelek, his wife and his female slaves so they could have children again, ¹⁸ for the LORD had kept all the women in Abimelek’s household from conceiving because of Abraham’s wife Sarah.

When Weakness Meets Threats

I went through an exercise this week in a pastor’s group I am in called S.W.O.T. You name three strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.  The speaker made the point that when our weaknesses confront perceived threats we can respond out of fear.  I think that is where Abraham is in this story. He has a bit of a weakness when it comes to perceived threats.  Now he is confronted by a man named Abimelek and he perceives him as a threat.  This man of God who is known for his incredible faith  He is so known for his faith that God makes sure it’s mentioned in the N.T. in Hebrews 11. And in top of that, he has a pretty good looking wife. From multiple passages we get the idea that she was pretty attractive. So he has some concern that others may try to kill him to get her. And that;’s where we are here in Genesis 20. So his response is to try to fix it himself and he does that by lying. Abraham’s solution to facing his fears is to respond with lies. Really he compromises his integrity.

Integrity

There is another man here, Abimelek, Abimelek are two men going in tow different directions at this point.  Abraham is thinking Abimelek is  lacking integrity and that he cannot trust him.  Isn’t it interesting that his response to his perceived lack of trust is to lie. When Abimelek finds out about the lie he says to him:

“Then Abimelek called Abraham in and said…You have done things to me that should never be done.” Vs. 9

Abimelek calls Abraham on the carpet here for his actions.

Confronting Sin

The sin is confronted here. This isn’t just a spur of the moment type of thing, this is something that Abraham had in place for a while and Sarah went along with it too. This was there plan B when they felt threatened and were in fear. Verse 1:

“Now Abraham moved on from there into the region of the Negev and lived between Kadesh and Shur. For a while he stayed in Gerar, ² and there Abraham said of his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” Vs. 1

I think this begs the question “What do we do when we are faced with fear and threats and it seems like there is no way out?  We confront sin daily and the steps we take, the reasoning we use has a lot to do with how we get through them.

The Limitless Resources of God

God’s gives us resources to help us; his resources are unlimited. But…we are not going to look to Abraham for our example today but to Abimelek. This story takes a twist on us and we aren’t looking to the man of faith but to the man who we might say has little faith if any.

• Listen

The first resource we have is the ability to listen. Verse 3:

“But God came to Abimelek in a dream one night and said to him, “You are as good as dead because of the woman you have taken; she is a married woman.” Vs. 3

Like Abraham we think that people (mainly those we perceive to be ungodly) don’t recognize or hear God speaking to them. Remember when Abraham is confronted later by Abimelek what he says to him? Verse 11:

“Abraham replied, “I said to myself, ‘There is surely no fear of God in this place, and they will kill me…” vs. 11

In our story it is Abimelek that God speaks to and it is Abimelek that listens to God. We should recognize that God is speaking, all around us and we shouldn’t limit God as to when He speaks. Do you know how God speaks to you? Do you listen?

Ill. God speaks to me through my wife, my circumstances, my heart, his Word.

The challenge is for us to pay more attention to God and how and when He speaks to us.

• Living Right

A second resource is that Abimelek is living right so when he is confronted with the wrong thing, he recognizes it. I am not saying he was living like a believer, but he must have had a standard he lived by that was pretty high because he says to God that he has a clear conscience. Verse 5:

“Did he not say to me, ‘She is my sister,’ and didn’t she also say, ‘He is my brother’? I have done this with a clear conscience and clean hands.” Vs. 5

Many non-Christians live good and honest lives. When we live with high morals and standards, especially Godly standards, it is easier to recognize the things that are wrong.

Ex.

• Trust

Third he trusted.

“… and he (Abimilek) returned Sarah his wife to him.” Vs. 14

Abimelek could have chalked those dreams up to a bad night, or a something he ate, or even just blown it off because, after all, he is the king.  He can do what he wants. He can have anything he wants. But when he finds out that Sarah is Abraham’s wife, he returns her. He trusted what  God revealed to him. We can sometimes not believe God.  He speaks and we say, “noh, that wans’t God,” or even’ “No, God doesn’t’ really want me to do that.” But Abimilek does trust God that what he told was truth.

• Take Action

And fourth, he didn’t just settle for the easy way out, he took action on it because he did trust what God said.  Let’s clarify that a bit too.  He took truthful action. And…he even went above and beyond what really needed to be done.  Verse 15-16:

“And Abimelek said, “My land is before you; live wherever you like.”  To Sarah he said, “I am giving your brother a thousand shekels of silver. This is to cover the offense against you before all who are with you…” Vs. 15-16

He gives Abraham and Sarah servants, cattle, sheep, etc. and makes sure they are taken care of.  Most of us (myself I know for sure) would just be glad to get out of the situation. But Abimelek takes it a step further.

Moving Ahead With Confidence

Let me end with this: When we include God and use his resources, we can mve ahead with confidence.  God blesses Abimelek as we see at the end of the passage by allowing his wfe and the women of his nation to again bear children.

Also, when it came to Abraham, this wasn’t his demise.  God works in Abraham’s life despite his imperfections and in the midst of his sin.  God can do that for you and I too.  He is not limited but limitless. And He works all things out for his good.

Decisions

Genesis 13:1-13

“Abram lived in the land of Canaan, while Lot lived among the cities of the plain…” vs. 12 

3 Thanks

Last Sunday I put out a challenge to you; Each morning (maybe before you get out of bed or before you eat breakfast, name 3 things you are thankful for.  I took the challenge as well.

I did pretty well the first couple of days and even felt pretty good until Thursday. I forgot until about lunch and you know what, I felt Thursday was more a difficult day than the rest.  I wasn’t as positive, or happy.  So how about you? Did you name 3 things every morning you were thankful for?. Ask for Stories. Follow-up with the difference being thankful adds to our lives.

Today we are starting a new series. This year we are going to spend some time looking at some people in the Bible you might not know or maybe you have heard of them but still don’t know much about them. They are kind of the “B” list of actors or the second string quarterbacks. Today we are going to look at a man named Lot. He is mentioned quite a bit in Genensis. So this morning let’s look at Genesis 13:1-13.

Read Passage – Genesis 13:1-13

¹ So Abram went up from Egypt to the Negev, with his wife and everything he had, and Lot went with him. ² Abram had become very wealthy in livestock and in silver and gold.

 ³ From the Negev he went from place to place until he came to Bethel, to the place between Bethel and Ai where his tent had been earlier ⁴ and where he had first built an altar. There Abram called on the name of the LORD.  ⁵ Now Lot, who was moving about with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents. ⁶ But the land could not support them while they stayed together, for their possessions were so great that they were not able to stay together. ⁷ And quarreling arose between Abram’s herders and Lot’s. The Canaanites and Perizzites were also living in the land at that time.  ⁸ So Abram said to Lot, “Let’s not have any quarreling between you and me, or between your herders and mine, for we are close relatives. ⁹ Is not the whole land before you? Let’s part company. If you go to the left, I’ll go to the right; if you go to the right, I’ll go to the left.”  ¹⁰ Lot looked around and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan toward Zoar was well watered, like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt. (This was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) ¹¹ So Lot chose for himself the whole plain of the Jordan and set out toward the east. The two men parted company: ¹² Abram lived in the land of Canaan, while Lot lived among the cities of the plain and pitched his tents near Sodom. ¹³ Now the people of Sodom were wicked and were sinning greatly against the LORD.  

Who Is This Lot Guy?

As I said, Lot is mentioned quite a few times in the Book of Genesis. He is first mentioned in chapter 11:

“This is the account of Terah’s family line. Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran. And Haran became the father of Lot.” Gen. 11:27

So the first time he is mentioned we learn that Lot is Abraham’s nephew.  His father passes and he is taken under the wings of his grandfather and uncle Abram.  But his grandfather passes too so Abram holds top tradition and makes sure his relatives are cared for and watched after and he and Lot work, travel and live in the same area.

The Quandary

In our text today there is a situation that comes up that really in some ways was a good problem. Lot and his uncle Abram have built for themselves a pretty large estate. They both have “lots” (pun) of cattle, sheep, workers, fortunes, etc. and things are getting crowded. It says in verse 2:

“Abram had become very wealthy in livestock and in silver and gold.” vs. 2

In these days there were no banks or treasuries or places to keep your holdings.  You carried them around with you.  So what you amassed was what you had around you.  Now things were good for Lot too. .And with Lot we see in verse 5:

“Now Lot, who was moving about with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents.” vs. 5 

Abram had done well in teaching and caring for Lot and Abram’s smarts and business sense were rubbing off on Lot and he was pretty well off too.. But things were just plain getting crowded.

Make A Decision

On top of all that, fights were breaking out between the workers of Abram and the workers of Lot. Of course that means it is up to the leaders to come to some resolution. So Abram takes the lead and confronts Lot with a big decision. Verse 9:

“Is not the whole land before you? Let’s part company. If you go to the left, I’ll go to the right; if you go to the right, I’ll go to the left.”  vs.9 

Abram in some ways is taking the higher road. Remember, Abram was a man of faith. Throughout the Bible Abraham is noted for his faith. So he is giving the choice to Lot as to which land he would rather settle in.  Remember he is Abram’s nephew and really there should be some amount of respect that Lot should show for Abram and he should probably be giving Abram the choice.  There is also a certain amount of confidence that Abram has that he is willing to make a go of it and can be successful in either land so he concedes the decision to Lot.

Insight to Abraham and Lot: Abraham looks to what he can’t see, he see’s beyond the obvious and trusts God in the unseen. Lot only looks at what he can see.

The Wrong Assumption?

I want to caution you here. We assume because God blessed Abram that he cursed Lot.  Not so fast. We are not told that. We are only told that Abram was blessed. Because Lot was captured and had to be rescued, because he didn’t seem to prosper as much after, because he falls into trouble with those he is living around, we assume he made a bad choice. Maybe it was just a choice. Maybe in many ways it didn’t matter what he choose.

On the other hand, Lot had a life of trouble and most if it came out of his bad choices. He choose bad friends, bad company, and didn’t really lead his family in the process of making good decisions. And that is the key here; not the material possessions but the decision making process. So what we need to learn from this story is how to handle our decision making. The key to this story doesn’t come in the possessions or land but in the decisionss 

When Decisions Come

We make a lot of decisions in our lives, in fact, we live in constant decision making.  So let’s look at what can learn about decision making and how we can move ahead with some amount of confidence. And not just the big decisions, any decisions. And what healthy decisions include.

• Consult God and His Plan For You

First and foremost, the biggest thing to learn from this is the importance of consulting God and his plan for your life.  So let’s read the verse where Lot consults God. Verse?

“——————————————–“ vs. ——-

Ahhh a trick. There is no verse where Lot consults God. That right there should tell us a lot. We can’t find a verse where Lot consults God on what to do. Think about it this way, who do you consult with your choices?  We go to financers for Financial decisions, realtors for home decisions, etc. But God is Lord of all.  He knows all and understands all.  There is not better place to go, no better advice, no one with more insight than God himself.

We have a promise from God about this very thing.  Proverbs 16:3:

“Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.” Proverbs 16:3

Ex. Let me give you a great example of this from a meeting I had this week. I was in a planning meeting with about 10 other people planning an upcoming event.  None of us had ever really done anything like this so we were trying to figure it the best way to move forward. One person passed out a 2 page budget for this for the next year.  As we began to read it she said; “I wasn’t sure what to write down for the budget because there are so many of these things I have never done. So, I prayed, asked God for His leading and I wrote down what I felt was the best plan I could come up with” I thought that was great. Asll os us looked at that a budget and said looks good to me.  We’ll move on this.

We don’t always need to make a huge issue of consulting God as much as we need to make it a priority in our decision making.

• Consider People; You and Others

Second, consider people. Look at verse 11 again:

“So Lot chose for himself the whole plain of the Jordan and set out toward the east.” vs. 11

Lot thought about himself. I want to state that we should consider ourselves.  We should think about what we need, want and feel is best for us.  That’s good and okay.  But throw in a second part, that our decisions effect others as well and we should consider them.  We are not told that Lot didn’t consider Abram or anyone else for that matter.  In fact, it is quite the opposite in his life.  He repeatedly only thinks of himself.

-He is confronted with evil men and they want to have sex with some visiting angels (who they think are me) and he won’t let them but he is willing to give his virgin daughters to these guys to be repeatedly raped throughout the night.

-When the angel tells him to leave Sodom he is reluctant. They have to pull him to safety.

He had an M.O. of making bad decisions and we see that carried on in his children.  His daughters get him drunk and sleep with him to have children to carry on the family line. His wife turns to a pillar of salt because she can’t help but want to be back in Sodom. The bad decisions are carried on h=in his family line.

At the very least, Lot should have had some respect for his elder Abram who helped him and taught him and cared for him when he had no one else. People are important and we should give consideration to our decision making when we know it can affect them too. See Hebrews 10:24:

“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.”Heb. 10:24

I think this verse encourages us to consider them and to do it in a way that is beneficial to expressing love.

• Weigh The Circumstances

And third, good decision making means we also weigh the circumstances. Verse 10:

“Lot looked around and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan toward Zoar was well watered, like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt.” vs. 10 

Lot wasn’t a total loser.  He looked around and noticed what was there but that was it. He could lonely see things through his own eyes, not God’s. Unfortunately, he wasn’t strong enough o stand up and make the tough choices when he need to. Case in point:

-Once when he was captured by evil kings.
-Once when he was doing business at the gate of Sodom.

-Twice when he was targeted as a victim by the men of Sodom.
-One time he was protecting angel visitors and five times when the angels were protecting him.
-Once when he was pleading for Zoar to be spared.

He had no balance when it came to making decisions because it was always all about himself. Balance comes in seeing beyond the things right in front of you to the long-term consequences of our actions and decisions. Lot was the kind of guy who when you say don’t cross this line would walk up to it and test you on it. He couldn’t live near Sodom and not be influenced. They influenced him. God says to consider His ways. Psalms 119:59

“I have considered my ways and have turned my steps to your statutes.” Psalm 119:59

Part of healthy decision making is considering God’s ways and trusting His ways. 

Always Include God

I guess the main take away from this is to always include God. And maybe you can say you haven’t but it is never too late to do that. No matter where you’re at in life, what circumstances you are in, whatever situation you go through, you can include God.  Maybe it means being thankful and starting there.

The Future Is Bright

Ephesians 5:15-20

“Be very careful, then, how you live…making the most of every opportunity…” vss. 15-16 

2011 Predictions

I realized as I read some predictions for 2012 that we very rarely go back and look at how the predictions for the previous year turned out. I went on the internet and found some sites that had the 2011 predictions. So…let’s look at some of the predictions from 2011 and see how they did.

10. Hilary Clinton will win Nobel Prize

9.   North Korea claims attack by the South, igniting a short but furious nuclear war.

8.   China will bail out US debt.

7.   Serious earthquake in California—over  8.0.

6.   Paul McCartney makes a record with Yoko Ono in honor of John Lennon.

5.   The Green Bay Packers will win the Superbowl.

4.   Sarah Palin will get divorced.

3.   A gold rush will occur in Hawaii.

2.   The Royal Wedding will be a low key affair due to the economy.

1.   Michelle Obama will have another baby.

December 2010

So how about you? What do you predict for yourself this year? Will you lose those extra pounds you want? Maybe find that job you have been seeking? Exercise more? Eat better? Read through the Bible? ) By the way…shameful plug… we have a reading plan to read through the Bible in a year in the back of the Sanctuary if you want to pick one up. Oh, and buy the way, today is the first so you can get started today…after the service of course. To start this year, let’s look at a passge from Ephesians chapter 5.

Read Passage – Ephesians 5:15-20

Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, ¹⁶ making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. ¹⁷ Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. ¹⁸ Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, ¹⁹ speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, ²⁰ always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.  

Looking Ahead/Looking Back

Looking back at those predictions is easy for us now. Some of them seem ridiculous and others we can’t understand how they didn’t happen. You were probably encouraged at some point to anticipate what this New Year might hold by making a New Year’s resolution. In verse 15 it says:

“Be very careful, then…” vs. 15

I think this is an interesting way to put it, “be very careful then”. To me that implies that we want to look ahead and yet at the same time look back.  We look back to assess where we have been and what is in our life but we look ahead to the areas of our lives that we feel we can improve, refine, and even things we can add that will benefit us in some way. You know the old saying “If you aim at nothing you’ll hit it.” So let me so you what I aimed for this last year.

Ex. Last year I made a visioning board. Here it is. (Show and review how I did) 

Following His Example

It seems that the best way to move forward  is to find an example, an ideal, or something to follow that we can trust and use to guage where we want to be. So this passage, which really starts in verse 1, tells us. Verse 1 reads:

“Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children ² and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” Eph. 5:1 

The key is to have an example you can trust, that is reliable and that has a proven record of success. Well, what better example than God himself so He tells us, “use me as an example.” He furthers that thought by explaining that the visible example we have is in Jesus Christ and his example of living a life of love.

Ill. As I think about doing another visioning board (Jan. 14^th 9A.M. in Larson Hall) I kow one thing that God has laid on my heart.  To be more loving. To love people in a deeper and unconditional way.

Intentional Planning For The New Year

So what are the criteria you are going to use as you look ahead? I think Eph. 5 gives us two ways  to plan the New Year.

• Seek Wisdom

The first thing would be to seek wisdom. Verse 15:

“Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise…” vs. 15

This is more than just being smart or using common sense or giving it the old college try. It’s being intentional about seeking wisdom.  Let me preface this with another passage; Prov. 2:3-5;

“…indeed, if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God.” Prov. 2:3-5

We don’t always think about seeking wisdom, it is more like we assume that people seek it and want it. But Solomon in these verse encourages us to seek wisdom.  To move to a deeper understanding of God and His will and plan for your life.

How do you do that? Two ways. First, ask for it. He says call out. State it. Be intentional about telling God what it is you want and even more specifically the wisdom you need.

Second, put it on a list and go after it.  Pursue it and put it into action. Ask and then do something about it. I.E. read, discuss, put yourself in situations that allow you to find it.

Others might not get this but you and I have a secret weapon. We have God on our side and he gives us a promise in these verses; he promises us we will get his knowledge.

Ex. Use gold as an example.  Go to gold country, buy gold panning equip. search out the best places, etc. But what if you had someone who knew exactly where to go and what you would get?  That’s God.

• Make The Most Of Your Opportunities

Secondly, Paul tells us, make the most of your opportunities. Verse 16:

“…making the most of every opportunity…” vs. 16

We sometimes figure things just are what they are. We say things like, “it is what it is.”  But that is really kind of fatalistic and defeating. To really head in the right direction, we look at each thing as an opportunity. We ask ourselves, “What will I do with this opportunity?” In order to make the most of every opportunity the passage gives us 3 things to do.

• By Seeking  God’s Will

First, seek God’s will. Verse 17:

“Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.” vs. 17

We all have the same 24 hours in a day. So every opportunity that comes is a chance for us to see what God’s will for us is.  We don’t all have the same opportunities. We all have the same chance to seek God’s will in our opportunities. That is why the next verse is so important; vs. 18:

“Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit…” vs. 18

Yes this verse talks about alcohol but the real point is; what are you filling your life with? Is it things that take away or waste your time? Really that is what alcohol does. You get drunk and you lose all that time. But there is good news, every opportunity is a new chance to change that and fill your life with good things, things that will benefit us, build us up, profit us.

• By Making Worship A Priority

And finally that means making our lives a living example of making worship a priority.  That’s why verse 19 says:

“…speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord…” vs. 19

This verse is pointing us to that concept that we read about in Jesus in verse 1 of living a life of love.  This verse talks about the on-on-one aspect of building each other up, not tearing down. Instead of judging and tearing down and putting down, we are called to sing together, to build each other up and to show the love that Jesus showed us. And we do that to God’s glory.

• By Living In Thanks

When we follow these steps, it allows us to live a life of thanks. Verse 20:

“…always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” vs. 20

Notice this verse is active and on-going.

Ex. Grace before meals.  It may seem repetitious and somewhat meaningless to some.  I was taught to say grace before every meal. There is not verse that tells us to specifically do this but we teach our kids to because it is a consistent way of living in thanks.

Challenge: Before you get out of bed this week, say thanks to God for 3 things you have in your life.  I will ask you about it next week.

The Greatest Gift

Luke 2:1-20

“Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.”

Good Gifts

So did you get some good gifts this morning? Did you get want you want?

Hot Wheels set with a loop-to-loop that we ran through he living room

A ring with an “R” on it when I was in high school. This was a time when men’s jewelry was big, serpentine necklaces, pucca shells, etc. Walked into my grandparents house and showed it off

My golf bag when were first married. Took it to bed with me

Ask the congregation to throw out a few of their favorite Christmas gifts.

Wrap up: Gifts are a huge part of Christmas. So let’s look at a gift we all received almost 2000 years ago.

Read Passage – Matthew 1:18-2:12

This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about^[d]: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. ¹⁹ Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet^[e] did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

 ²⁰ But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. ²¹ She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus,^[f] becau`se he will save his people from their sins.”  ²² All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ²³ “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”^[g] (which means “God with us”).  ²⁴ When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. ²⁵ But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

Matthew 2

 ¹ After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi^[h] from the east came to Jerusalem ² and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”  ³ When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. ⁴ When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. ⁵ “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:  ⁶ “‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’^[i]”

 ⁷ Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. ⁸ He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”

 ⁹ After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. ¹⁰ When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. ¹¹ On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. ¹² And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

The Events of Life

One of the intrigues of this story is the way all the pieces fall together and in place so that everything works out just right. I think we expect God to work through Chritians and believers but we might overlook that He is working all things out for His good and that includes using the actions of nonbelievers as well.  So verse 1 shouldn’t take us too much by surprise.

“In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world.” Luke 2:1

A regular activity of their time was to take a count of the people. So Joseph is just doing what he is expected to do by the Roman law that is in place at this time. It was not the most convenient time, not the situation you would choose to be in, not ideal, but it was what it was.

Gifts of Royalty

As we recount this story, I want to focus on one thing that I found really revealing; that the magi brought Jesus gifts of royalty. Go back to verse 11:

“On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.”  vs. 11

I find it significant that Scripture mentions this act of bowing before the Christ child first, and only then talks about the gifts. It is as if Matthew is making the point that our hearts are of paramount concern, that God is more interested in the condition of our hearts than the size of our check. That our first and most important gift is the spiritual act of worship.

When the magi had bowed in worship, they opened the gifts for the King. They sacrificed a great deal for Him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh. The gifts that the magi brought were kingly gifts. It may even have been that they were excited to bring these gifts to Jesus and his parents.  Ever give a gift that you just know is going to help someone and you are just so excited to give it?

The Greatest Gift Is…

• Gold

The first gift was Gold.  Gold signifies Jesus’ Kingly role. What is more fitting than gold for a King? See the magi knew Jesus was their king because opf what the prophets had foretold.  Zechariah 9:9 reminds us of that when it foretells of Jesus triumphal entry into Jerusalem. They refer to Jesus as king and they remember that. Zechariah 9:9:

“See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” Zechariah 9:9

Their gift of gold is a declaration of Jesus as King.

We give gifts to those we love and they are an expression of our love.

Ex. The gifts we give our loved ones.  The time we spend picking them out, etc. Our excitement in giving them.  The time spent is important because it shows our thought fullness and sacrifice in picking them out. Example of a gift I gave vs. the example of a close relative who just sent something without much thought.

Part of who we are is much like those magi.  We should be declaring Jesus as King; King of our lives. David did this so many times.  I remember once in Psalm 44:4:

“You are my King and my God…” Psalm 44:4

Today we declare Jesus as King again.  Isn’t that the great thing about Christmas?  It truyly is a re-declaration of Jesus as King.

Exercise: Say aloud Jesus is King of Kings and Lord of Lords

• Frankincense

The second gift the magi bring is Frankincense. Frankincense was an ingredient used by the priests in temple worship to blend with the smell of the sacrifices. It’s a resin that is tapped out of the Boswellia tree and burned in the temple. To me it signifies Jesus’ priestly role.  Jesus was the King of Jews, but he was also the “great high priest.”  The writer of the book of Hebrews expressed it like this:

“For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.” Hebrews 2:17

Remember the way to use frankincense is to burn it. That takes energy and effort and sometimes hurts. One of ways for us to declare Jesus’ as our high priest is to offer up our lives as a sacrifice. Paul said it this way in Romans 12:1:

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.” Rom. 12:1

Your being here today is a declaration of Jesus as your high priest. It why we stress coming to church not to fulfill a duty or checklist but to meet Jesus. Our deeds, our obedience, etc. is a sweet smell to God.

Ex. The smell when you walk be a bakery

Or todday the smell of candles in the Sanctuary that put out a sweet aroma.

• Myrrh

And the third gift the magi bring is Myrrh. Myrrh, like frankincense is a resin bleed from trees. In Jesus’ time, people used Myrrh to embalm their dead. A thoughtless gift, you might say for a baby shower? Not for this baby. For myrrh signifies the death of Jesus. These wise men, in their wisdom knew that Jesus was born to die. This gift was a way of declaring that Jesus is the ultimate sacrifice on behalf of all mankind. Heb. 10:10:

“.. we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” Hebrews 10:10

So when I think of myrrh, I am challenged to think of why Jesus came to earth – to die for the sins of all the world. This doesn’t make sense to us. Even the disciples didn’t get it. Peter had to be rebuked because he couldn’t understand that Jesus came to die.

“Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”  Matt. 16:23

It’s hard to believe this child was destined for death on our behalf but that is why he came.

These gifts were very expensive, so much so, the normal person could not have purchased one, much less three. It is said that the money from their gifts supported the family for the years they had to flee for safety.

Great Joy

Here is the final thought on this whole gift giving thing.  Gifts are meant to bring joy, great joy or well at least we hope they do. That is why the angel declares in verse 10:

“But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy….” vs. 10

Song: We Three Kings

Paving The Way For Christ

Luke 1:57-80

“Everyone who heard this wondered about it, asking, “What then is this child going to be?””

Boy Scout Oath

As kids there are a lot of different organizations we can join and be a part of that shape our lives; Little league, junior actors, choirs, etc.  For me, one of those was the Boy Scouts.  I was a cub scout through my early school years and then worked my way up from there. We had our weekly den meetings and I know many times that we in the garage of someone’s house. One of the things we were required to do was our pledge. As a cub scout we had a 2 finger salute but as a Weblow or Boy Scout you had a 3 finger salute. Here’s how the salute went:

On my honor, I will do my best
To do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law;
To help other people at all times;
To keep myself physically strong, mentally awake and morally straight

Do you know the boy scout motto?

Boy Scout Motto: Be Prepared

What the scouts are all about is the idea of preparing young people for life. To be effective, responsible, diligent, productive adults.  So we had fundraisers, activities, merit badges to earn, etc. I remember some of those; the balsa wood planes that we sold door-to-door, the scout-o-rama events, the carving of and the Halloween pumpkins. One of my favorite projects was when I built this cool catapult. I remember it like it was yesterday.  It was about so big, had a huge arm, and we used these big rubber bands to spring the arm.  I remember bringing it home and my mom saying, “That thing is not to be shot in the house.” So we took it outside and shot dirt clods against the garage door. She didn’t say that wasn’t okay. I remember my dad not liking that too much.

Well, back to being prepared. God prepared the way for His Son Jesus. Let’s read how in Luke 1:
Read Passage – Luke 1:57-80

⁵⁷ When it was time for Elizabeth to have her baby, she gave birth to a son. ⁵⁸ Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy, and they shared her joy.  ⁵⁹ On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him after his father Zechariah, ⁶⁰ but his mother spoke up and said, “No! He is to be called John.”  ⁶¹ They said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who has that name.”  ⁶² Then they made signs to his father, to find out what he would like to name the child. ⁶³ He asked for a writing tablet, and to everyone’s astonishment he wrote, “His name is John.” ⁶⁴ Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue set free, and he began to speak, praising God. ⁶⁵ All the neighbors were filled with awe, and throughout the hill country of Judea people were talking about all these things. ⁶⁶ Everyone who heard this wondered about it, asking, “What then is this child going to be?” For the Lord’s hand was with him.

Disbelief

This is the beginning of the Christmas story.  Let me remind you how it unfolds. There is this priest, Zechariah, (equivalent to our modern day pastor) serving in the temple. He is chosen by lot to perform one of the highest honors of his day; to present the sacrifice for Israel in the Holy of Holies. While Zechariah was in the sanctuary, an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the incense altar. Zechariah was shaken and overwhelmed with fear when he saw him. But the angel said, “Don’t be afraid, Zechariah! God has heard your prayer. Your wife, Elizabeth, will give you a son, and you are to name him John. Now our idea of people in ministry, leaders, pastors, priests, etc. is that they kind of have everything together, maybe a few less problems, and they somehow have this special tap into God. So you kind of expect them to have this faith that is somewhat strong and unswerving. They shouldn’t doubt or question God, they get Him.  But look at Zechariah’s response to the angel’s message that his wife is pregnant.

“Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.” Luke 1:18

So Zechariah has this disbelief at what the angel says so God does shuts his mouth. Closes it right up and this guy doesn’t say a word for probably somewhere around 9 months. (I know a few people who would probably die if that happen to them) We’re not sure exactly how he communicated, through grunts, hand motions, etc. but we do know that they had writing tablets to aid in their communication. 

“His Name Is John”

So he is one quite guy and has a lot of time to think about his disbelief. But the time comes for his son to be born and when they ask his wife what his name should be, she answers, “John.” That didn’t make a lot of sense because they had 2 criteria for names:

1. Based on the child’s character or attributes
2. A family name

Well, John doesn’t fit wither of those criteria so they hand Zechariah a writing tablet and expect another answer from him. But in verse 63 it says:

“He asked for a writing tablet, and to everyone’s astonishment he wrote, “His name is John.”  vs. 63

At this point, his tongued is loosed and he can speak again. Interestingly enough his response is to praise God. He is moved from disbelief to belief. I guess all that time in silence made a big impact. Now put all these things together: a older lady getting pregnant, people had probably heard about Mary and Elizabeth’s greeting and the babies moving, the priest silenced for 9 months, a strange name being chosen for this baby, the priest writing his name and then being able to speak again, so this raises the people’s curiosity and they ask this question: 

Question: What Then Is This Child Going To Be?

We, like John, are called to prepare the way for Christ.

To answer the question of verse 66, let’s go back to Luke 1:14-15 and look at what the angel told John’s father Zechariah what John’s character was going to be like. I think in many ways we are called to mirror that same character.

“He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, ¹⁵ for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born. ¹⁶ He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. ¹⁷ And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”  Luke 1:14-17

Preparing the Way

Did you catch the motto of John’s life: Prepare the way of the Lord.  Let me just mention that John is born to imperfect parents who didn’t always do the right thing or respond the right way. God still used them. God using us is not dependant on our response but on His will through our lives. I think John’s motto can be our motto too! That motto is spoken of in this earlier passage, verse 17:

“And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah…” vs. 17

The key to being used by God is not how good of a person you are, it’s what God’s power can do through you. SO we learn from John what preparing the way for the Lord looks like thorugh John’s character.

• Exemplifies Joy

First, he exemplifies joy. He brings joy wherever he goes. Verse 14:

“He will be a joy and delight to you…” vs. 14

From the time of John’s birth until he is a man, we don’t hear much of anything of his life. But we know he ends up living in the dessert, clothed in camel’s hair, eats locust and honey, and proclaims the coming of the Messiah. His parents are nowhere to be found and many suspect hey are probably dead at this point. He’s a real ragamuffin but he brings joy.

“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again, rejoice!” Philippians 4:4

I like this because I want to be joyful and bring joy to people. I think we are drawn to people who are joyful and want more of them around.  Proclaim God, being thankful, etc. brings joy not only to our life but to others.

Ex. “Joy To The World”

Ill. Doing things for others, our joy in giving to others less fortunate

• Exemplifies God’s Grace

Second, John exemplifies God’s grace. Verse 15:

“… for he will be great in the sight of the Lord.” vs. 15

John was human and fallible as you and I are as well.  But remember, it’s not our goodness that determines God using us, it’s His plan, and His grace.  We are called to acknowledge our failings and the places we fall short and then live in His grace. That means we may not be much in our own sight or even in the sight of others around us but God loves us, values us, and in His sight, we can be great. That means we affirm others and who God has created them to be and bring God’s grace to them. Romans 3:23-24:

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by His grace…” Romans 3:23-24

We have all sinned, all fallen short, but we live in grace. Many of us still struggle to earn or approve our salvation and God is freely giving us his grace. Grace is receiving a gift we didn’t deserve or earn and something we cannot repay.

• Exemplifies Hope

The grace leads us to the reality that there is hope. John exemplifies hope and we can have that too! Verse 16:

“He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God.” vs. 16

Remember where Israel is at this point in history. There has been 400 years of silence. They haven’t heard from God and with each passing generation they fall more and more away from God. They feel that God is gone. With the way things are in our times we might feel the same way.  What the Israelites see is the Pharisees and Saducees abusing their authority and this oppressive need to adhere to rules and regulations. They don’t see God at work they see those claiming to be followers of God as abusive as the those in charge; the Romans. They feel they are without God. But remember that great verse in Matthew 1:23:

“The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel- which means God with us.” Matthew 1:23

What great news. That is the news John brings.  That is the news we can bring in this season.