Grace Community Church Sermons

Ru begins a series on Ephesians, staring with verse 1.

 Series on Ephesians - 1: Download

Text:
1 This is what Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem:
2 In the last days the mountain of the LORD’s temple will be established as chief among the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and all nations will stream to it.
3 Many peoples will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.” The law will go out from Zion, the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
4 He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.
5 Come, O house of Jacob, let us walk in the light of the LORD.

Questions:
1. What is the “Last Days” and when does it begin?

My thoughts: The text hinges on your understanding of the “Last Days.” I think the bible teaches that the “Last Days” began in the Life, Death and Resurrection of Jesus and will end in his second Advent when he comes to judge the world, make things right and bring about the New Heavens and New Earth. The prophets saw in shadow what we see clearly thanks to the scriptures and work of Christ. The OT saints did not get or see the two advents of Christ and so the visions they often have God’s salvation about the “Last Days” they saw all of this happening at once as oppossed to in stages.

2. (Verses 2-3) What will God establish in the “Last Days” & what will happen with what God establishes? Does this sound famaliar to anything you see happening right now?

3. What’s so cool about what God is promising to do and what is happening now? Why would do this be so encouraging to the origianl audience?

4. (Verse 4) What is God promising to do in the Last Days? When do you think this will happen in the “last days”?

5. (Verse 5) What does it mean to “walk in the light of the Lord?”

The Text:

21 See how the faithful city has become a harlot! She once was full of justice; righteousness used to dwell in her — but now murderers! 22 Your silver has become dross, your choice wine is diluted with water. 23 Your rulers are rebels, companions of thieves; they all love bribes and chase after gifts. They do not defend the cause of the fatherless; the widow’s case does not come before them. 24 Therefore the Lord, the LORD Almighty, the Mighty One of Israel, declares: “Ah, I will get relief from my foes and avenge myself on my enemies. 25 I will turn my hand against you; I will thoroughly purge away your dross and remove all your impurities. 26 I will restore your judges as in days of old, your counselors as at the beginning. Afterward you will be called the City of Righteousness, the Faithful City.” 27 Zion will be redeemed with justice, her penitent ones with righteousness. 28 But rebels and sinners will both be broken, and those who forsake the LORD will perish. 29 “You will be ashamed because of the sacred oaks in which you have delighted; you will be disgraced because of the gardens that you have chosen. 30 You will be like an oak with fading leaves, like a garden without water. 31 The mighty man will become tinder and his work a spark; both will burn together, with no one to quench the fire.”

Questions for this Week:
(1) Look at God’s Lament in verses 21-23. They still have the feel and nature of accusations.
What is the current ethical and moral condition of Israel and its leaders (i.e. why is God lamenting?)?
Do you have any points of connection with Judah? Where are you watered down wine?

(2) Look at God’s promised judgment in veres 24-31.
What will God accomplish in this judgment?
How will he save/restore his people?
What’s scary about God’s purifying process in Isaish?
What is the New Covenant correlation we have in Christ?
What will God do with the unrepentant?
Especially the ones who participate in the fertility cult alluded to in verse 29?

(3) What did you not understand? What was unclear from the passage

Things to Remember (Review and Instruction):

(1) There is a cycle in the first six chapters of Isaiah that repeats itself three times. Each cycle goes from disaster to hope. We are in the first cycle.

(2) Here’s an out line for the first Cycle:
Modified Lawsuit against Judah (1:2-20)
Oracle of Judgment and Salvation (1:21-31)
Oracle of Salvation (2:1-5)

(3) We will be looking at the second part of the cycle this Sunday. It’s a real bridge between the lawsuit from God and the slavation Oracle.

(4) The Content/Logical Flow of throught for the each Cycle (Seeing the big picture helps) using only verses from the first cycle:

Judgment is coming against Judah
For Spiritual ignorance (1:3)
For Forasking & Despising God (1:4)
For Violence (1:15)
For Lawless rulers (1:23)
Judah will be judged and purified
Wicked will be destroyed
Desolation of the land (1:7)
No answer to prayers (1:15)
Devoured by sword (1:20)
Righteous will be saved
Purge dross (1:25)
Repentant are redeemed (1:27)
People walk with Lord (2:5)
There will be a Restoration (2:1; cf. Deut 4:30)
There will be a Remnant
Survivors (1:9)
Zion will be glorious
City of righteousness (1:26)
Faithful City (1:26)
Zion-Chief of the mountains (2:3)

(5) Remember Isaiah’s words to Judah were delivered shortly after God rescuded them from the Assyrian Army that had destroryed all their fields and fortified cities and were in the process of laying a seige on Jerusalem. The Book was written to demonstrate Isaiah’s credibility through his ministry during the Assyrian Judgment in order to confirm his threat of exile for Judah (the Babylonains were going to take them out) and his hope for a magnificent restoration of Israel and Judah after the punishment of exile. So what they did with his words would have a huge impact on all the details of the exile and restoration (time, severity, etc.). Read Jeremiah 18:1-18 for an explanation.

(6) Here’s an outline of the book:

1.1 Superscription
1.2–6.13 Message of Judah’s Judgment and Restoration
1.2-2.4 Judgment & Restoration to Righteousness and Justice
2.5-4.6 Judgment & Restoration on That Day
5.1-6.13 Judgment leading to Restoration
7.1-39.8 Response to Assyrian Judgment
7.1-12.6 The Syrian-Israelite Coalition
13.1-27.13 International Upheaval During the Assyrian Judgment
28.1-39.8 Sennacherib’s Invasion
40.1-66.24 Response to Babylonian Judgment
40.1-11 Isaiah’s Call to Proclaim Restoration
40.12-44.23 God’s Power to Restore His People
44.24-55.13 God’s Instruments of His Sure Salvation
56.1-66:24 Israel’s Sin, Repentance and Restoration

As some of you know, I started my Isaiah Series this past Sunday. If you missed it, it’s already up on the web site and itunes (Podcast).

I’ll be preaching on Isaiah 1:2-20 this coming Sunday.

There’s a grand cycle at play in Chapters 1-6 that repeats itself three times. I love the neat big picture stuff going on but I’ll never be able to help you see it unless I take my time through the first cycle in all its individual parts.

The passage for this Sunday is a modified lawsuit that God brings to Israel.

Bible Plug … Nathan Clendenin has the Bile you want for this series … The Spirit of the Reformation Study Bible (I know … the title is weak). Richard Pratt did the notes and all the other cool stuff for the Bible. It rocks. His introduction and special sections on Isaiah and the footnotes are the best thing you can get your hands on for the Prophets. I’m leaning heavily on his notes for this series … I have five other Commentaries I look at each week but they don’t hold a match to his stuff.

If you have the time, please look for all the parts to get ready:
Who is the prosecutor?
Who is asked to witness?
Who is the defendant?
Where is the questioning?
What is the response?
What are the accusations?
What is the sentencing?
How does God call them to repentance?
Is there an ultimatum or deal offered?
What does this passage reveal about God’s heart?
What did you not understand from your reading?
What stood out to you?
Anything convicting or frustrating?

The context for the document from Isaiah is that Judah is getting smaller and smaller and there on the brink of annihilation and have just been miraculously saved from the Assyrians. I think God might have their attention.

Here are four groupings of questions to help you to explore loving like Jesus:

1) What keeps you from counting the cost of loving people (family, friends, church family, neighbbors, co-workers, etc.)? What would it practically look like for you to meditate on loving people in your life and counting the cost of loving them?

2) Who are the friends that has God given you to solicit prayer support to love those whom God has given you to love? Have a conversation about how you would like to pray together and apart more purposely for God’s purposes in your life.

3) How can you connect with your heavenly father for fuel to love people in your life sacrificially, being fully ware of the cost? How can you grow in intimacy with your father? How can you submit more to his word? How can you be more honest and relentless? What wars will you have to fight in your heart using the gospel to do these things? Will you take on this battle?

4) What is the joy, the grace outcomes, on the otherside of your costly love for the people God has placed in your life? What will God do for you? Take time to meditate on these two questions.

Let’s go have some fun dieing for each other and our community knowing the power of God, the delight of GOd and a little bit of joy as well.

Notice on 1/21/07:
Worship services will be held as scheduled at 5:30pm.

Sermon Text:

(1) Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. (2) Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. (3) Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days. (4) Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. (5) You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. (6) You have condemned; you have murdered the righteous person. He does not resist you.

1. Who is James talking to in these verses? I think it’s wealthy Christians. What do you think?

2. How do you treat wealthy Christians? What emotions arise in your heart when you think of the wealthy? Contrast your heart with Jesus.

3. Verse 2&3 descrbes the sin of hoarding. The Bible leaves room for prudnet savings but what is James going after? What does earthly cushoning dull you to?

4. Verse 4 deals with the sin of fraud. What does not esacape the attention of God? What does God promise to do? How should that shape how we love the wealthy?

5. Verse 5 addresses the sin of indulgence. You don’t have to be wealthy to struggle with this sin. What do you loose sight of in this sin?

6. Look at the legal language of verse 6. Look at what godly Christians did back then. What are they a picture of?

7. Among a few other things, this passage is a call to really love the wealthy. What keeps you from moving towards the wealthy with Compassion?

The Passage:

Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.

This is a real fun passage to preach but sometimes a hard one to understand.

1) When God calls you to come near to him, what does that mean? How does God actually come near to you? What’s the promise here? How can this be the beginning of renewal for you?

2) What type of cleansing is he calling for when it comes to your actions, your heart and mind? Where does the power for this type of cleansing come from?

3) Why is the “mourning” and “gloom” a good thing for your soul? What does he want to happen in your heart? What is he specifically talking about? God’s all about you having real joy.

Here’s a more extended outline to help you dig into the sermon:

1) Satan loves to accuse you. His name means “Prosecutor” and he loves to do it “Day and Night” (Rev. 12:10). Whether its your heart, or Satan, the accusations come pretty regularly. It sounds like …
“You are such a fraud”
“A real Christian wouldn’t sin like …”
“You really think God forgives you for…”
“You wouldn’t keep struggling with this if …”
So what do the accusations sound like in your head? Be specific.

2) Accusation is a condemnation of the conscience. They are based on real or false standards of righteousness. To make matters worse our prideful conscience is already deeply oriented around works. This is how we feel good about ourselves. People under accusation are typically discouraged, guilt-ridden, condemned, full of doubt, and/or coldness. Underlying all of this is a very weak appreciation of God’s grace in Christ & Christ’s work on your behalf. Does any of this resonate with you? Talk about it with somebody.

3) What do you do? The Bible tells you to Resist which means contradict him vigorously, to oppose, refute & disprove him. If you do Satan will flee from you. Will you ask Jesus right now to help you to do this? And will you make a plan to do this well?

4) Device # 1
Satan wants you to think that your present sin is greater than Christ’s provision. He wants you to see the sin more than Christ. In your head it will sound like “my sins are too great for God to forgive me” At that moment the gospel is no longer near to you. You have forgotten the New power, new king, new righteousness you now have in Chtist. Here are three verses for you to use in you resistance:
Rom. 8:1 – “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus…”
Rom. 6:14 - For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but
under grace.
2Cor. 5:21 - God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might
become the righteousness of God

The Remedy:
• Don’t’ be lazy; no more excuse!
• Warm yourselves by God’s promises
• You are refusing to exercise faith! Something you choose to do!
• Call your sin and your lack of faith what it is …
• Humble yourself and connect to your crap

5) Device # 2
Satan reminds you of sins of your past. Especially things that can’t be undone. This sounds like “My sins are too great for God to forget.” The bible teaches us the opposite. Psalm 103:12 – “As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.”

Remedy:
• Repent of your need for your own righteousness. This is your great problem. Your need of a transcript, a track record to show God for his approval is distracting you from actually you enjoying his grace. You have to deal with your self-rightesouness and repent of wanting of a rightesouness of your won. If you don’t Satan will use it againt you. Rather you have a New Story it’s Christ’s. Learn to preach that story into your heart.
• Get support – You need others to champion your new story in Christ. Who’s reminding you of your new story? Who are you reminding of their new story in Christ?

6) Device # 3
Satan wants you to think that your present trials are punishment from God. This sounds like … “This would not be happening if I were straight with God” This is pure folly. James 1 reminds us that trials are stepping stones to glory. He uses our sins, others sins and the brokeness of this world to make you more like Christ. That’s why you can consider them pure joy. So God is showing you how much he loves you with trials.

Remedy:
• Why does God allow you to be vexed? Meditate on the reasons the scriptures give. It’s to Keep us humble and teachable. They help us to lean on Jesus and they teach us to love.

7) Device # 4
Satan wants you to think that your inner conflicts are evidence that you are not a legitimate Christian and God’s mad at you. This sounds like … “The evil desires I have would not be in the heart of a real Christian.” Rom. 7 and Gal. 5 teach us something different. Growing Christians know their heart and are engaged in battle. Inner conflicts is evidence of God’s work in your life.

Remedy:
There are plenty of things that are difficult in our lives. But to be continually discouraged is not a a good thing. This must not be your badhe of honor. The bible calls you to Repent of being discouraged. It displays your ignorance. Will you oppose your fickle heart and satan and be in command of the following things?
• Ignorance of God’s rich, free, full and everlasting love
• Ignorance of the power, glory and sufficiency of the cross
• Ignorance of worth, fullness, completeness of Christ’s righteousness
• Ignorance of real, close, spiritual, glorious, inseparable union between Christ and your soul.

8) Device # 5
Satan Convinces you that because you relapse often into the same sin you are not a real Christian and God’s mad at you. This sounds like … “If I were a real or good Christian, I would be over this now.”

Remedy:
• Remember that God loves repentant sinners
• Remember He never promises you will not fall again and again
• Look at how all the Biblical heroes relapse
• There is a difference between voluntary and involuntary relapse
• Discern the speaker to your heart
The Holy Spirit convicts and tells you go to Father for forgiveness
The Accuser says you can’t go to God

Have fun working this out with God’s People!

As Always, where did God show up for you in the sermon? Have you followed through on what he is teaching you?

1. How are you with dealing with Temptation?
a. Do you watch your heart and know what sins and temptations you are entertaining?
b. What sins have lost their repulsiveness to you?
c. Have you learned to argue with your sins and temptations? Will you start today?
d. When sins begin to threaten you, will you run to others for help?

2. Which devices of Satan seem to get you the most? What are you going to do about it?
Bait and Hook
Rationalize
Minimize
Sins of Christian Leaders
Seeing only God’s mercy not holiness
Seeing how the ungodly prosper
Overconfidence against sin
Compare yourselves to others
Persuade you that repentance is easy

3. Will you adopt a game plan to resist Satan?
a. Will you know your heart and journal about your temptations? Will you explore what
you entertain and argue with and what threatens you? Will you give God credit when
you do well and ask for help where you fail?
b. Will you get regular prayer and encouragement? Why won’t you let people in?
Why are people on the outside of you heart? Why won’t you invite people into your
life to be great? How might you beign this process and who will you start with? Who
do you want to help to be great? This is a good time to get started!
c. Jesus answered every temptation with scripture. His mastery of the Word allowed
him to expose every lie with truth. Why do you allow yourself to be full of excuses
when it comes to God’s word? Why do you allow yourself to be biblically illiterate?
Will you begin to mine God’s word for promises and truths to stand up against
Satan’s devices?
d. Will you remember the gospel? Will you force yourself to stand in the light of what is
true about you and Jesus? Will you allow yourself to delight in God’s promises to
you?
e. Will you be great for the kingdom? The key is to stop thinking of yourself? Who
will you being to think about? Who will you live to see be great?