The LORD's All-Inclusive Servant

Isaiah 48:12-50:11; Psalm 69:1-18; Proverbs 24:5-6

 

Funny. People say that Christians and their God are exclusivists. Jesus Christ, the only way? How dare we say there’s only one way?!?

 

There may be only one way, but Christians are not exclusivists. All may come. There are no class distinctions, race distinctions, or nationality distinctions. All who believe that Jesus Christ is their Lord may come and be saved, receiving eternal life. So Christians are inclusivists. We’ll include anyone, just like our God calls us to do.

 

And this inclusiveness is not merely something that is permitted. It’s encouraged! God Himself initiates inclusiveness. God is the One who first decided to send His servant beyond the boundaries of Israel’s territory and race to invite non-Jews to pledge allegiance to Him. Read what Isaiah wrote:

 

And now the LORD says--he who formed me in the womb to be his servant to bring Jacob back to him and gather Israel to himself, for I am honored in the eyes of the LORD and my God has been my strength--he says: "It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth." – Isaiah 49:5-6

 

Does that sound like an exclusivistic God? I don’t think so! He’ll accept anyone! He’ll accept you, so long as you are willing to confess that He is the one true God. Which is pretty reasonable, since He is the one and only true God. It’s simply admitting the truth.

 

Father, may people realize that Your invitation is for them, no matter what religious background they were brought up in or what culture raised them. May people realize that they can find salvation through Your Son’s life, death and resurrection. May the world stop rejecting the fact that Jesus Christ is Lord of all—Lord over all people on earth, whether American or Asian or African or European or Australian, whether rich or poor, whether weak or powerful, whether ruled or ruler. May people see that one day even our Presidents will bow before Your Son and call Him Lord, whether they do now or not. And may they willingly confess their rebellion and their realization that Jesus Christ is Lord while they may still confess, be pardoned, and be saved. Thank You for being inclusive enough that this is an option for us!

 

Weekly Sermons in Swanton: You're Saved, So Work Joyfully.

The message covered Philippians 2:12-18, and it can be heard via streaming audio at http://www.swantonalliance.org. You have been saved from sin and you’re free to obey the King of all Creation. So obey. And don’t fight it, grumbling or arguing. Discover the glorious work of God through obedience. Note: Past sermons can be accessed through the resources page.

 

That Men May See What Kings Will Not

Isaiah 43:14-45:10; Psalm 68:1-18; Proverbs 24:1-2

 

In yet another instance where God used a pagan king to accomplish his will, Isaiah looks forward to the day when God will move a king called Cyrus to the throne to set up His temple. But we might not want to assume that Cyrus knew God simply because he decided to build God’s temple:

 

This is what the LORD says to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I take hold of

to subdue nations before him and to strip kings of their armor, to open doors before him so that gates will not be shut: I will go before you and will level the mountains; I will break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron. I will give you the treasures of darkness, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the LORD,  the God of Israel, who summons you by name. For the sake of Jacob my servant, of Israel my chosen, I summon you by name and bestow on you a title of honor, though you do not acknowledge me. I am the LORD, and there is no other; apart from me there is no God.   I will strengthen you, though you have not acknowledged me, so that from the rising of the sun to the place of its setting men may know there is none besides me. I am the LORD, and there is no other. – Isaiah 45:1-6

 

God knew, well before Cyrus was ever born, that His people would be in captivity and would need a King who set them free to return to the promised land. He knew before Cyrus had uttered a sound that Cyrus would not have a heart for God. And yet he still exalted this pagan boy to be a pagan king for the glory and honor of God’s own name.

 

Why? “So that from the rising of the sun to the place of its setting men may know there is none besides me. I am the LORD, and there is no other.”

 

Father, please help me to remember that you are in control, and you call me to trust in You no matter what else people may say

 

Weekly Sermons in Swanton: Adopt Christ's Attitude.

The message covered Philippians 2:5-11, and it can be heard via streaming audio at http://www.swantonalliance.org. Whether humbling Himself and obeying to the point of death or being exalted by God the Father, Jesus Christ aimed for God’s glory. We must do the same. Note: Past sermons can be accessed through the resources page.

 

The Celebrated Battle

Most of the time fights are bad, right? And most of the time we don’t think of God as a fighter or conqueror. But when He comes to vanquish evil men and save His people from every oppressor, He is coming as a fighter, a conqueror, a champion. And when that day comes, His fight won’t be bad. His fight will be good, and those who love God will celebrate His fight. We’ll cheer every blow He lands on His enemies.

 

Every stroke the LORD lays on them

    with his punishing rod

  will be to the music of tambourines and harps,

    as he fights them in battle with the blows of his arm. – Isaiah 30:32

 

Father, in justice You will fight Your enemies—our enemies. Help me to wait patiently for that day, seeking to be a man of peace until then, extending Your offer of peace to Your enemies. But when they frustrate me, when they hurt me, when they harm me and mock me and oppress the people I love, may I remember that You are not a weak God. One day You are coming, and You will fight, and Your fighting will be just and right and good. And You will win.

 

Wounding and Healing

Isaiah 19-21; Psalm 59; Proverbs 23:13-14

 

I can’t think of many situations in which a loving human would deliberately wound a loved one enough that he/she would need healing. Obviously, there are disciplinary circumstances where parents bring pain to their children in one or another, but they don’t hurt their kids in a way that will require healing.

 

God does.

 

In Isaiah 19, God promises to hurt the Egyptians. And He’s going to hurt them pretty seriously. They will need healed. Who will heal them? God. After describing His plans against the Egyptians, God says through His prophet Isaiah:

 

In that day there will be an altar to the LORD in the heart of Egypt, and a monument to the LORD at its border. It will be a sign and witness to the LORD Almighty in the land of Egypt. When they cry out to the LORD because of their oppressors, he will send them a savior and defender, and he will rescue them. So the LORD will make himself known to the Egyptians, and in that day they will acknowledge the LORD. They will worship with sacrifices and grain offerings; they will make vows to the LORD and keep them. The LORD will strike Egypt with a plague; he will strike them and heal them. They will turn to the LORD, and he will respond to their pleas and heal them. – Isaiah 19:19-22

 

Sometimes we begin to think we’re wise, powerful and invincible. We don’t believe anyone can touch us, and we forget that we need God because we don’t feel needy or weak. The Egyptians seem to have forgotten that they needed God. They thought their idols were powerful enough to take care of them, and they neglected God’s appeals to them to put their trust in Him instead.

 

So God said He’d send other, stronger humans to Egypt to show them that they weren’t as tough and powerful as they thought, that their gods weren’t capable of saving them. And then God would save them Himself. He would wound them, but He would heal them when they finally called on God to save them.

 

Do you feel pretty good about yourself? Do you feel like you don’t need God’s help very often, or perhaps at all? Beware. You are weaker than you pretend to be, and God doesn’t have to look very far to find someone to teach you how much you need Him.

 

Father, may I not need to learn this lesson the hard way. May I remember that I need You. May I be aware of my weaknesses, my temptations, my sins. May I call on Your name! You are the only God, the only Lord, the only Savior who can save completely! I need You.

 

Weekly Sermons in Swanton: Lift Up a Banner of Joy.

The message covered Philippians 2:1-4, and it can be heard via streaming audio at http://www.swantonalliance.org. Paul endures suffering joyfully and lives for others because he has Jesus Christ and every benefit that the Father gives through Him. Join Paul in that joy! Note: Past sermons can be accessed through the resources page.

 

"What More Can I Do?"-God

Isaiah 3-5; Psalm 53; Proverbs 23:1-3

 

Have you ever thought what it would look like for God to be frustrated? Isaiah gives us a taste.

 

I will sing for the one I love a song about his vineyard: My loved one had a vineyard on a fertile hillside. He dug it up and cleared it of stones and planted it with the choicest vines. He built a watchtower in it and cut out a winepress as well. Then he looked for a crop of good grapes, but it yielded only bad fruit. – Isaiah 5:1-2

 

This is a picture of God getting frustrated. He does everything right:

• Owns a vineyard
• In a fertile location
• Digs up the dirt
• Clears the dirt of stones
• Plants the cleared, fertile dirt with the best grape vines
• Builds a watchtower from which to guard the vines
• Cuts out a winepress, preparing for the ripe grapes

 

And yet His vineyard yields “only bad fruit.” Is this God’s fault?

 

God asks His people to judge the case—to judge themselves:

 

Now you dwellers in Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard. What more could have been done for my vineyard than I have done for it? When I looked for good grapes, why did it yield only bad? – Isaiah 5:3-4

 

God asks them, “What more do you want? What more can I do?” If they try to give Him an answer, they’re fools. Any answer besides, “You’re right! I want nothing more! You’ve given me everything I need!” would imply—no, declare!—that God’s work on behalf of His people was inadequate, insufficient, not enough.

 

God has done enough for His people. God has done enough for everyone on earth—including Richard Dawkins—that He is justified to expect some thanks and appreciation, and perhaps a little bit of obedience, too. God has done enough to expect good fruit.

 

Father, may we Your people not be so foolish as to blame our shortcomings and sins on You. Your work is good, and You have done enough good work for us. You created us. You sustained us, though we sinned against You. You sent Your only begotten Son to live a righteous life, to suffer, to die, to rise again. There is no more fertile ground than Jesus Christ from which to expect good fruit. Forgive us! Do not destroy us! You are good. You are right. You have done everything we could reasonably expect. Redeem us and restore us—make us bear good fruit!                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

 

Death-Like Love

Song of Songs 5-8; Psalm 51; Proverbs 22:24-25

 

Place me like a seal over your heart,

    like a seal on your arm;

  for love is as strong as death,

    its jealousy unyielding as the grave.

  It burns like blazing fire,

    like a mighty flame.

 

Many waters cannot quench love;

    rivers cannot wash it away.

  If one were to give

    all the wealth of his house for love,

    it would be utterly scorned.                         - Song of Songs 8:6-7

 

People want this kind of love. I do. And the awesome thing is that I have it! That’s the kind of love God has extended to me through Christ’s cross and resurrection. And it’s the kind of love Christy and I have extended to each other because we are recipients of God’s love.

 

This is a special love, a strong love, a tenacious love that holds on even through the worst storms. Seriously! Have you ever thought about love like Solomon does here? For love is as strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave. Who would find something in common between love and death? Solomon did. When you die, death never lets go. When you give yourself to someone else’s love, that person is rightly going to guard you with his life!

 

Sure, there might be minor—even major!—spats and fights. There might be times of sinfulness. Perhaps times of bankruptcy. It might be tough to make it through together—it might feel like it would be easier to make it out of the pain and brokenness alone. But love is what pulls a marriage through, and what makes it safe to entrust yourself entirely to someone else.

 

Father, thank You for loving Christy and me. Thank You for bringing us together. Thank You for teaching us about love—about the kind of love that never lets go. And thank You for not only teaching us about it, but guiding us into it. Give us the strength to love each other as deeply as You love us, as faithfully as You. And redeem this broken world so that everyone can experience this amazing love of Yours!

 

Weekly Sermons in Swanton: Live Up to The Gospel.

Weekly Sermons in Swanton: Live Up to The Gospel.

 

The message covered Philippians 1:27-30, and it can be heard via streaming audio at http://www.swantonalliance.org. Paul calls the Philippians and (through his letter to them) all Christians to live lives worthy of the gospel. Even in the face of suffering, we ought to see enduring for Christ as God’s gracious gift. Note: Past sermons can be accessed through the resources page.

 

My Spouse: My Private Garden

Song of Songs 1-4; Psalm 50; Proverbs 22:22-23

 

Have you ever imagined what it would be like to get away? To escape coarse, musty, noisy, everyday life? To go somewhere that was simply clean, pure, vividly beautiful, and filled with all your favorite things—foods, entertainment, sights, sounds—everything you love?

 

Have you ever thought of your spouse that way? Because that’s how Solomon describes his wife in Song of Songs 4:12-15:

 

You are a garden locked up, my sister, my bride; you are a spring enclosed, a sealed fountain. Your plants are an orchard of pomegranates with choice fruits, with henna and nard, nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon, with every kind of incense tree, with myrrh and aloes and all the finest spices. You are a garden fountain, a well of flowing water streaming down from Lebanon.

 

Solomon described his bride as a private garden filled with delightful fruits, fresh water, beautiful smells (“every kind of incense tree”), and wonderful tastes (“finest spices”). She was his oasis of rest, his haven of happiness and his escape from the troubles of daily living.

 

Just a quick caveat: I’m not saying a spouse can give us all the rest that Christ Himself offers. Spouses don’t replace Christ. But that doesn’t mean that we should underestimate the gift God has given us in our spouses—or the gift Christ has made us to be for our spouses!

 

Do you think of your spouse this way? You should! You should find joy and rest and pleasure in your time with your spouse. That’s what your spouse was designed for. If you’re married, that’s what you were designed for—to be a private garden for your spouse! If you can’t see your spouse this way, why not? Perhaps you’ve had a lot of arguments. Perhaps you don’t feel like your spouse helps out enough. But does he/she really have nothing to offer you? Or are you just overlooking all the good and focusing on the bad?

 

Choose to value your spouse like a private garden of joy—even if you get to enjoy that garden infrequently for whatever reason. If time, fatigue, children, work, friends—even animosity or fear—get in the way of enjoying one another’s company (and I’m not just talking about sexual company here), don’t get upset with your spouse. Instead, be more deliberate about working together to schedule times to enjoy each other’s company. Find specific times you can spend together. Bring up topics you both enjoy. Find environments that bring out the best in both of you. Offer each other compliments. Thank each other for the little things. And even if these things happen less frequently than you would like, always, always, always enjoy them! They’re whiffs of your private garden’s beautiful scents.

 

Solomon’s wife realized that she was his private garden, and her desire was that her husband be aware of her delights both when they were somewhat apart and when they had time to be together:

 

Awake, north wind, and come, south wind! Blow on my garden, that its fragrance may spread abroad. Let my lover come into his garden and taste its choice fruits. – Song of Songs 4:16

 

May we do all we can to help our spouses know that they can find rest and delight in us when there’s no other escape from day to day life. May we delight our spouses and find delight in our spouses, thanking Jesus Christ for His gift!

 

Father, thank You for Christy. Thank You for her service today. Although I left early and came back later than usual, she spent the day so helpfully—so beautifully. Thank You that she endured through the mess our children made, that she patiently led them in the cleanup process, that she made their meals, cleaned the house, and took care of our baby. Thank You that she does all this while also writing books and designing websites. Thank You that she is creative, and that she finds ways to interact with others through her creativity. Thank You that she walks at my side in ministry, that she cares about our friends at church and also about our neighbors. Thank You that she’s such a gracious host to them. Thank You for the extra special touches she adds to all this—the way she does some of my tasks when I’ve been too overwhelmed to do them, for instance. Thank You for a beautiful, wonderful spouse. May I always enjoy and appreciate her amazing qualities. And may Your people all be blessed with the ability to see their spouses this way. Thank You for Your good provisions.

 

Labor Day Breakfast Videos

Emma and Michael were very excited to learn that we were having something sweet for breakfast!



And here you can see what made them so excited:

Meaningless

Ecclesiastes 1-3; Psalm 46; Proverbs 22:15

 

Meaningless. What a hopeless, energy-draining, mind-numbing word! How would you like to hear your boss use that word after a long, stressful, hard-pressed week? “You sure worked hard. Too bad it was meaningless.” That word just lets the air right out of my tires. I’m guessing you can identify.

 

The word’s found in 31 verses in the NIV Bible. Twenty-eight of those verses are located in the book of Ecclesiastes. The introduction to the book is, “The words of the teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem.” And what’s the first word he offers us? “Meaningless!” Actually, he says it twice, right there at the beginning—four times in that one verse! You get the feeling that this might not be the happiest book to read.

 

The Teacher (King Solomon) goes on to explain how this world has a lot of motion and activity that leads nowhere. He himself gathered all his heart desired: pleasures—laughter, wine, even folly; projects—houses, vineyards, gardens, parks, reservoirs; servants—male and female; animals—enormous flocks and herds; wealth—gold and silver; personal entertainment—singers and a harem… everything anyone could possibly desire. (Eccl. 2:1-9)

 

And in the end—What?

 

Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun.

 

All of it was meaningless. Meaningless! Why? He had everything. He’d achieved everything. Why would it be meaningless? What would give him that perspective?

 

I hated all the things I had toiled for under the sun, because I must leave them to the one who comes after me. And who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will have control over all the work into which I have poured my effort and skill under the sun. This too is meaningless. – Eccl. 2:18-19

 

What makes it all meaningless? Death. Under the sun, death makes everything meaningless. If all that you have to live for is under the sun and on this earth, coming to you as a result of the work of your hands, then just look down the road a few years. That one look will render the best food tasteless, the hardest-earned achievements pitiful, the longest and most profound relationships temporary and shallow. When you pick up a telescope and look through it to see what the end result of all your work, all your entertainment, and all your life is—when you look through a telescope and see death, only death—then everything is meaningless.

 

Father, help me to be realistic about everything I do. Help me to know which activities I do only for earthly results, and to see that they are meaningless, a chasing after the wind. I don’t want my life to be meaningless. I want to see beyond the sun, beyond this earth, beyond death. I want to do things now that count forever, that have an eternal purpose. I want to build structures that never crumble, to cultivate fruit that never rots, to invest in friends and family I can laugh with forever. Father, I need You! I need Your Son Jesus Christ! I need Your Spirit! I need the life only You can give and the inner perspective that keeps my eyes set moment by moment beyond the sun, looking for Jesus Christ’s return. Don’t let my life be meaningless. Please.

 

Weekly Sermons in Swanton: How To Exalt Christ in Your Body.

The message covered Philippians 1:18b-26, and it can be heard via streaming audio at http://www.swantonalliance.org. One aspect of our salvation in Christ is the freedom to exalt Him in the face of anything—we couldn’t do that before. Hear the basis for exalting Christ and how to go about it.