Sacred Purposes

First week at Home

2011-06-14T07:49:00.000-07:00

Getting braver with Jack

I'm trying to post more pics on Jon's blog so that he can see them...Jon doesn't have access to Facebook or email attachments right now. We're having some sleep issues, but overall, the first week has been really good.

Making cookies with Joel while Joshua cleans up

Princess play dress over pajamas...she discovered she can twirl in it!

My Daughter's Voice

2011-06-04T22:51:00.000-07:00

Being on deployment can be a very difficult thing, especally when your daughter is coming home for the very first time! I'm not the first to miss this experience, but it is still very difficult.

Last night, (it was very late my time) I called Joshua to find out what time they would be arriving in Portland at the airport. He told me (very very late my time) and I told him that I would be calling when I knew they were on the ground. I called and talked to Janice for a couple minutes and then she said "Would you like to speak to your daughter?"

"Of course I would!" I said. Then, for the first time in my life (other than hearing her laugh on a video) I heard my daughter's voice!!! In the middle of the night, in the middle of the ocean, I was able to hear the voice of my daughter! What an amazing, glorious moment! I was so happy. I told her "Seh-lahm, Eh-Nay ah-BAH-tish negn" which I hope is Amharic for "Hello, I am your Daddy." Then I said this: "Eh-wuh-dih-SHAL-loh." which means "I love you." She said to me: "Eh-wuh-dih-SHAL-loh." I absolutely lost it!!!

It's 5 hours later, I have slept since then, and I am still smiling! Praise God!

Adoption Sermon on the USS Enterprise

2011-06-03T01:51:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday night was the night Janice and Justin flew from Maine to Ethiopia to bring Netsanet home forever. I was thinking about that all week, and God laid it on my heart to do a sermon based on the theme of Adoption. I preached out of Eph 1: 1-6 as my text and the following is an outline of what I said:

There are 7 truths about my daughter that are also true of every single person who has every believed the Gospel and been adopted into God's family.

1 My daughter was loved and chosen by me (Janice and me) before she knew I (we) existed.

We chose her before she knew we existed - before she even knew she needed a family!
Eph 1:4 says we were "chosen in Him before the foundation of the world."
Piper said:

"Before the creation of the world and before we existed, God looked on us in our need, and He looked upon His Son crucified and risen as the all sufficient atonement for our sin, and because of that, He chose us to be holy and blameless."

So our adoption is not based on our fitness, our worth, or our intelligence. Puritan Thomas Watson said this:
"We have enough in us to move God to correct us, but nothing to move Him to adopt us, therefore exalt free grace, begin the work of angels here; bless Him with your praises who hath blessed you in making you His sons and daughters."

2 My daughter was given good news that she was being brought into a family

I don't know, probably never will know what it was like for her to be placed into an orphanage - did she understand what was happening to her? Probably not. Did she understand when someone from the adoption agency told her that she was being brought into our family? Maybe a little, I'll probably never know....but I do know and remember distinctly that day when someone told me the good news that I was being brought into a family - God's family through Jesus Christ by faith in His finished work on the cross! That day I was told that I was an adopted son - adopted by God the Father through Jesus according to the purpose of His will!

3 My daughter received a letter from her father, promising to bring her out of an orphanage and into his home that was being prepared for her !

As soon as we could, we put together a letter to send to Netsanet. The letter told her she was loved, that we were her new family and that one day soon, we were coming to bring her to her new home.

In the same way, if you are a child of God, He has written you a letter, telling you that you are loved - Jeremiah 31:3 "I have loved you with an everlasting love."

Just like the letter we wrote to our daughter told her that we were coming soon to take her home, God's letter, the Scriptures tell us that our Father is coming soon to take us home!

4 She became part of my family before she ever met me face to face.

Without her knowing it - she wouldn't understand the paperwork part anyway, she became part of our family on April 11th, 2011. She had met my wife face to face, she had seen a video that I recorded for her, but I to this day still have not seen her face to face. She is my daughter, I am her father - but we've never actually seen each other. I love her, I long to see her, to hold her in my arms - and when I do, the promise I made to her that I would be her Daddy, and the longing I have to actually "BE" her Father will become a reality. Being able to hold her will make it more real to both of us!

Right now, she has not yet experienced the joy of her father, but she will! I've imagined it a thousand times - that day when I will get back to Maine to see my family - and I can see my daughter for the first time...It will be an amazing moment - there may be tears in my eyes, but my heart will be full of JOY!

You and I don't completely understand this, but at the moment of our conversion, a legal transaction was made - the righteousness of Christ was credited (imputed) to our account - and before God we were legally declared to be righteous.

We are not righteous yet, but we will be the day that we look upon His face - when we enter into His presence and see our Saviour face to face, we will be what He has declared us to be - righteous and holy and blameless. He will actually "BE" our Heavenly Father in a new way that is more real than we can experience now.

Luke 15:10 says this:
"Just so, I tell you there is JOY before the angels of God over one sinner who repents."

Whose joy? The angels? That's how I've heard it preached many times, but no, it's not the angel's joy, it's God's joy - notice it says there is joy BEFORE the angels...who is before the angels? God is!!

God rejoices over us when we become part of His family!
Zephaniah 3:17 says:
"The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness; He will quiet you by His love; He will exult over you with loud singing."

Eph 1:5-6 says:
"He predestined us for adoption through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of His will, to the praise of His glorious grace."

The goal of your adoption is that the glory of God's grace would be praised.

Piper: "We are adopted 'to the praise of the glory of His grace.' It will take an eternity for the glory of that grace to be fully displayed. Therefore, we will be increasingly happy in God forever and ever. This is the final meaning of adoption."

5 My daughter recieved gifts from me (us), to show her that she is loved and as a reminder of the promises I (we) made to her.

We mailed several "care packages" - each one had pictures and photos, letters from us as well as clothes and toys and treats. We gave her these gifts because we love her and want to give her things, but also, because we were not able to be there physically with her - and we wanted to remind her of the promises we made to her.

That's what God does for His adopted children - He gives us good gifts that are a reminder of the promises He has made to us!

Eph 1:13-14
"In Him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in Him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of His glory."
(See also Eph 4:8)

6 She had a place prepared for her in her father's house.

My boys have given up a lot for this adoption. They have done it willingly and with a loving and caring heart. My 13 year old son, Joel gave up his bedroom! We converted it from a boys room to a room for a little girl. We bought a bed and bedroom furniture - little girl sheets and blankets and all the stuff a little girl would enjoy (actually her mother did most of this!!)

Just like Janice, Joshua, Justin, Joel and I have prepared a place for Jenny, our Elder Brother - Jesus and our Father have prepared a place for us in heaven.

John 14:
"In my Father's house are many rooms, if it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to Myself, that where I am, you may be also."

7 My daughter is an heir of her father, a joint heir with her brothers

She is already on my Page 2, when I update my will, she will be on there also.
Whatever inhertance my wife and I leave, as meager as it may be, she will share with her brothers.

You and I as believers will inherit all the promises of God to Jesus - He is the One who inherits all the promises made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob - Psalm 2:8:
"The nations your heritage, and the ends of the Earth your possession."

Galatians 4:4-7 says this: , “ But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father.” Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.”

The Apostle Paul was inspired by the Holy Spirit to use the language of adoption in his writings on the doctrine of salvation.

In Paul’s day, adoption was an important feature of the Roman world. It meant that someone important had set his love upon you and adopted you to be his son, his heir.

Paul has in mind a legal change of status: if you believe in Jesus, God has bestowed upon you the status of son of the Most High God.

Notice this is not translated sons and daughters.

Janice Settlemoir, my lovely wife said this:

As a side note, don’t get offended or tripped up here being called a son. The Greek word for “sons” huioi is a legal term used in the adoption and inheritance laws of first-century Rome.

Because of the cultural analogy that Paul is using (that is a slave in the household being adopted as a son) being called a son here bumps up the women… In the culture of the time, the adoption of daughters did not have the same legal rights as the adoption of sons.

If Paul had said the adoption of sons and daughters, the text would not have nearly the impact for the women in the church of his culture. An adopted son had rights and standing in that culture than an adopted daughter would not have had. So, when Paul refers to all believers as adopted sons, he is upping the rights and privileges for the women in the church of his time.

Dan Cruver, director of Together for Adoption, puts it like this,

“God is an adoptive Father. Jesus, our Elder Brother, is God the Father’s eternal, only-begotten, natural Son. We believers are His sons through adoption. This identity is fundamental to who we are.

As adopted son, we enjoy all the rights and privileges of the relationship that God the Father enjoys with His eternal Son. To be God’s sons through adoption means that we are co-heirs with Jesus.

This is an amazing reality and eternal privilege! We will forever be God’s sons through the miracle of adoption.

Theologian J. I. Packer says, “In adoption, God takes us into his family and fellowship – He establishes us as his children and heirs. Closeness, affection and generosity are at the heart of the relationship. To be right with God the Judge is a great thing, but to be loved and cared for by God the Father is greater!”

And we cry out, Abba Father…

Hebrew adults as well as children addressed their fathers as Abba so it’s not a baby word “Da da”… Don’t make Abba Father into a cutesy thing…It’s a cry for help, for deliverance.

Dr. Russell Moore (dean of theology at Southern Seminary) says the Abba cry in the context of Scripture is not infantile cooing. It’s less the sound of a baby giggling and more the sound of a child screaming “Daddy, Help.”

Because even though we know we are His adopted children, we’re still living in the orphanage…this corrupt, decaying world. This is not our real home. We are still awaiting the full realization of our adoption.

Romans 8:23 says, “And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.”

And, when we look around us, we see that this world shouldn’t be this way. 113 people killed, 200 still missing this last week in the earthquake in New Zealand. From Romans 8:22, We know that the whole creation groans…

We cry out, Abba Father,Deliver us from this world.

There are 143 million orphaned children in this world. And, God’s Spirit within us cries out – this is wrong, this is what sin has done. Abba Father, Deliver us, Help us.

I want to tell you a little bit about Ethiopia:

The average income (converted to dollars) is a $100 a year. Almost 82% of the population lives on less than $1 a day.

In the United States the doctor to patient ratio is 1 to 390; Ethiopia's is 1 to 33,500

Half of the children in Ethiopia will never attend school

60% of children suffer from severe malnutrition

One in ten children die before their first birthday

One in six children die before their fifth birthday

4 and ½ million orphans in Ethiopia

1 My daughter was loved and chosen by me (Janice and me) before she knew I (we) existed

2 My daughter was given good news that she was being brought into a family
3 My daughter received a letter from her father, promising to bring her out of an orphanage and into his home that was being prepared for her !
4 She became part of my family before she ever met me face to face.
5 My daughter recieved gifts from me (us), to show her that she is loved and as a reminder of the promises I (we) made to her.
6 She had a place prepared for her in her father's house
7 My daughter is an heir of her father, a joint heir with her brothers

One more thing and we are done,

My daughter is a beautiful, sweet child – it’s not hard to fall in love with a little 4 year old with big brown eyes, her hair all fixed up, in a pretty white dress….

That’s not what God did…..

We . . . were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. (Ephesians 2:3)

God did not find us irresistibly cute. He found us ugly and evil and rebellious. We were not attractive. We would not be easy children to deal with. And, what’s worse, God himself was angry with us. He hates sin and rebellion. We were then doubly “children of wrath.”

These are the ones God pursued in adoption. Therefore, all of God’s adoptions crossed a greater moral and cultural divide than my adoption could.

The distance between what we are, and what God is, is infinitely greater than any distance between me and my daughter.

God crossed the greatest cultural barrier to redeem and adopt us.

Let me close with this verse from John 1:12-13

“But to all who did receive Him, who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God, who were born not o f blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”

Memorial Day - Words of Encouragement

2011-05-29T21:57:00.001-07:00

Happy Memorial Day!

Deployments take a toll on everyone, military members as well as families and loved ones. Being away from our familiar surroundings and the ones we love is a difficult but necessary sacrifice for freedom and the calling God has entrusted to each of us.

These deployments, combat and separation are just a way of life for Sailors and Marines. While we here aboard Enterprise follow in the footsteps of great men and women who have served this nation wearing the uniform, our families are just as bravely taking care of matters at home and faithfully awaiting our return from the fight. As a husband and a father of four (three before the deployment!), I cannot begin to express my deepest admiration and respect for my wife and children’s sacrifice and devotion to this cause.

Personally, being aboard this ship during combat operations brings alive the memories and the sacrifices of those warriors who have gone before us. We must remember their honor, courage, and commitment to this nation, and the cause of freedom. One such man who exhibited our core values was Andrew Hines Jr. Hines Jr. was a B-17 navigator for the US Army Air Corps in World War II. He flew several missions out of Foggia air base in Italy, including raids over Belgrade, but he was eventually shot down and spent the remainder of the war in a German prison camp. He was eventually liberated by Patton’s Third Army. Many years later, he captured in a poem the experience of what it was like for him to be a warrior. This poem is called “The Somme, 1914-1918”:

We drove across the Somme today

Where war’s flail once struck hard

And all was peaceful and serene

But graves stood as on guard.

The endless rows of sugar beets

Bespoke a fertile earth

But richer dust is buried here

Beneath the dark green turf.

And battles sometimes futile seem

Not worth the heavy cost

But each must stand in his own time

Or see his freedom lost.

I love those last two lines! This is our time. We must follow in the footsteps of brave warriors like Andrew Hines and fulfill the calling God has placed on our lives. The Divine Creator is the One who has chosen this particular time and this specific place in which we were brought into the world. We are here for a purpose, each one of us. Our role is to fulfill that calling, to join in a long list of those who have gone before us.

When the sword is passed to the next generation of warriors and their families, our legacy will be what sustains them for the trials and the battles they will face. In the words of Scripture, let us be:
“strong and very courageous, for the Lord [our]God will be with [us]wherever we go.” – Joshua 1:9

Christ is better than a smooth adoption process

2011-05-27T05:48:00.000-07:00

I've struggled this week with the temptation of being angry and resentful of new paperwork hassles. I have felt like our agency should have kept us in the loop better. Two days before leaving for Ethiopia and I still have forms to fill out and have not heard yet if more federal forms will need to be signed by Jon (and whether the embassy will accept scanned copies from Jon since he can't get mail to us in time). But, I've also had to prepare a talk for Saturday, and the Lord has reminded me again that Christ is all! He's better than a smooth adoption process; He's better than the comfort I would have if Jon were home. Writing “The Surpassing Worth of Knowing Christ” is easier than walking through it. But, writing it has reminded me again of the treasure of our Lord.

"The Surpassing Worth of Knowing Christ"

A few weeks ago when the terrible tsunami hit Japan, Marie and I were talking about that, and I shared with her that my mother was Japanese and I have family in Japan, but they have not wanted to stay in touch with me or my sister since my mother passed away. My mother met my father while he was stationed in Japan during the Vietnam conflict. She became a Christian, and they married and she moved to the United States which did not make her family happy at all. They kept in touch with her, but they did not approve of her faith or her marriage to an American soldier. It was a strained relationship. Anyway, when Marie later asked me to speak at this month’s breakfast, she said she hoped I would say something about the example of my mother. My mother had a very intimate relationship with the Lord. In thinking about her and my own desire to know Christ and have an intimate relationship with Him, to treasure Him above all other relationships, I was reminded of Philippians 3:8 (ESV), “Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ.”

V. 7, whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. – What was the gain he had? To understand what Paul considered now to be rubbish, we need to back up and look at the beginning of Philippians 3.

Let’s read Philippians 3:1-11.

In chapter 3, Paul is giving the church at Philipi a warning (notice verse 1, for me to write the same things to you is not tedious, but for you it is safe…it is for their safety – for their protection against false teachers) …to “look out for the dogs” He’s referring to the Judaizers who insisted Christians had to obey all the ceremonial law of the Old Covenant. They are evildoers –not that the Law was evil, of course not, it was holy and good, but the evil here is that the Judaizers were turning people away from trusting in the perfect work of Christ and teaching that the Law (which Christ has fulfilled) had to be followed.

Do you see what a big deal this was to Paul? Not just..well, they have it wrong. You don’t have to add anything to the gospel. But, they are dogs, evil doers… because they were distorting the truth of the gospel. Salvation is by grace through faith in Christ alone. The churches of Galatia were also being troubled by Judaizers. Paul inspired by the Holy Spirit in writing the Word of God says in Galatians 1:7-9, “.. but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed. (i.e. that is anathema…assigned to hell)

Dr. John MacArthur puts it this way, “the Judaizers prided themselves on being workers of righteousness. Yet Paul described their works as evil, since any attempt to please God by one’s own efforts and draw attention away from Christ’s accomplished redemption is the worst kind of wickedness.”

Notice Paul’s irony here…He says they mutilate the flesh (the Judaizers said that Christians had to be circumcised), but true believers are the circumcision and they worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh. John Calvin said “everything that is outside of Christ” is of the flesh.

Paul says if anyone has reason to put confidence in the flesh it is him. If you want to talk circumcision, he was circumcised on the 8^th day. In other words, his circumcision was done exactly according to the law. But, he’s not putting his confidence in that. He also tells them that he is of Israel (he’s not a Gentile) not only an Israelite, but from the very noble tribe of Benjamin (remember Benjamin was Jacob’s son by Rachel, the favorite wife, Benjamin the beloved baby …). The tribe of Benjamin was known for their courage as soldiers. When Israel went into battle, the soldiers from the tribe of Benjamin were on the front line. When the territory of the Promised Land was divided up, the tribe of Benjamin was given land that included the holy city of Jerusalem. So, Paul comes from a very distinguished tribe.

He also says he is a Hebrew of the Hebrews, that is, he was born to Hebrew parents who kept the traditions and Hebrew language even while surrounded by a pagan culture.

He was a Pharisee… a member of the strictest sect within the Jewish religion of his day. He was a prominent man, in Acts 22, Paul tells us that he was brought up in Jerusalem he says at the feet of Gamaliel , who was the most celebrated rabbi of that day. So, Paul was a leading Pharisee. He would have been admired by his contemporaries. (And, don’t we just love admiration? We want people to think well of us.)

Concerning zeal…you see, zeal was considered the highest religious virtue a Jew could have…it combined love and hate. He loved Judaism so much that he hated “the Way” (i.e. Christianity) which he believed was an enemy to Judaism and he did everything he could to stop it including persecuting the church. So, Paul gives us his resume here of who he was (his lineage and religious background and education) and what he did and he says.

None of these makes me, Paul, of the circumcision”. What is being of the circumcision? Physical circumcision in the Old Testament was a sign that the Israelites were part of the covenant that God established with His people. When Paul says in the New Testament, we who are the circumcision, he is saying, we are in God’s family now under the new covenant.

To come at this from our perspective, we might say, I was born in the United State of America – a so-called Christian nation, not only that, but I was born in a Christian family, I cut my teeth on the back of the church pew. My family has been church members for generations, etc. I’ve always been Southern Baptist, etc. Those things might be counted as gain in the eyes of some, but the apostle Paul would tell you…I glory in Christ Jesus…I put no confidence in who I am or what I have done…all that is loss. No amount of prestige puts you in the circumcision. Paul uses business/accounting terms here...what I had in the gain column, just draw a line through that…count that as loss for the sake of Christ.

Then as he thinks about this (look at v.8) He wants to emphasize..this was not something he just did at salvation. The verb tense shifts to a present, ongoing state…Indeed…I count everything as loss---any comfort I have in this world---LOSS! because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ. Christ is all! Knowing Him is worth far more than anything else.

Look at verse 9 – Paul says he wants the righteousness from God that depends on faith in Christ. What does Hebrews 11:6 tell us? …without faith it is impossible to please Him (that is God), for whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek him. And, what is the reward? We get Christ….the surpassing worth of knowing Him!

Does Paul’s language of counting all as loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ remind you of any of the parables? Listen to Jesus’ words in Matthew 13 (verse 44 ), “the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field”…The supreme value of that treasure is worth far more than any sacrifice the man could make to acquire it so he sells all he has.

Verse 45, “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.”

Kingdom of heaven – is the realm of salvation over which God rules– so you could say having a relationship with our Savior is the treasure, Christ is the pearl of great price.

The greatness, the worth of knowing Christ – not just intellectually knowing of Him, but to know Him “experientially.” 1 John 5:20, the apostle John writes, “And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal l life.” It’s not just knowing of Him, but being in Him.

That’s what Paul wanted. That’s what I want. To be in Him, to experientially know the surpassing worth of Christ. Everything else can be counted as loss..

Counting all as loss…was it just a perceived loss on Paul’s part (willing to give up) or actual loss? Paul experienced great physical suffering (lashed by the Jews 5 times, beaten with rods, stoned, shipwrecked, he says in perils of robbers, of Gentiles, of Jews, of the wilderness, in the sea, sleeplessness, hunger, cold, etc.) and on top of that, the concerns and problems in the churches. Was God not good to Paul? Paul thought he was...he counted all as loss for Christ.

The psalmist writes in Psalm 84:11, “For the LORD God is a sun and shield (He's protection and provision); The LORD will give grace and glory; No good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly.”

If it’s good for us, God will give it to us. He always always does what is good for us. We really don’t believe that. If we did, we would sin less knowing what He offers is of greater value, more satisfying, will bring more joy into our lives.

We need to have that ingrained into our minds and hearts so that when (not if, but when) the suffering comes, we can rest in the truth that Christ is better.

When you are called to give up something for the sake of Christ, you can go through that gladly and with joy knowing that Christ is better. He’s better than a good reputation; He’s better than being understood (be willing to be misunderstood); He‘s better than a good marriage or your friendships, He’s better than the safety and security of the American dream.

What do we gain? The knowledge of Christ and the righteousness of Christ. Verse 9, "And may be found in Him not having a righteousness of my own derived from the law but that which is through faith in Christ the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith." Paul had spent his whole life before conversion trying to gain a righteousness of his own derived from the law. Paul writes in Romans 3:20, “by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight.” But now he has the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, and we also if we believe.

What else did Paul gain?

the power of Jesus Christ verse 10, The power of His resurrection

There was no power in the law to overcome sin. There was no real power for spiritual service in the flesh. In His resurrection Christ demonstrated his power over the physical and spiritual world.

What did Paul gain? Look at Ephesians 3:20, “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, “.In Christ, there's power over sin, there's power over temptation, there's power for service, power for witness, power to endure trials. That's why Paul could count it all loss for the power that's in Christ.

Paul also gained fellowship with Jesus. V. 10 “The fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death.” He had already been conformed to His death in the saving sense that when he believed in Christ he was buried with Him in baptism. Here Paul is talking about Not a saving union with Christ in His death and resurrection, but a fellowship, a partnership, of suffering. One of the things I gain in Christ is somebody to fellowship with when I suffer. I receive a companion in my suffering. The deepest moments intimacy with Christ are during times of intense suffering, aren’t they?

And, we also gain the glory of Jesus Christ…the resurrection from the dead.. The phrase literally means “the resurrection out from the corpses.” He’s talking about the resurrection that accompanies the rapture of the church that moment when the dead in Christ rise and those that are alive are caught up together to meet them in the air to meet the Lord. (1 Thessalonians 4 and I Corinthians 15)

Jesus asked (Mark 8:37) What will a man give in exchange for his soul?

How would Paul answer that? Paul would say, “everything.” Because Christ is worth more than all…

Lord, we want to know You better, we want to go deeper with You. Please come and make Yourself so real to us that we see the infinite value of You. The only way we can count all as loss is if You allow us to experience, to delight in the beautiful, priceless treasure You are.

Homecoming!

2011-05-22T23:46:00.000-07:00

We received an appointment with the Embassy for June 2nd ! That means that after that appointment, Janice can bring Jenny home. She and Justin will travel this coming Sunday, have the appointment on Thursday, and bring Jenny home on Friday!

I am so excited that we are at the end of this part of our adoption; the separation and the waiting will very soon be over and we will have our daughter home.   Our boys have been so patient and helpful and encouraging - I am so proud of them for the way they have embraced the idea of a new sister. I know they will be excellent big brothers - she is going to be very well protected.

For Janice, had we known at the beginning of this process that she would be making two trips to Ethiopia without me and finishing up this adoption without me being there to help - we probably would have never started...sometimes God keeps information from us for our own good!   And so here we are, two weeks away from seeing the fulfillment a God-given vision.

To everyone who has prayed, given, and encouraged us through this process, we are so grateful! You are a big part in what God has done for our family. Thank you so much for loving us - thank you for loving our daughter!

Submitted to Embassy

2011-05-12T05:36:00.000-07:00

Due to some document regulation changes that just occurred, I was very concerned that we would have to wait two or more weeks for our case to be submitted to the U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa. However, after overnighting our stuff (thank you UPS) last Thursday to another America World adopting family who live in Texas, our documents were hand delivered to our agency's in-country staff by this family when they traveled last Friday to bring their baby home. Yesterday, we finally received the much awaited email from America World that our paperwork has been submitted to the U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa! We are so grateful to the Lord for bringing our family to this point.
The embassy will either issue us a visa appointment within the next couple of weeks or open an "orphan investigation." Of course, we are hoping and praying for the visa appointment! When that is given, Justin and Janice will fly to Ethiopia and bring Jenny Netsanet home to Maine! (I'm also praying that Justin will keep up with his schoolwork and that this trip will not hurt him academically. He has semester tests coming up in June so I'm hoping we will be back from Ethiopia in time for the review sessions.)
Jenny is recovering from chicken pox and impetigo. I know there will be big adjustments for everyone, but I'm so eager to get her home so that I can really "mother" her.
Blessings, Janice

2011-05-10T23:20:00.001-07:00

An Egyptian librarian once heard that the sun could be seen shining at the bottom of a well in the town of Syene on the longest day of the year. He surmised that to make a reflection in a well, the sun had to be directly overhead on that day. And a sun directly overhead would cast no shadows from upright columns or posts. Yet on the longest day of the year in the city of Alexandria, where he lived, he observed that straight columns did cast shadows.
He decided to travel the 800 kilometers to Syene himself to verify that what he had heard was true. At midday on the longest day of the year, he looked into the well and saw the sun reflected. And sure enough, the posts in Syene cast no shadows. He reflected on that. After a while, he began to see a bigger picture of what these seemingly unconnected facts meant. Surprisingly, it went against what nearly everyone believed at the time. You see, the librarian’s name was Eratosthenes, and he lived more than 2,200 years ago.
As the director of the greatest library in the world (the library of Alexandria in Egypt was said to possess hundreds of thousands of scrolls), Eratosthenes was at the intellectual capital of the world for his time. In the third century B.C., nearly every scholar in Alexandria and around the world believed that the earth was flat. But Eratosthenes reasoned that if the sun’s light came down straight and the earth was flat, then there would be no shadows in both Alexandria and Syene. If there were shadows in one location but not the other, then there could be only one logical explanation. The surface of the earth must be curved. In other words, the world must be a sphere.
That’s a pretty impressive mental leap, although it seems perfectly logical to us today. After all, we’ve seen pictures of our planet from space. But Eratosthenes made that big-picture connection by using everyday facts and putting them together. What’s even more impressive is that he took it a step further. He actually calculated the size of the earth! Using basic trigonometry, he measured the angle of the shadows and calculated that it was approximately 7.12 degrees. That’s about 1/50th of a circle. And he reasoned that if the distance between Syene (modern-day Aswan) and Alexandria was 800 kilometers, then the earth must be around 40,000 kilometers in circumference (50 x 800 kilometers). He wasn’t far off; the actual circumference of the earth through the poles is 40,008 kilometers. Not bad for a guy who had nothing but his brain and a big-picture mindset to figure the whole thing out!
In the actions of Eratosthenes, you can see the truth of a statement made many centuries later by German statesman Konrad Adenauer: “We all live under the same sky, but we don’t all have the same horizon.” If you desire to seize new opportunities and open new horizons, try expanding your horizon and look for the “big picture!”

Thanks for what you’re doing!

Chaps Settlemoir

Word of Encouragement 3

2011-05-07T09:20:00.000-07:00

A Word of Encouragement

Good Morning,

July 9, 1755.

The American Indian chief looked scornfully at the soldiers on the field
before him. How foolish to fight as they did, forming battle lines out
in the open, standing shoulder to shoulder in their bright red uniforms.
The Indian braves fired from under the safe cover of the forest, yet the
British soldiers never broke rank. The slaughter at the Monongahela
River continued for 2 hours. By then, 1000 British soldiers were killed
or wounded, while only 30 French and Indian warriors were injured.

Not only were the soldiers foolish, but their officers were just as bad.
Riding on horseback, fully exposed above the men on the ground, they
made perfect targets. One by one the chief's marksmen shot the mounted
British officers until only one remained. Twice this officer's horse
was shot out from under him; he just grabbed another horse left idle
when a fellow officer had been shot off it and kept going. Ten, twelve,
thirteen rounds were fired by the sharpshooters, yet he still remained
unharmed.

The native officers couldn't believe it. Their rifles seldom missed
their mark. The chief came to a realization that a might power was
shielding this man. He commanded his men to stop firing at him and
said: "This man is under the protection of the Great Spirit...this man
was not born to be killed by a bullet."

Later that evening, this British officer noticed several bullet holes in
his uniform, yet he was unharmed. A few days later he wrote in a letter
to his brother:

"By the all-powerful dispensations of Providence I have been
protected beyond all human probability or expectation; for I had four
bullets through my coat, and two horses shot under me yet escaped
unhurt, although death was leveling my companions on every side of me."

Years later, that same British Officer went back to those same
Pennsylvania woods. That same Chief who had fought against this man
heard he was in the region and came a long way to see him. In a face to
face council, the Chief said:

"Listen! [You] will become the chief of nations, and a people
yet unborn will hail [you] as the founder of a mighty empire. I am come
to pay homage to the man who is the particular favorite of Heaven, and
who can never die in battle."

The battle on the Monongahela, part of the French and Indian war, was
fought on July 9, 1755 near Fort Duquesne, now the city of Pittsburgh.
The twenty-three year old officer went on to become the commander in
chief of the Continental Army and the first President of the United
States. In all the years that followed in his long career, this man,
George Washington was never once wounded in Battle.

Just like George Washington, God has a plan for your life too. You may
not be bulletproof (even if you think you are!!) but you are definitely
in the hands of the Almighty God. You can trust in Him.

Psalm 91:7 - Though a thousand fall at your side, though ten thousand
are dying around you these evils will not touch you.

Thanks for what you are doing,

Chaps Settlemoir

Words of Encouragement # 2

2011-05-06T01:13:00.001-07:00

Today’s thought comes from the writings of a scholar by the name of William Barclay:

“One of the highest human duties is the duty of encouragement…It is easy to laugh at men’s ideals; it is easy to pour cold water on their enthusiasm; it is easy to discourage others. The world is full of discouragers. Many a time a word of praise or thanks or appreciation or cheer has kept such a man on his feet. Blessed is the man who speaks such a word.”

Make a point today to look someone in the eye, smile and genuinely encourage them. Is that an easy thing to do? No, it takes courage and a belief in yourself to reach out to others with an encouraging word. Is it needed? Absolutely! Mark Twain once wrote that he could go a whole month on a good compliment. I promise you that someone you will talk to today is down; maybe they are tired of being on this deployment or had a bad day on the job or a difficult issue back at home. Maybe that person is you. Wouldn’t it make your day better if someone came along and just told you that you were appreciated?

Encourage someone today. You’ll be surprised at how good it makes you feel too!

“Oil and perfume make the heart glad, so a man’s counsel is sweet to his friend.” - Proverbs 27:9

BTW, I really do appreciate what you are doing!!!

Words of Encouragement

2011-05-06T01:09:00.000-07:00

I decided to try some blogging from out at sea. If you don't know, I am currently deployed somewhere amidst the vast oceans of our world on an Aircraft Carrier. Every morning for the past few weeks, and continuing on (hopefully) till I get home to see my beautiful wife and wonderful sons and my sweet sweet daughter (who will be home by then), I have been sending the crew onboard a daily email. I thought I would go ahead and post those to this blog for your enjoyment or ridicule. So here's the first one:

I’m starting something new today; a word of encouragement to help you get through your day. I hope to send these out on a regular basis. Feel free to respond with any feedback:

Today’s word comes from the book “Uncommon” by Tony Dungy. Writing about character he says:

“Character is tested, revealed, and further developed by the decisions we make in the most challenging times. We have to know what is right, and we have to choose to do it. That is how character is developed-by facing those decisions and choosing the right way over and over…Outwardly character reflects an inner life committed to honor and uncompromising integrity. Character is a blend of inner courage, wisdom, and a sense of duty to yourself, to others, and to something greater than yourself.”

You’ve probably all heard the description of integrity as “Who you are when nobody’s looking” – I think that’s a pretty good definition. Coach Dungy’s definition of character reminds me of our Navy Core Values – every one of us understands very well the sense of duty to ourselves, to others (family, shipmates, etc) and to something greater than ourselves. Today, let’s demonstrate and model that kind of character, and then let’s do it again tomorrow.

Thanks for what you are doing! God bless!

Chaps Settlemoir

Waiting on Embassy

2011-05-05T06:04:00.000-07:00

This is Janice (Jon's still out to sea...). Just wanted to update everyone on where we are in our adoption journey. I spent a crazy day yesterday trying to get documents ready that the U.S. embassy in Addis wants. I overnighted them to a wonderful family in Texas that this traveling to Ethiopia tomorrow (Friday) to pick up their baby girl. This family will hand deliver our documents to our agency's in-country staff. We are hoping that all of our paperwork will be submitted to the U.S. embassy very soon!! Once the embassy gets everything, we will wait another two weeks?? for them to process it all. We appreciate everyone's prayers on behalf of our family and especially our daughter (Jenevieve Netsanet). Right now, she has chicken pox and impetigo! poor baby...wish I could be there to take care of her. Thank you all again for your wonderful support.

"Joy of the Cross," Session 3 - Looking Unto Jesus

2011-04-16T14:50:00.001-07:00

“Joy of the Cross,” Session 3 – Looking unto Jesus,

We are surrounded by these witnesses, but our focus is not on people is it? We learn from their examples (and not just Old Testament examples – Hebrews 13:7, “Remember those who rule over you, who have spoken the word of God to you, whose faith follow, considering the outcome of their conduct.)But, where do we set our eyes? – When we are running, we have to have our focus somewhere – you don’t look at yourself when you run, you’ll start weaving off the path or bump into things. And the writer of Hebrews tells us the key to living by faith, and that is keeping our spiritual eyes trained on the author and finisher of our faith. So let’s look more closely at Jesus.

PRAY: Dear Father, my desire is that Your Son would be lifted up. I pray that You would help me to only speak truth about Him. Lord, I ask that Your Spirit would come and help us to see You more clearly and cause us to love You and trust You and obey You. In Your Holy Name, I ask these things.

Would you please follow along in your Bible as I read Hebrews 12:2, “looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

In this verse, the word author in Greek is archegos (ar-kay-ghos). It means the chief leader, prince, or one that takes the lead in anything and thus affords an example, a predecessor in a matter, a pioneer

The word is also found in Hebrews 2:10, and there it is translated captain in the New King James Version and founder in the English Standard version.

In Hebrews 5:9, we are told that Christ is the author of eternal salvation. He designed our faith. It all begins with Him …He is the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world[i].

Acts 4:27-28, “For truly against Your holy Servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel were gathered together to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose determined before to be done.”

Our salvation coming through the crucifixion of Christ was His plan from the beginning. Not a plan B. This is the way that our Lord intended for history to come. He writes history; He does not react to it. He initiates it. The tabernacle and the Levitical system that is referenced in the book of Hebrews and described in detail in Leviticus, numbers, and Deuteronomy were all planned out by God so that when Jesus came, we would have a context for a high priest and a heavenly sanctuary. God the Father wanted the Son to be seen as our High Priest so He put the Levitical Priestly system in place.

All the sacrifices mandated in the Old covenant were to show us our need for a sacrifice. So we would have the context of a sacrifice for our sins. Then we can see that those sacrifices were not sufficient. Jesus is the perfect sacrifice that satisfies the wrath of God that pays our sin debt.

Jesus is the finisher of our faith.

The word finisher in New King James version is the Greek word Teleiotace – The New International Version and the English Standard version translate it “perfector” which is a good translation because Teleiotace means moral or spiritual perfection.

The same Greek root is used in Hebrews 6:1 in the phrase, “let us go on to perfection” If you are reading from the New American Standard Bible or the NIV, it says maturity. But, becoming a mature Christian is not the idea in Hebrews 6 and you really understand that after you read verses 4-6 in this chapter which describe people who have intellectual understanding of the gospel and who have been exposed to the blessings of the Holy Spirit and with that knowledge still reject Christ.

Read Hebrews 6:1, “Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God

In 6:1 the context for “let us go on to perfection” … is let us receive salvation in Christ. Remember one of groups the writer of Hebrews is addressing are Jews who knew some of the ideas of Christianity, but they had not committed themselves to Christ.

These Hebrews knew the elementary teachings of Christ (that is they knew the Old Testament teaching of the Messiah) the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, doctrine of baptisms (better translation would be washings, all these teachings are foundational Old testament teachings. [see MacArthur note on 6:1 for more info]

And, I think that it is very interesting that He puts in chapter 6, verse3, “and this we will do if God permits”. Salvation always requires God’s calling on us. John 6:44, “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.”

So back to Hebrews 12:2, Jesus is the perfector of our salvation.

He met all the requirements of the Law and fully satisfied God’s wrath toward sinners. He completed the work of our justification. When Jesus was on the cross, what do read He said in John 19:30, “It is finished!”

What was Jesus’ motive for enduring the cross, for finishing the work?

Hebrews 12:2 tells us it was for the joy set before Him.

To help us understand this, I want to us to look at Acts chapter 2 where Peter is preaching about the crucifixion and the resurrection and he uses Psalm 16 for his text.. Remember, There were times in writing the psalms that David was speaking for the 2^nd David (Jesus – the Son of David). David was in that sense a prophet as Peter says in Acts 2:30.

Read Acts 2:23 – 28.

[23] this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. [24] God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it. [25] For David says concerning him,

“‘I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken;

[26] therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced;

my flesh also will dwell in hope.

[27] For you will not abandon my soul to Hades,

or let your Holy One see corruption.

[28] You have made known to me the paths of life; you will make me full of gladness with your presence.’

The Lord was speaking of His resurrection prophetically through David. Do you see it? In case you don’t, Peter points it out. Verse 31: “he (that is, David) foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that His soul was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption.” Jesus flesh did not see corruption because He was raised from the dead.

God the Father had a purpose for His Son beyond the grave and that was gladness or joy…In Hebrews 1:9, the writer of Hebrews is quoting from Psalm 45, and God the Father says to God the Son, “Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil of gladness more than Your companions.”

In Acts 2, Peter does not quote all of Psalm 16. If you look at Psalm 16, you will see that it ends with, “At your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” Where are we told in Hebrews 12:2 that Jesus is seated? At the right hand of God…So that He would be full of gladness…and what is the essence of that gladness or joy? What are the pleasures forevermore mentioned in Psalm 16? Look back Acts 2:28…”your presence”…it’s the presence of God

In other words, Jesus was able to endure the cross because He knew it was leading to the Father's presence where there is "fullness of joy" and to the Father's right hand where there are "pleasures for evermore."

And, why is there fullness of joy in the presence of God? What does Jesus experience in the presence of God?

Look at John 17:5. Jesus had prayed in John 17:5, “And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.”

So, it’s glory… The glory of the Lord is the expression of God's person. It is any manifestation of God's character. And, anytime God discloses Himself, it is the manifestation of His glory.

And what does Jesus desire for us? John 17:24, “Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.

Why would the cross bring Him joy? Because Jesus knew what would be accomplished by the cross…the Father would be glorified and He would share in the Father’s glory.

After the triumphal entry into Jerusalem (Palm Sunday), Jesus told his disciples, in John 12:23, “The hour has come that the son of Man should be glorified.” The hour refers to this time of Jesus’ death, resurrection, and exaltation.

Let’s read Jesus’ words in John 12:27-28 “Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour. (What is the hour?)

Verse 28 Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven: “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.”

So what is accomplished by the cross?… The Father’s Name would be glorified. The name of God in Scripture often means the same thing as His excellent character and being.

We sinners have all trampled upon the glory of God; we haven’t upheld its worth. We don’t show the worthiness of God. Paul puts it this way in Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” But, Jesus’ death shows how worthy is the Father’s glory.

Dr. John MacArthur puts it this way, “The greatest manifestation of the attributes of God in history took place on the cross. Was ever the love of God more clear? Was ever the wrath of God against sin more clear than at the cross when He slew His own Son? Was ever the grace of God more clear than when He substituted Jesus for you? Was ever the mercy of God more clear than on the basis of Christ's death He forgave you and me? Was ever the wisdom of God more clear than in such a master plan as that? Every attribute of God became singled at the cross in one event...Jesus’ death.”

And God knew and Jesus knew that by His death God would be glorified.

And Jesus would share in His Father’s glory and sinners like us would have their sin debt paid and then we also would be able to share in His glory.

Jesus knew what would be accomplished by the cross. Our salvation which brings glory to the Father.

I said earlier that Jesus would share in His Father’s glory. God the Father wants us the Son to be glorified and praised. God chose us to be love gifts to His Son. We see that in John 17 , Christ’s prayer to the Father which gives us a glimpse into the love and communion that exists between the Father and Son. Read John 17:1-2:”Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: ‘Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him.

Seven times in this chapter, Jesus speaks of Christians as gifts from the Father.

In other words, Jesus looks at the cross and His prayer is .."Glorify Me by letting Me give them eternal life, that they may fulfill the plan and purpose of being brought to glory… the plan the Father has designed." As Jesus then is God's love gift to the world, John 3:16, so believers are the Father's love gift to the Son.

From eternity past the Father wanted to give the Son a gift. Before the foundation of the world, the Father predetermined to save a humanity that He would create and to save that humanity for the express purpose of giving that redeemed and glorified humanity to Christ as a gift of love, so that they would forever reflect His glory, bearing His image, praising Him and serving Him throughout eternity. . And, we know that don’t we? – what’s our purpose? To glorify God .

The Son knew who they were and came into the world to pay the redemptive price so that the plan could come to pass.

The Son wanted to glorify the Father and show wonderful is the Father’s grace.

Read Ephesians 1:4-6, “just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.”…

To the praise of the glory of His grace… The ultimate purpose of election to salvation is the glory of God. We receive forgiveness of our sins because of Christ’s work on the cross, but that’s penultimate. It doesn’t stop there! Our salvation shows how glorious, how amazing is His grace. Jesus knew that. He knew that His work on the cross would bring glory to the Father.

God’s glory is ultimate. He is the most valuable being, treasure in the universe. For His glory to be magnified is the ultimate goal of Jesus and as we saw earlier, it is His delight.

Christ came to seek and to save that which was lost so “that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had prepared beforehand for glory” …

How wonderful, how rich is God’s glory! And He saved us so that it might be known.

The writer of Hebrews tells us in chapter 12, verse 2 that we should be looking unto Jesus. He is our model.

So all of this tells me that our motivation in running the race of faith is the delight and joy we receive from our fellowship with Him now and the promise of that fellowship and experiencing His glory for all eternity. The better and enduring possession that these Hebrew people had that allowed them to joyfully accept the plundering of their property was not a thing, but knowing what a great Savior they had and what a great salvation.

The more we look unto Jesus – the more we understand and know what He has done and what His character is like, the more our confidence in Him will increase.

So, I want us to see two more aspects of our Lord. How He despised the shame of the cross which gives us more insight into His character and what He has accomplished so that He could sit down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Jesus didn't just happen upon this gladness beyond the grave that we looked at earlier; He pursued it with all His might. Jesus endured the cross not as a victim. This was His plan and the father’s plan.

Listen to these words of one of the gospel writers talking about Jesus:

Mark 8:31, “And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.”

And, Jesus’ words about Himself:

Luke 22:37, “For I say to you that this which is written must still be accomplished in Me: And He was numbered with the transgressors.[ii] For the things concerning Me have an end.”

Do you hear the word “must” in these verses? Jesus was intentional in His mission.

Luke records in Luke 9:51 a rather dramatic turning point in Jesus’ ministry. “Now it came to pass, when the time had come for Him to be received up, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem,” This begins a major section of Luke’s gospel (from this point to chapter 19) which is a narrative of the long journey to the cross.

Jesus set His face steadfastly to go to Jerusalem. He was determined to do His Father’s will, to go to the cross.

Now, Jesus did not enjoy the cross. The joy was not in dying, the joy was in contemplating the results. He endured the cross. The joy was in what it accomplished, not in dying. There's no joy in that kind of death. He felt every single pain that there was and every bit of the curse of sin. And, He knew ahead of time He would…that’s why we see His agony in the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus was not a coward. When He prays Father if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me;… It was not the contemplation of the physical pain of a crucifixion that caused Him agony…it was the cup of divine wrath that He would drink…He who knew no sin became sin for us.[iii]

And we now know based on Hebrews 12 that He did it for the joy set before Him. God does not condemn our pursuit of happiness. But He wants us to take it very seriously…to stop messing around with the fleeting pleasures of this world and go hard after eternal joy.

And, remember our model is Jesus, who endured despising the shame.

How do you despise shame? What is shame? What causes it?

The dictionary defines shame as the painful feeling arising from the consciousness of something dishonorable, improper, ridiculous, done by oneself or another. Or it can be a disgrace or a dishonor.

We can feel shame when someone else brings dishonor to us. Your child gets in trouble at school and you feel ashamed. Or something happens to you that you did not intend to happen (I got publicly sick while in an Ethiopia at a restaurant with a large group people – men and women. I was very embarrassed. That’s a kind of shame.) or you do something wrong and you later are ashamed of your behavior.

Whatever the cause, you are seen in bad light.

Romans 1:16, Paul writes, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”

By saying that he’s not ashamed, that raises the possibility that one could be shamed by the gospel. We might be ridiculed, publicly humiliated…and we might back down because of fear of shame. So, we could allow ourselves to fear shame because of the gospel. Paul said he didn’t give into shame. He understood the greatness, the power of salvation that is revealed in the gospel. He had that truth planted deeply him in.

Jesus was put to shame – that is, He was made to look bad in the eyes of the world, wasn’t He? He was dishonored; humiliated.

Jesus was abandoned by his friends, falsely accused of blasphemy, beaten with rods, ridiculed and taunted, stripped of his clothes, scourged with a whip, tortured in public, and made to look like a fool as people yelled at him on the cross: "You who saved others, save yourself."

What did Jesus do with all this shame? He despised it. That means when shame began to tempt him to abandon His mission, He said to shame, Shame, I despise you. I will not yield to you. I will not give in to you. I will not let you rule me.

Do you see how intentional, how determined Jesus was to fulfill His Father’s plan? to go the cross?

How could he do that? We know this by now, right? Hebrews 12:2 says he did it "for the joy that was set before him."

Listen to this quote from John Piper, “Shame was stripping away every earthly support that Jesus had: his friends gave way in shaming abandonment; his reputation gave way in shaming slander; his decency gave way in shaming nakedness; his comfort gave way in shaming torture. So, if his present supports were all being stripped away in shaming persecution, how did he not capitulate to such shame? Hebrews 12:2 says, he set his heart not on the supports of the present, but on the joy of the future where very soon he would "sit down at the right hand of the throne of God."

Despising the shame, He went to the cross, and completed the work for our salvation. The work is done. So He sat down. The great difference between what Christ did and what the priests of the Old Testament did is summed up in Hebrews 10:11-12,

“And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But this Man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God.”

The sitting of Christ at God's right hand means that the work is done. He does not "stand daily" to offer sacrifices for sin. The one sacrifice of Himself was perfectly complete.

Also this (seated at the right hand) shows that God is satisfied with the sacrifice. God honors Christ with the seat at his right hand to show how fully he is satisfied with the debt paid for sin. (This is a great reminder to encourage us that our sins are fully covered.) The reward of His suffering was being exalted to a position of the highest honor; he is at the right hand of the Father.”

And, it means that Christ, together with his Father, is the sovereign ruler over all His enemies. They will be defeated. Look at verse 13, “from that time waiting till His enemies are made his footstool.”

In other words, everything Christ died to accomplish will be accomplished. No enemy can hinder His work in the end. The atonement was complete; the Father was utterly satisfied; and all enemies will fall before our reigning Savior in heaven.

So we can run the race set before us ---a life of faith--- Because of the object of our faith – we have placed our faith in the person of Jesus – He holds all authority- He is seated at the right hand of the throne of God – we can have confidence in Him and believe that what He has for is better than anything the world offers because of Who He is – all authority, all majesty belong to Him and He promises never to leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5).

Benediction - Read Hebrews 13:20, “Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.”

“working in you what is well pleasing in His sight” (And what is pleasing to God? Faith)

[i] Revelation 13:8

[ii] Isaiah 53:12

[iii] 2 Corinthians 5:21

listening to Chris Tomlin

2011-04-16T12:03:00.000-07:00

After the coloring books and stickers got old, I had to pull out my iPod, and then she would frequently ask for "the music-a".

"our little princess from Ethiopia"

2011-04-16T11:49:00.000-07:00

Joy of the Cross Session 1 - Therefore, ...Lay Aside Every Weight and the Sin

2011-04-15T18:57:00.000-07:00

Janice's Notes/Speaking Guide: I called today’s seminar the Joy of the Cross because it was for the joy set before Him that Jesus endured the cross. I want this morning to be a reminder that we can have abounding, satisfying joy this Easter because of Christ’s finished work on the cross. And, it’s that joy that will motivate us to run with endurance. So, that’s my goal this morning…for all of us to apprehend this truth.

Our primary text is Hebrews 12:1-2.

Hebrews 12:1-2

Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside very weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, v. 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Before we dig into the text, just a little background on the book of Hebrews. As you probably know, the human author is unknown. Scholars have speculated that it could have been Barnabas, Paul, Apollos, and many others. Hebrews 2:3 says It [that is salvation] was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard… and that seems to suggest that the writer was probably not Paul because Paul says He received/confirmed the message of salvation directly from God and not men in Gal. 1:12.

The book of Hebrews is inspired of God so, ultimately, of course, we can say the writer is the Holy Spirit.
We don't read any references to Gentiles or conflict in the church between Gentiles and Jews, and almost, every chapter has extensive references to the Old Testament because the writer knew his audience. So, ...

What we really need to understand is to WHOM the book was written…the Hebrews, a Jewish audience. If we don’t understand the groups the author is addressing, the book of Hebrews becomes very confusing. In this community, there were believers who were immature in their faith and were facing persecution from other Jews and maybe Gentiles. They were tempted to hold onto the rituals of Judaism. They weren’t trusting in the promises of God and as a result had lost the former joy they had. [i]

There were also unbelievers … some who may have been intellectually convinced of the gospel but had not placed their faith in Christ and others who had some exposure to the gospel but were not convinced of the truth. So, this is a Jewish audience that is the book is written to. And, they know their history, so the writer of Hebrews can say very cryptically, for example, “By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff.” – Hebrews 11:21. And that’s all he says about Jacob’s faith. So we understand that he assumes they know the backstory of Genesis 48 and how Jacob trusted God and that Israel would pronounce blessings, and say ‘God make you as Ephraim and as Manasseh.(those are the sons of Joseph).

These people had extensive knowledge of the Old Covenant and that’s the springboard the Holy Spirit uses to show them the superiority of the new covenant and the superiority of Christ. Chapters 1 -3 show how Christ is superior over angels and Moses, the superiority of Christ’s priesthood (Hebrews 7)…that Christ has established a better covenant (Hebrews 8) , in a superior sanctuary ( Hebrews 9) by a better sacrifice (Hebrews 9-10).

Keep in mind that Judaism by this time had become a works religion. Jesus condemned the Pharisees and scribes for their apostate form of Judaism...the religion of works and righteousness by human effort. (When you have time, read all the “woes” in Luke 11. He told them they loaded men with burdens and took away the key of knowledge.)

And, the key is faith in God. Self-effort has never been God’s plan. Paul reminds us in Romans 4 that Abraham was justified by faith.

Romans 4:2-5, “ For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness,”

Abraham believed God and it was credited to Him as righteousness.

Man-centered works religion is an offense to God.

Listen to Hebrews 10:38-39, “Now the just shall live by faith; But if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him.” But we are not of those who draw back to perdition[ii], but of those who believe to the saving of the soul.”

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

When we believe that God is Who He says He is and that He will do what He says He will do, then we bring glory to God! (not ourselves)

If we say, we can obey all these rules and therefore make ourselves right with God or tack on anything besides the grace of God, we are glorifying our strength or our abilities or traditions or rituals, not God’s saving power. By the time we get to ch 11, the writer of Hebrews has already established that we must enter into this new and better covenant by faith.. And, to really drive the point home, Chapter 11 is full of examples of heroes from the Old Testament who lived by faith.

(a side note…When we start to understand that the sentences in the epistles flow together in the form of an argument to persuade you, not unconnected thoughts, then we can get the writer’s overarching big picture.. Everything connects to the previous thought in the book of Hebrews.)

Therefore we also

Now we get to our text…Hebrews 12:1, “therefore”…don’t just skip over words like this in Scripture. They are very important. Therefore means consequently, or as a result of and it’s pointing back to previous ideas.
(This is why we need the context of the whole letter of Hebrews...what's the author referring back to with his "therefore.")

…I believe the author is pointing back to not just the witnesses of chapter 11 but all the previous chapters of the book . Back in Hebrews 10:19, there is another “therefore” with an admonition in chapter 10:22 to draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith! So I think he’s still continuing this thought ….Therefore …. Since we have entered into the superior new covenant and have such a superior High Priest and , since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, that is we have the examples of the value and blessing of living by faith (that’s Hebrews 11),

Let us lay aside every weight, And the sin which so easily ensnares us,

Remember the Jews to whom this letter was addressed were not living by faith. They had just been admonished in chapters 10 and 11 that God must be approached by faith. Faith is what pleases God. The just shall live by Faith. – Some of them were not even getting into the race of faith (they had not made a full commitment to Christ even though they understood the basic principles of Christianity).

And there were those Hebrew Christians who were tempted to turn back to the practices of Judaism or at least trying to hold onto aspects of Judaism and tack that onto their faith in Christ.

For the Hebrews, the weight was the Levitical sacrificial system they were still trying to carry around. They would not turn from the Levitical sacrifices to the perfect sacrifice of Jesus. They did not believe that Jesus was and is sufficient. They were ensnared in the sin of unbelief. And, I really think that “the sin” the writer is talking about in Hebrews 12 here is the sin of unbelief (not trusting in God). (not a particular action like lying or adultery).

I base that on the context of what the writer has just spent the last two chapters explaining…that faith is what pleases God. He tells them in Hebrews 11;2 that by faith the elders obtained a good testimony and now he is saying in Hebrews 12, you have the examples of these good testimonies (these witnesses)who lived by faith so get rid of your sin (which is not having faith) and run the race.

The writer of Hebrews is using a metaphor of running to describe the Christian life. So in keeping with this metaphor, he reminds us that an athlete has to get of any unnecessary weights to run well. The lighter you are, the better you run. [show my running shoes and contrast to step shoes]

He wants us to get rid of the weights (maybe its legalism, or trusting in our strength, or even good things that are preventing you from “running “well) and the sin of unbelief (that is, not believing Who God says He is and what He says to us). And, we accomplish this by “looking unto Jesus” which we will examine more closely in session 3.

It’s not enough to just believe that God exists. That’s not faith. James said even the demons believe that there is one God (James 2:19) …We have to believe that He will reward our faith in Him with forgiveness and righteousness because He has promised to do so.

Some of us (and I’m including myself on most days) believe that running the race of faith will not really satisfy me. I don’t want to lay aside the weights that are that are contributing to being ensnared in the sin of unbelief. And writer of Hebrews says it is the sin which so easily ensnares us. It is so easy to stop trusting God and stop believing that He really is all we need. The great battle of the Christian life is “heart work”.

How do we apply ourselves to this Scripture of Hebrews 12? (We hold ourselves up to the mirror of scripture and look into it and ask the Holy Spirit to show us…what weights are we carrying around that are encouraging our sin of unbelief. What is weighing you down that’s hindering your running in faith? Do we really believe that Jesus will take care of our future? Do we believe His promises?

Do we believe that He is more satisfying than that temptation we want to give into? Do we really believe He can satisfy our deepest longings? Or are we looking to other relationships, money, TV, recognition from our job, whatever it is…

Hebrews 11:6 says He is a rewarded of those who diligently seek Him. Do you believe that? Check out your actions…We act out what we believe.

When we sin, we believe the lies of Satan and this world. We’re not trusting God that following His ways will really satisfy our desires. So, we’re not taking Him at His Word, are we? For example, when we give in to losing our temper, we believe that the pleasure we will get from that tastes better than the fruit of the spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control).

Do we believe that His rewards are better than the rewards we think we will get from whatever those weights are that we are carrying around? The weights can be good things that we are so focused on that we are not looking to Jesus. What really tastes good to you? What fills your soul? the presence and working of Christ in your life? or your job, kids, hobbies. I’m not saying those things are bad. But they can all become idols when they come before Christ in our lives.

We do the things we want to do. Our actions reveal what we really believe (You see, if I think that eating a chocolate dessert will make me feel better, I’ll eat it. Now, you say, what about self-discipline – I think a chocolate cupcake would be great, but I refrained from eating it. Well, you are still doing what you really believe …right? – maybe you believe that better nutrition, losing weight, will make you happier, healthier in the long run.)

So we act out what we believe. This is living by faith. We do this all the time in the natural realm. Deb had faith that the chair would support her weight so she sat down it. We know that she probably didn’t even take the time to really even think about that this morning. But, based on her past experiences with these chairs and her knowledge of these chairs, she acted out what she believed. I want you to keep that general idea in mind – that we act out what we believe as we look at Hebrews 11:1.

Hebrews 11:1, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

The word faith in Greek is pistis, the word means belief, trust, confidence, the conviction of truth. So Hebrews 11:1 is not an explicit theological definition. It is rather describing some of the characteristics of faith. Faith first of all is the substance of things hoped for. You might say, “But things hoped for don't have any substance.” They're just hoped for. But faith makes them real.

The promises that came to the Old Testament people were so real that even though they never saw them, they based their life on them, sight unseen. All of the Old Testament promises related to the future, but those people acted as if they were in the present tense. They acted out what they believed to be true. Where does faith come from?

Turn to Romans 10:17, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

They simply took God at His word and lived on the basis of that. We will see that in our small groups. In session 2, we’ll look at Hebrews 11.

So to motivate us to shed those weights and start trusting God, Hebrews gives us all kinds of motivations of reward (for example, Hebrews 12:28 tells us that we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken…someday God will shake this earth and destroy it with fire,[iii] but He promises His children an everlasting kingdom). There are also grave warnings in Hebrews. Hebrews 10:31, “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” Or, Hebrews 12:29, “Our God is a consuming fire.” Hebrews is a serious book!

But the warnings in Hebrews are given to move us from fragile fleeting happiness to solid, unshakeable joy like Moses who, we are told in Hebrews 11, choose rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward.

So, this is why the author of Hebrews wants us to get rid of whatever is keeping us from running with endurance ..so we can have great joy.

And let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.

Does the idea of running a race sound tiring to you? The word for race in Hebrews 12:1 in the Greek is agon(e).It means struggle or contest, a battle. We get our English word agony from this Greek word.

The Christian life is hard. And, the Bible makes it very plain that our lives here on earth will be hard. Too many people are trying to achieve heaven on earth. That’s not what a life of faith looks like.

Jesus tells us over and over in the gospels that it’s going to be hard. He says in Luke 14, verse 27, “Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.” And He tells us to count the cost.[iv]

But never are we told to endure the Christian life out of duty. In John 17 we hear Jesus’ prayer that we would have His joy. Jesus is extremely serious about joy…we’ll look at that more in session 3…He endured the cross for joy.

The writer of Hebrews has great encouragement for us. Remember he was writing to people who wanted to turn back to Judaism; people who had become tired of fighting the good fight. He continues the race metaphor in Hebrews 12:12 and tells them to strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees. Picture a weary runner whose arms are starting to drop and whose knees wobble. Apparently, these folks used to be running a good race of faith. Look at Hebrews 10:32, “But recall the former days in which after you were illuminated, you endured a great struggle with sufferings. “

But, now they have need of endurance (see Hebrews 10:36)

These folks used to have great joy in the Lord. They were very strange by the world’s standards…Hebrews 10:34, says they joyfully accepted the plundering of their goods, knowing they had a better and enduring possession in heaven.”

So, their furniture was smashed, graffiti on the walls – get out Christians, or maybe it the government confiscating their property – and they were joyful about it because they knew that had an enduring possession (far superior than any of the stuff they had on earth). The writer tells them – don’t cast that confidence away – faith is confidence in the future that what God has for us is better (Hebrews 11 – substance of things hoped for )

Everything in Hebrews is written to encourage faith…for example, when those attacks from the enemy come that say, God can’t forgive that sin. You’ve messed up too much. You might as well give up. You can’t possibly be counted a child of God. We can go to Hebrews 7 which explains that our high priest is the Son of God, and He has infinite worth. And He is holy and undefiled and separate from Sinners. And, He offered Himself up once for all and that’s what I’m banking on for my atonement. Not a pledge to God or myself to do better next time.

I concluded earlier that the Christian life is hard, and the Bible does not sugarcoat that. ( it’s a battle, its warfare, We’re told put on the armor of God, like a soldier. And, in 2 Timothy 2:3,4 to endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ… No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a solider.”

And athletic metaphors don’t describe easy jogging in the park.

First Corinthians 9:24-26, “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. ²⁵ Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. ²⁶ So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air.”

So this life of faith is a struggle, it’s enduring a marathon run. The battle though, the effort is not to produce merit so that God will repay with salvation.

Some of us this morning may be carrying around the weight of legalism.

Pastor and writer C.J. Mahaney in his book, Living the Cross Centered Life, defines legalism as: seeking to achieve forgiveness from God and justification before God through obedience to God.

If you start changing what God intends as a means of enjoying and growing in His grace into the means of earning grace, you will not have joy and you will be caught in the sin of self-glorification.

Yes, we work hard at obeying God’s Word. We read our Bibles. We pray. We serve in our church. We help the needy. But none of these good spiritual activities adds to our justification (that’s our standing in Christ). We’re never more saved or more loved by God. We can approach the throne of God with confidence not because we’ve done a good job with spiritual duties, but because we are clothed in the righteousness of Jesus.

You see, the battle of the Christian life is not serving God, but serving God in the strength He provides.

Hebrews 6:11, 12, “And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.” Through faith! Through trust. Through hope. The writer of Hebrews wants you to be diligent to put your hope on God alone and not on the things of the world; treasure God and not the things of this world; trust God and not your own abilities, not even your abilities to do good things.

I mentioned earlier that the weights could be good things in this world…we are so wrapped up in these things or we are trusting in other people for our security and the way we view ourselves, that we just drift away … we just lose interest in even having a close relationship with the Lord.

We are exhorted here in Hebrews to keep going regardless of the temptation to give up---does this mean we can give up and lose our salvation? No, we are saved by grace and we persevere to the end by grace. Hebrews 10:14, “For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.” Justification is complete, sanctification is ongoing.

We will finish the race because it is Christ in us (our hope of glory[v]) and He promises that He will not let us go…if keeping our salvation were up to our effort, we would lose it immediately. But, our hope is anchored in heaven. The intent of the book of Hebrews is not to make you doubt your salvation. Some people read Hebrews and they think they can lose their standing in Christ. No…it’s written to give us assurance of the great hope and how secure it is. And God not only gives us that promise, but swears an oath to it.

Read Hebrews 6:13-19 in the English standard version{the writer of Hebrews is digging out Genesis 22:16, 17}, “For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself, [14] saying, “Surely I will bless you and multiply you.” [15] And thus Abraham, having patiently waited, obtained the promise. [16] For people swear by something greater than themselves, and in all their disputes an oath is final for confirmation. [17] So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath,

{So we have an oath and a promise}

[18] so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. [19] We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain,

Notice that the paragraph (verse 13) begins with "for" or "because." The writer is giving support verses for verses 11-12 that we just looked at. (Be diligent with the full assurance of hope)

God wants you to have the full assurance of hope—no weak and flimsy hope, but a strong, full, confident hope—so you don’t become "sluggish" or "dull" and begin to think that the Christian hope is not as real as the hopes offered by the world. We need this encouragement to run the race with endurance because life is hard. And faith is the evidence of things not seen…its way too easy to see our circumstances or the temptations to sin.

Why did God add an oath to a promise? The answer is in verse 18, so we may have strong encouragement"—the encouragement of unshakable hope. He wanted to show us how much encouragement of hope He wants us to have so He adds an oath to a promise. "

Verse 16 says, ”For people swear by something greater than themselves,” We pick out something valuable to stress the truth of our pledge…like putting your hand on the Bible and swearing to tell the truth . We are saying, if I’m lying, then let the Bible be wrong .

In verse 13, the writer of Hebrews tells us, "For when God made the promise to Abraham, since He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself."

There’s nothing more valuable than God. He swears the oath by Himself because He is as high as you can go. What God is saying in swearing by Himself is that it is as unlikely that He will break His word of promise to bless us as it is that He would lie. God reaches as high as He can reach to inspire our unshakable hope. The promise and the oath are meant to give us the deep confidence that we will inherit all that He promises us in Jesus.

Now we all know that these promises are not mainly for this world. All the promises of God are yes in Christ (“For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory. [21] And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, [22] and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.” - 2 Corinthians 1:20-22

a guarantee, that’s a financial term “down payment, deposit, guarantee” It refers to the first installment paid as a pledge of faithfulness to complete the purchase.

One commentator put it this way: The Spirit comes as God's pledge to complete (“pay in full”) the final redemption of his people at the end of the age, and the Spirit's presence in Christians' lives now is a reliable “sample” or foretaste of this future fullness.

So, some of the promises are for now – we do have peace and joy that comes from our daily walk with Christ. But, not the oceans of delight we will have when see Him face to face. Some of us have experienced some healing now, but not everyone, and all our bodies still groan until the day of redemption (Romans 8:23). And, we experience some great acts of providence that He does on our behalf. But, some Christians experience horrific suffering as a result of their Godly testimony in this world. Hebrews 11:37 does NOT say that some stopped believing or did not have faith so they were stone, sawn in two, slain with a sword. No their testimony is that God gave them the faith to sustain torture.

Read Hebrews 11:13-14 and 16, “these (that is the Old Testament saints) all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. Verse 14, For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland. …verse 16, But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.” The Old Testament believers looked to the cross in faith, trusting in the promises of God.

Hebrews 11: 39 says, and all these, (that is the Old Testament saints) having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise. That is, they looked forward to the promised salvation. We look back to the cross and see Christ’s finished atoning work which makes all the promises yes in Christ.

We are also sojourners, pilgrims, exiles here.. our true citizenship is in heaven. (See 1 Peter 2:11 and Philippians 3:20)

The writer of Hebrews says in verse 14 that those who speak this way- that is as sojourners-are seeking another country. The key word is "seeking." A sojourner is not settling in here. She holds things of this world loosely, and is unwilling to be conformed to this age.

Why is that? Verse 16 gives the answer, and here we see the word, "desire." Verse 16: "But as it is, they desire a better country, that is a heavenly one."

The life of faith "seeks" a "country of its own" (verse 14) and "desires" a better country - a heavenly one (verse 16). This is what the writer is focusing on in these verses. He is not focusing here on the outward acts of faith, but the inward desires of faith. Faith considers this world and what it offers, then faith considers the promises of God and what they offer - and faith "desires" the one over the other. Faith "seeks" another country. It sees the promise from afar, is stunned by it and confesses to being a stranger and sojourner here.

Pastor and author John Piper says, “ There are many people who water down what saving faith is by making it a mere decision with no change of what one "desires".. They (that is the saints in Hebrews 11) had been so gripped by God that nothing short of heaven - or what heaven could make out of earth by God's presence on it - would satisfy. Faith is seeing the promises of God from afar and experiencing a change of values so that you desire the promises above what the world has to offer. It is a glad greeting of those promises from a distance and a heart- seeking to know them and cherish them and be satisfied by them so that a new kind of life emerges that is out of sync with the world.”

And as we will study in Session 2, these folks in Chapter 11 were out of sync with the world. Their faith was of the kind that builds an ark in the desert and leaves the security of home for an unknown land and builds a baby crib at the age of ninety. It’s the kind of faith that says that promises of God are better than life.

Do you see how the writer of Hebrews is giving you all kinds of encouragement to stay in the race? To not just coast or meander, but to run! We’ve got to get rid of those things (those weights) that make us worldly-minded and put things in our lives that make us heavenly-minded…that encourage us to believe that Christ really is better than anything else. I’m not going to start naming off stuff because then someone might go away from here with a legalistic list. I want you to run as to get the prize as Paul said… for the joy...that’s our motivation. Jesus endured the cross for the joy set before him; we should endure the hardships of our marathon of faith for the joy set before us.

[Take some time now for personal reflection and prayer. Ask the Lord to show you what the weights are in your life. Be like the man in Mark 9 who cried out to Jesus, “I believe; help my unbelief!”]

[i] Hebrews 10:32-34

[ii] See also Jude 23.

[iii] 2 Peter 3:7, Revelation 6

[iv] Luke 14:27-28

[v] Colossians 1:27

Listening intently to Jon reading a letter in Amharic to her...

2011-04-15T18:52:00.000-07:00

We passed court!!!

2011-04-13T10:25:00.000-07:00

This is Janice posting for Jon. In case you have not heard our wonderful news yet....we officially have a daughter. I got the phone call on Tuesday that the documents that had been missing on our court date had been submitted and the judge approved everything so Jenevieve (Jenny) Netsanet Settlemoir is now legally a part of the Settlemoir family!

So we did not pass court, yet.....

2011-04-07T09:47:00.000-07:00

Janice had some amazing, beautiful experiences in Ethiopia that she will want to share here soon I am sure.....But what I can tell everyone is that there were some paperwork issues which kept us from passing the day she went to court (April 5th). What Janice told me was that those issues should be quickly resolved and as soon as they are taken care of, N.... will be OFFICIALLY our daughter!!!

If you read this on Wed, please pray for safe travel for Janice as she is headed home.....

Face to face

2011-04-01T00:36:00.000-07:00

Janice met our daughter face to face! What an amazing moment that must have been! I wish I could have been there. They are getting to know each other and play together and spend time together. Janice told me that she loved the videos of the boys and was giving them kisses on the screen!!

Meanwhile, I am just getting settled on the ship here. It is going to be a busy few months, but hopefully that will make the time go by quickly. I can't wait to see (and to share) photos of Janice with our little girl.

Until next time....

Jon

FUNdraiser - from Janice

2011-03-03T12:27:00.001-08:00

My Dear Friends,

I know that a lot of you enjoy Pampered Chef products. This is an opportunity for you to buy Pampered Chef stuff and help Jon and me raise funds for our daughter’s adoption. This on-line show begins today (March 3) and I would like to close it out by March 24^th because I am flying to Ethiopia on March 29^th!!! (to see our daughter for the first time and go to court). I wish I could show you her picture (we can’t share photos on-line until we have passed court). Our little girl is four and half years old, absolutely beautiful, and her personality has been described by our agency’s staff as “loving and caring”. I would greatly appreciate your prayers for my trip (Jon can’t go. He leaves next week for training and then deployment), for the bonding experience with our daughter, and for our boys especially while they have both parents out of the country.

Now, if you are ready for the fun stuff (shopping for Pampered Chef!), follow the instructions below. Thank you, love, Janice

Website instructions:
1. Go to this website http://www.pamperedchef.biz/DrucksKitchen

2. Click on "Our Products". (located at the top and on the left side of the page)

3. Click on “How to Purchase” (located on the Left side)

4. Type in Settlemoir in one of the boxes for Host. Click “Search for Host.”

Then Select: Settlemoir Adoption Fundraiser.

3. Enjoy Shopping! (You should see “Settlemoir Adoption Fundraiser” at the top right of your screen.)

4. When you are ready to Finalize and Submit your order, be sure to select “Direct Shipping” under the “Where would you like your order delivered?” (You might want to ask friends if they would like to place an order with you and share the shipping costs.)

Thank you so much for participating in this fundraiser. We will be using the money raised to help pay some of costs in bringing our daughter home.

a care package for our daughter

2011-03-02T06:37:00.000-08:00

The adoption community is a pretty close knit group. Janice is daily looking at a yahoo group featuring families who are in various stages of the adoption process. We get encouragement from families who are ahead of us and we give encouragement to families who are not as far along as we are.

Two weeks ago, we sent a care package to our daughter through a family who were traveling to Ethiopia at the end of Feb, first of March. The package included photos of our family, an outfit, a letter that Janice wrote to her, and two little Strawberry Shortcake dolls.

Late last night, the family we sent the package with contacted us to let us know that she recieved the care package! She told us that our daughter is "sweet and nervous." This brough tears to our eyes!

We have another care package on the way right now. She knows who we are now, and soon she will meet her mother face to face!

An adopted daughter adopting a daughter

2011-02-26T13:11:00.000-08:00

Today we have a special guest blogger, my lovely wife Janice. This is the transcript from a talk she gave this morning at our church's ladies prayer breakfast....

An Adopted Daughter Adopting a Daughter

Thank you so much for inviting me to share with you this morning. Today I want to talk about how I am an adopted daughter and I’m adopting a daughter.

(Pray) What do you think of when you hear the word adoption? Most people think of horizontal adoption before they think of vertical adoption, that is, they think of people adopting children before they think of God adopting us as His children.

When I say I’m an adopted daughter, I’m referring to my vertical adoption from my heavenly Father. And, I want to talk about that in further depth in a few minutes.

First, I’d like to share a little bit of how we got to this glorious point—by the way, we have a court date of April 5th! (God willing, I get to meet my daughter in Ethiopia in 5 weeks!) …..( Some of you all may be wondering Why Ethiopia? We didn’t know much about the orphan crisis in Ethiopia until we began our adoption journey. Ethiopia was not on my radar at all, but it was God’s plan for us. The Lord laid a desire on our hearts to adopt years ago when our boys were little. But, it wasn’t until the fall of 2009, when a couple that Jon was trying to counsel out of having an abortion, that the idea of adoption really moved to the forefront of our minds. We offered to adopt this child, but that did not come about. After that experience, Jon started reading books on adoption, researching different options, and he came to the point where he believed that the Lord was leading us to international adoption. It took me a little longer to get on board (frankly, the financial cost just scared me). I’m very blessed to have a husband who continually reminds me that God will provide.

Now, when I had thought about adopting a daughter in the past, my thoughts were toward China. I knew of the one child policy of that country, I knew that little girls were not valued the same as boys, that in the rural areas, baby girls were often left beside the road to die, I knew that the abortion rate was very high especially for female babies. Well, anyway, after visiting with different agencies here in Maine and some research, we applied to and were accepted by America World a Christian agency based in Virginia. We began the mounds of paperwork and the medical exams and then we found out rather abruptly that there was no way we could adopt a child from China because of a couple of medical issues (small things really..our own doctors were very surprised that we were turned down based on this stuff). The same day that we were to meet with staff from St. Andre’s in Biddeford (St. Andre’s is the agency with the social worker that did our home study), we got a call from America World that China would not happen for us, but would we please pray about adopting a child from Ethiopia. This phone call was 5 minutes before we were to walk out the door and drive to St. Andre’s. It was a very emotional drive to say the least. We weren’t really sure if we should even go forward with this. At the time, I felt like I was grieving the loss of a little girl from China. But, it was just my plan that I had to give up. God reminded me again that His thoughts are not my thoughts, and His ways are higher than my ways, and His thoughts higher than my thoughts. The Lord encouraged us greatly and comforted our hearts at that meeting at St. Andre’s. When we got there, we explained to program director what had happened with China, and she was just so excited for us when she learned that we were considering Ethiopia. She told us wonderful things about her experiences with families here in Maine that have adopted children from Ethiopia. And she told us that Ethiopian parents love their children and do not put them up for adoption because the children are unwanted, but often it is because they cannot feed them.

And, our journey began and we continued to learn more about the physical needs in Ethiopia, like the way AIDS has devastated that country as well as much of Africa.

We learned that there are about 4 and ½ million orphans in Ethiopia and that number just seems overwhelming. But, that is not what is driving this horizontal adoption journey. It is my position as an adopted daughter in Christ that is propelling me down this course and is sustaining me through it. Adoption is not easy. I didn’t realize until we had started down this road that it would be a spiritual battle. The thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy and he does that various ways like abortion, by ripping families apart, exploiting orphans. The Enemy hates children. But Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world…And He is the helper of the Fatherless.

I hope I can encourage you this morning with some of what the Lord has been teaching me about adoption and especially about His adoption of us, His children.

We know the Bible uses the language of birth to teach us about our salvation. John 3:3, “Jesus told Nicodemus, Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” The language of new birth gives us help in understanding our regeneration, our new nature in Christ. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17)

God could have stayed with the language of new birth so that all his children were described as children by nature only (John 1:12-13, “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”).

But God chose to speak of us as adopted as well as being children by new birth.

Turn with me to Galatians chapter 4. Galatians 4:4-7, “ But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father.” Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.”

The Apostle Paul was inspired by the Holy Spirit to use the language of adoption in his writings on the doctrine of salvation. In Paul’s day, adoption was an important feature of the Roman world. It meant that someone important had set his love upon you and adopted you to be his son, his heir.

Paul has in mind a legal change of status: if you believe in Jesus, God has bestowed upon you the status of son of the Most High God.

Notice this is not translated sons and daughters.

As a side note, don’t get offended or tripped up here being called a son. The Greek word for “sons” huioi is a legal term used in the adoption and inheritance laws of first-century Rome. Because of the cultural analogy that Paul is using (that is a slave in the household being adopted as a son) being called a son here bumps us up as women… In the culture of the time, the adoption of daughters did not have the same legal rights as the adoption of sons. If Paul had said the adoption of sons and daughters, the text would not have nearly the impact for the women in the church of his culture. An adopted son had rights and standing in that culture than an adopted daughter would not have had. So, when Paul refers to all believers as adopted sons, he is upping the rights and privileges for the women in the church of his time.

Dan Cruver, director of Together for Adoption, puts it like this, “God is an adoptive Father. Jesus, our Elder Brother, is God the Father’s eternal, only-begotten, natural Son. We believers are His sons through adoption. This identity is fundamental to who we are. As adopted son, we enjoy all the rights and privileges of the relationship that God the Father enjoys with His eternal Son. To be God’s sons through adoption means that we are co-heirs with Jesus. This is an amazing reality and eternal privilege! We will forever be God’s sons through the miracle of adoption.

And this was all planned out by God before the foundation of the world. Our adoption was not a Plan B… “oh no, these children have orphaned themselves into sin, now what?” NO NO NO

God planned our adoption from the very beginning so that His grace would be magnified.

Ephesians 1:3-6, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.”

We are accepted in the Beloved...in Christ.

The language of adoption is not just used to describe the legal transaction of becoming God’s children. It also is used to describe the precious relationship we have with our heavenly Father in Christ!

Romans 8:15, “For you did not receive the spirit of slavery (bondage) to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, "Abba! Father!"

Paul uses the Aramaic word (Abba) for father here in Romans and also in Galatians even though he wrote the rest of Romans and Galatians in Greek. Why did he do that?

Remember in in Mark 14 (v.26), Jesus is in Gethsemane and prays, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”

“Abba Father” is the way Jesus spoke to his Father. It stunned the disciples and the usage of Abba Father was passed through the early church. The believers understood that they had been brought into God’s family and were joint heirs with Christ.

Look at Romans 8:16, “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God”

The Spirit of adoption enables us to know and experience the rich reality that God has made us His children.

And we cry out, Abba Father…

Hebrew adults as well as children addressed their fathers as Abba so it’s not a baby word “Da da”… Don’t make Abba Father into a cutesy thing…It’s a cry for help, for deliverance.

Because even though we know we are His adopted children, we’re still living in the orphanage…this corrupt, decaying world. This is not our real home. We are still awaiting the full realization of our adoption.

Romans 8:23 says, “And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.”

And, when we look around us, we see that this world shouldn’t be this way. 113 people killed, 200 still missing this last week in the earthquake in New Zealand. From Romans 8:22, We know that the whole creation groans…

We cry out, Abba Father,Deliver us from this world.

There are 143 million orphaned children in this world. And, God’s Spirit within us cries out – this is wrong, this is what sin has done. Abba Father, Deliver us, Help us.

I want to tell you a little bit about Ethiopia:

The average income (converted to dollars) is a $100 a year. Almost 82% of the population lives on less than $1 a day.

In the United States the doctor to patient ratio is 1 to 390; Ethiopia's is 1 to 33,500

Half of the children in Ethiopia will never attend school

60% of children suffer from severe malnutrition

One in ten children die before their first birthday
One in six children die before their fifth birthday

God’s Word tells us in Psalm 82:3, “Defend the poor and fatherless; Do justice to the afflicted and needy.”

Our position as adopted children should drive us to not be content with the things of this world. Some of us are trying to achieve heaven on earth..do you know what I mean? James tells us that this life is just a vapor.……

We have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. And that’s why as an adopted daughter by her heavenly Father, I want to adopt my daughter so that she might come to know His glorious grace and that God would receive much glory in that.

Men's Breakfast tomorrow

2011-02-18T17:39:00.000-08:00

I am speaking tomorrow at a men's breakfast at Maine Street Baptist Church on the subject of adoption. Our church is doing this as a fundraiser for us. Next Saturday they are having a ladies breakfast and Janice will be the speaker.

I will post my notes later.....Hope you can make it!

Meanwhile, we are expecting a call from America World any day now about our Court date. The only problem is that in order for me to go with Janice to Ethiopia, the Court date must be before March 25th. Please join me in praying for that to happen!

Ethiopia stats movie

2011-01-24T07:26:00.000-08:00

Various - Carry The Light

2011-01-24T06:26:00.000-08:00

A life changing phone call

2011-01-15T06:23:00.000-08:00

If you follow this blog, or if you know us, you probably know that Janice has been in St Paul MN for the last month, taking care of her sister. Well, she was supposed to come home this past Tuesday, bringing Robin, Sophie and Ava with her. However, God had other plans.....He sent a snow storm that providentially trapped them in Detroit. Since I have family in the Detroit area, my cousins Stan and Ben, and my sister Laura came to their rescue and saved them from being stuck in the airport or in a motel waiting for their flight which was re-scheduled for Friday.

Thursday night, Janice called me and told me that she had a voicemail message from Caitlyn, our America World representative. She said in her message that she had some news for us. We thought that maybe it was an "on-deck message" which just means that we are close to getting our referral because the people ahead of us are getting their referral.

Friday morning, I called Caitlyn and she connected Janice so we were all three on the line when she gave us the big news:

WE have a REFERRAL!!!

She is a beautiful 4 and a half year old girl who is healthy and has a big smile! I can't share the pictures of her yet, not until we pass court. We don't have a court date yet.......

What an amazing, glorious, wonderful, beautiful Savior we have who has blessed me and my family with this child.

Thank you all for your prayers, please continue to pray for us, for our daughter, and for a smooth, quick, court process!

SDG

Christmas without two members of our family

2011-01-08T22:53:00.000-08:00

On Monday, Dec 19th, Janice's sister Robin collapsed near the post office in St. Paul MN. Someone at the scene performed CPR on her and when the paramedics arrived they shocked her 4 times before they were able to get her heart started. She was taken to a nearby hospital and placed in the ICU. We received a phone call Monday afternoon telling us what happened. On Wednesday, Janice flew out to St Paul to be with Robin.

Tuesday night before she left, we all celebrated Christmas as a family, hopefully the last Christmas celebration we will have without our daughter. Christmas day was difficult without Janice here but we enjoyed the fellowship of good friends.

So many people prayed for Robin and for our family during these past two weeks; St Matthew's Episcopal Church in Lisbon Falls brought over food for us. We are so grateful for the support and love from all our friends.

Robin is doing much better, and this week, she and Janice will bring Sophie and Ava, her daughters to Maine to stay with us for a while while Brian, Robin's husband moves their things to Cleveland.

I can only hope and pray that next year Janice and I will celebrate Christmas together, but we will have all three boys and our daughter with us as well.

Veteran's Day events

2010-11-17T10:32:00.000-08:00

This year, Veteran's day was especially a remarkable event. It was remarkable because I celebrated the holiday at the funeral of a hero. LT James Zimmerman was a Marine who was killed in combat operations in Afganistain November 2nd. I had the responsiblility to accompany a group of Marines to go to the home of James' parents and inform them of the death of their son. The Zimmerman's are an amazing godly, courageous family. We spent a few hours with them on Tuesday night, then left them to mourn and to contact family and friends.

The following week, on November 10th, we accompanied the family to their church - County Road Baptist Church in Houlton, Maine, for a private viewing. Then, on Veteran's day, I participated in a memorial service for James Zimmerman at a school in the area.

I had a small part in the service. I spoke about grief and how God promises us that our enemy - death - will be ultimately defeated based upon Christ's victory over death on the cross. I tried to remind the family of the grace of God to walk with us through our pain by sharing with them from Isaiah 43: 1-2:

"But now this says the LORD, ...Fear not for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flames shall not consume you. For I am the...Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel."

On Thursday, the 12th of November, an article I had written for Veteran's day was published in our Brunswick paper :

War will never really end while there’s still sin

By Chaplain Jon Settlemoir, Times Record Contributor

The very first Veterans Day was on Nov. 11, 1938. It was called Armistice Day, a day to celebrate the end of “The War to End all Wars.”

World War I ended at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, 1918. At the time, the predominant thought was that with the end of this war, the world was entering into a new era of peace; that there would be no more war.

The dominant view in the Christian church in that day regarding eschatology (study of the end-times) was that the world would keep getting better and better until Jesus returns to Earth. This view is called amillennialism, and it was the most common view of the end times in Christianity until the 1940s.

With the rise of the Axis powers and the Tripartite Pact between Germany, Italy and Japan, the world was launched into another global war and the optimistic eschatology of amillennialism was abandoned by the majority of Christians.

The reason the era of peace didn’t stick, and the reason why there have been few brief periods of time when there was no war (someone has joked that the only time there was peace was when both sides stopped long enough to reload!) is because of sin.

Scripture clearly teaches in the Book of Romans: “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” — Rom 3:23

In Romans, Paul tells us that we are all sinners. This is not shocking news. We know we are sinners; we have idioms in our culture that demonstrate how common this knowledge is. We say things like “he’s only human,” or “nobody’s perfect,” when someone does something wrong. It was William Shakespeare who coined the phrase “to err is human; to forgive divine.”

Shakespeare was absolutely correct; all of us sin every day. We daily fail to live up to God’s standards of righteousness. Praise God that Shakespeare’s dictum was doubly correct; not only is it human nature to err or to sin, but it is also part of the character of God to forgive.

Through Jesus Christ, there is forgiveness to be found for all of us who will confess our sins and trust fully in his sacrificial death for eternal life.

There will be war in the world as long as there is sin in the world. And as long as there is war, there will be heroes; veterans willing to lay down their lives for the sake of freedom and liberty. Veterans Day reminds us to thank a veteran for their sacrifice.

May the sacrifice of all who served this great country never be forgotten, and may it be a reminder of the greater sacrifice of Jesus Christ, God incarnate who loved us so that whosoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

Haven't posted in a while...

2010-10-25T19:12:00.000-07:00

I just looked at my blog and realized that it has been over 6 weeks since I have posted anything. It's been a bfusy time, and that's a good thing - my failure to write, not a good thing!

With regards to our adoption, we have had some dear friends generously give toward our adoption fund, so we are very thankful for their gifts! Janice regularly watches the official AWAA Yahoo group and tells me that there has been quite a bit of activity - people getting referrals, others getting court dates!!! So praise the Lord for that, because it means that children are closer to being adopted, and it means that we are moving closer to being what AWAA calls "on deck." On deck means that we are close to the top of the list and should be getting a referral very soon.

Meanwhile, we are still waiting....Life moves on - my work, the boys sporting events and school, Janice leading a ladies Bible Study in November, etc.... Even though my mind is occupied with all that stuff going on around, my daughter is always in my thoughts, some moments in the forefront of my mind, other times not so much, but she is always there. So we wait.

Meanwhile, I am looking to get a part-time job to help pay for the remainder of our fees and for our travel expenses. I received a call today from Sears - I have an appointment on Thursday. I think they are going to offer me a job in the Electronics dept. This will really help, and with the Christmas season around the corner, a job like this one that pays hourly plus commission might be a good deal.

I will try to post more often!

Help us bring her home

2010-09-06T20:13:00.000-07:00

Today we are starting a new project and we need everyone's help. This picture is a 300 piece puzzle and it represents the home we want to give to a little girl from Ethiopia:

The Scripture on the puzzle is Psalm 55:22. It says "Cast your cares on the Lord"

Right now, the puzzle looks like this:

This is about 35 pieces or roughly 10% of the total puzzle. The pieces here have on the back of each one the name of individuals who have helped us with a donation toward our adoption.

Here comes the shameless request....Would you please sponsor a piece of the puzzle by making a donation to our adoption fund? You can do it with a credit card to our Paypal account - you don't need a Paypal account to use it. It's on the right side of the Blog home page. When you sponsor a piece, we will put your name on the back of it. Our plan is to frame the completed puzzle in such a way that our daughter will be able to see both sides of the puzzle - that way she will know the names of all those who prayed for her and supported our family. If you don't want to use our Paypal account,email me at jsettlemoir@yahoo.com and I will send you our address so you can donate by check.

So far, we have spent approximately $12,000 on this adoption; that means we still need about $28,000.

Shameless request number 2....to all our Facebook friends, would you please re-post this message to all your friends.

Thank you so much! Many of you have been praying for us through this process and we have seen God's hand moving in glorious ways. We know that He will supply all our needs according to His riches in Christ Jesus, so we trust His plan, rest in His Sovereign grace and look forward to seeing how He supplies.

Ephesians 1: 4-12 says:

"...even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.
In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. "

God bless,

Jon

Meant to Be - Steven Curtis Chapman

2010-09-06T19:07:00.000-07:00

Dossier has been mailed!!

2010-08-31T20:21:00.000-07:00

Here's a photo of Janice, Joel and me mailing our Dossier to Virginia. AWAA will have it by Thursday, then in approx 2 weeks it will be in Ethiopia. Once it arrives in country, we begin the next phase of our adoption process, we wait. At this point in the adoption process, we wait for what's called a referral. A referral is when a child's information is sent to us based on the information we gave to the adoption agency (i.e. a girl, under the age of 6...) and when we accept that referral, we will finally get to see our little girl's face!

There is still a lot of work to be done. We are nowhere near ready financially to accept a referral ( there is a big payment due at that time) or to travel to Ethiopia - twice! But God has been faithful through the process up till now, and I know that He will provide. Thanks for your support and prayers everybody!

DOSSIER!!!!

2010-08-30T20:46:00.000-07:00

Big night at the Settlemoir household. After 6 months of work, prayer, and tons of red tape, we are ready to send in our Dossier for our adoption. This has been a long and arduous process. I am grateful for a wife with organization skills because I would have never been able to get this done without her!!!

Tomorrow, we send it FEDEX to our adoption agency, America World and within a couple of weeks our Dossier will be in Ethiopia! We have had lots of help along the way from friends who have written letters on our behalf, others have given money or bought T-Shirts, or donated items for our yard sales - and a few brave souls even Zumba'd for our adoption.

When you begin the adoption process, you don't know it but you are joining a sub-culture. In this new sub-culture, when a family gets to this stage of the process, it is customary to take photos of your paperwork before you send it off. To borrow a phrase from Tevye(from Fiddler on the Roof): "How did these traditions get started? I'll tell you...I don't know. But because of these traditions, every one of us knows who he is, and what God expects him to do."

Here is our contribution to this tradition - it's what God expects us to do:

Each of the stacks you see beside the fanned out stacks of paper is just as large and just as many pages. The plan is for us to take them to be mailed of tomorrow. Our bank account will be much lighter, but our hearts are that much closer to the little girl waiting for her mommy and daddy in Ethiopia. We're coming baby, we're coming!

Lyrics and commentary from a Wayne Watson song.

2010-08-29T18:26:00.000-07:00

I found this page when I was searching for the lyrics to this song. If you haven't read it before, this song is the one that has become our theme song for our adoption.

Sermon Notes John 20: 19-31

2010-08-29T11:06:00.000-07:00

Behold His Glory

John 20: 19-31

Intro:

Jesus has risen from the dead. Peter and John saw the empty tomb. Mary had seen Him alive – resurrected! Jesus did what He said He would do! He had conquered death.

The stone was rolled away, the seal put on the grave by the Roman Empire was broken by the only power in the world greater than Rome! The grave clothes lying there undisturbed – the testimony of the angels and the witnesses declared the truth that Jesus Christ had risen from the dead.

All of this would have been proof enough that He rose and was alive again, but Jesus adds to the proof with a personal, face-to-face visit, a confrontation with His disciples!

If you put all the accounts of Jesus meeting with people after the resurrection together, you have 11 different times He appears to no less than 500 people!

As you read the NT, you find something interesting about the post-resurrection appearances of Christ – HE NEVER APPEARS TO UNBELIEVERS – no record of that in Scripture!

Why:

1 Israel had rejected Him as Messiah…

2 His plan never included having anyone believe in Him ONLY because of His miraculous works

a. Miracles ALWAYS were used to authenticate His message – the WORD of God is what brings people to salvation (woman at the well, Nic, etc…)

b. Calvin: “No other use is here assigned to miracles than to be aids and supports of faith. They serve to prepare people’s minds, to that they may give greater reverence to the Word of God.”

i. Because the enemies of Jesus had already rejected His word, His message, they were not going to believe even though He rose from the dead!

ii. Illustration from Luke – story Jesus told of the rich man and Lazarus – rich man asked if he could go back and warn his brothers – Abraham says “They have Moses and the Prophets (the Word of God) if they won’t believe them they won’t believe even if someone was raised from the dead.”

Read Text

John 20: 19-31

Pray

We have here three different sections in these verses:

V 19-23 – the same day that He rose from the dead, appeared to Mary – the disciples are gathered together, one of them is not there.

V 24-29 – Eight days later, the Disciples are gathered together, but this time Thomas is with them

V 30-31 – John’s Epilogue to the Book (one more chapter, but this is really the climax of the book – as I will show a little later)

First of all, the appearance of Christ to the disciples in the upper room:

V 19

“the doors being locked” – in the Greek it means they were locked and barred! These guys are afraid, expecting any minute to have the Romans bang down the door and drag them away to be beaten, whipped, then crucified themselves.

And then, - Jesus came and stood among them!

How did He get into the room? He wasn’t there one moment, then the next one, He was there! He passed right through the door!

Remember from two weeks ago about the grave clothes? He passed right through them, left them where His body had been placed. In His resurrected body, He had the ability to pass right through the door and appear in the middle of the room with them!

Luke 24:37 – recording this same event says :

“they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit (ghost!)

Jesus appears, He startles them and then He says:
Peace be with you. – Shalom Aleckim – common greeting in the Hebrew world – the person you are greeting will respond: Aleichem shalom – “Upon you be peace.”

Jesus said this not once, but twice (also in V 21)

This reminds us of what Jesus said to them that night just a few days ago when they were in the upper room - John 14:27:

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. “

Before He died, He promised them His peace, not after He has been raised from the dead, He comes and shows Himself to them as if to say – I did what I said I would do, I have won for you the Peace with God that I promised.

V 20 – After He said “Peace” – He showed them His hands and His side – the scars were still there – even in His glorified body, He bears the scars of His redemption.

Did you know that Jesus right now, bears the scars of the crucifixion? That’s one way we will know it is Him – as the old hymn says “I shall know Him, I shall know Him by the prints of the nails in His hands.”

Zech: 12:10 – “They shall look on Me whom they have pierced.”

Rev 5:6 – “I saw a Lamb standing as though it had been slain.”

Those marks that will forever bear testimony to the death, the cruel torture that was the price for our salvation!

V 21-23 Jesus gives us 3 very vital, serious, HEAVY, responsibilities for each of us – these are commissions, callings for every believer

- V 21 is John’s version of the Great Commission:

Each of the Gospels give us different versions of the Great Commission

-Matt – Emphasis is on the AUTHORITY – “ALL AUTHORITY IN HEAVEN AND ON EARTH HAS BEEN GIVEN TO ME…

- We should never ask if it is our job to proclaim the Gospel: you and I have authority, delegated authority to take the Gospel to the world, to our neighbor,

Mark – Emphasis is on the ACTIVITY – Mark 16:20 – they went out and preached EVERYWHERE….

- We should never ask if we should take the Gospel to such and such a place – we are to take the Gospel everywhere (illus: When I was in the army, concert by a singer named…Scott Wesley Brown – sang a song called:
“Please don’t send me to Africa”

-          O Lord I'm your willing servant
      You know that I have been for years
      I'm here in this pew every Sunday and Wednesday
      I've stained it with many a tear
      I've given you years of my service
      I've always given my best
      And I've never asked you for anything much
      So Lord I deserve this request

      Chorus:
      Please don't send me to Africa
      I don't think I've got what it takes
      I'm just a man, I'm not a tarzan
      Don't like lions, or rivers, or snakes
      I'll serve you here in suburbia
      In my comfortable middle class life
      But please don't send me out in the bush
      Where the natives are restless at night

      I'll see that the money is gathered
      I'll see that the money is sent
      I'll wash and stack the communion cups
      I'll tithe 11 percent
      I'll volunteer for the nursery
      I'll go on the youth retreat
      I'll usher, I'll deacon, I'll go door to door
      Just let me keep warming this seat

I remember thinking – I don’t want God to send me to Africa!! So in my fear and my weakness, I prayed “Lord, PLEASE DON’T SEND ME TO AFRICA…

Now, I am praying - LORD PLEASE SEND ME TO AFRICA!!!!!

We are to take the Gospel EVERYWHERE – even to places where we are not comfortable!!!

Matt – Authority, Mark – Activity,

Luke – Emphasis is on ABILITY – Luke 24:49 – “…stay in the city until you are clothed with POWER from on high.” -

We should never try to share Christ based on our own ability, but only with the power of the Holy Spirit!

John 20:21 – Emphasis is on the fact that we are His AMBASSADORS

We are given the responsibility to do three things with regards to the Gospel in these three verses:

V 21

1 When it comes to the Gospel, Jesus demands that His followers TAKE HIS PLACE.

Just as Jesus took my place on the Cross, now it’s my turn to take His place here on earth – to take the message of what He did for me and SHARE it with the world – that’s my calling, and it’s yours too!

As the Father sent me, I send you – in the same way God sent Jesus to be a servant, to humble Himself in obedience to the Father, to take up His cross, to enter into enemy territory and be the visible, tangible demonstration of the love of God, and to manifest that love through His actions and to speak on God’s behalf of man’s sin and God’s grace – that’s what Jesus did, and it’s what we are required to do now – to take His place.

- Jesus is telling His disciples – the torch has been passed, the calling God the Father gave me is now yours!

Taking His place means sharing His mission, sharing His message, but it also means sharing in His misery

- Jesus said if they persecuted me, they will persecute you!

- Since Jesus has ascended back to the Father, the enemy of Christ now must strike back against His Bride, His visible Ambassador here on Earth – the Church – that has been the testimony of the Christian faith for 2000 years!

o The blood of the Martyrs has been the seed of the Church

o Paul said in Col 1:24:

“Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of His body, that is the church.”

They lied about Him, persecuted Him, said all sorts of things about Him, crucified Him – and we are to take His place! This is our calling, this is our destiny as His Ambassador, this is our privlidge:

Matt 5:11-12:
Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. [12] Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

When it comes to the Gospel, Jesus demands that His followers take His place,

Then # 2

V 22

When it comes to the Gospel, Jesus demands that His followers Share His Power.

Jesus demands that we take His place, and just as He promised in the upper room, He will not leave us to take His place using only our own power, our own resources…

John 14:16 says:

“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, [17] even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.”

The same Holy Spirit that Jesus said they had seen working in and through Him, was now going to be in THEM.

HE DWELLS WITH YOU – the Holy Spirit has been with them as they walked with Jesus! - and now the Holy Spirit will be IN THEM.

He breathed on them and said “Receive the Holy Spirit.”

Now, there are dozens of ideas as to what this verse means, What happened when Jesus breathed on the disciples, said “receive the Holy Spirit.”?

- Right before He ascended, in Acts 1, He said to them:

“You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses…”

They did not receive the Spirit in fullness at the time Jesus breathed on them, but rather He was pledging to them the coming of the Spirit on Pentecost.

Jesus was pledging to them that the Holy Spirit would come, just as He had promised:

John 15:26 and 27 says this: “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. [27] And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning.”

As Ambassadors we take His place, we share His power…

Whatever we do of our own power is useless…

Warren Wiersbe – Bible teacher has said

“If God were to take the Holy Spirit out of the world, much of what the church is doing would go right on and no one would know the difference.”

We take His place, we share His power,

V 23

# 3

When it comes to the Gospel, Jesus demands His followers, His ambassadors to fulfill His purpose:

Understand this is not a priestly privilege to dispense forgiveness, it’s the ambassador’s privilege of declaring forgiveness.

None of the Apostles ever said in Scripture “I forgive you of your sins.”

What He is saying is that they have the right and responsibility to preach the Gospel to people which will provide sinners with the forgiveness – in and through the Gospel!

Acts 10, Peter is sent to the house of a Gentile named Cornelius, to proclaim the Gospel to this Gentile. (right before that was the vision of the unclean food coming down on a sheet from heaven)

Peter goes in and preached the good news of “peach through Jesus Christ” – Acts 10:36…

V 42 and 43:

“And he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead. [43] To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”

This is what Peter did, this is what we are to do as well – not declare people forgiven of sins, but rather show them where they can find forgiveness of sins through the sacrifice of Christ on the cross!!

Jesus, after the resurrection, before He goes back to glory and sits down at the right hand of the Father, says that His church, you and I are to

Take His place – we are Christ’s Ambassador’s here on earth, every minute of every day. We must live, move and have our being continually with the knowledge that we represent Christ.

Share His power – we have been given the unstoppable, supernatural, supreme, Divine power of the Holy Spirit to do what He has called us to do.

Fulfill His purpose – taking the Gospel to the world, sharing the forgiveness of sins through the blood of Jesus Christ our Savior.

Pray

Benediction:
May the Lord of Hosts be with you
So that you will become greater and greater still,Until you recieve that crown of life
Which the Lord has prepared for those that love Him.
2 Sam 5:10 & James 1:12 (pp 48)

2010-08-04T10:04:00.000-07:00

Prayer Of The Children from Michael Nease on Vimeo.

2010-07-26T18:44:00.001-07:00

Behold His Glory

John 20: 1-10

This Changes Everything

Intro:

For the past two years at NASB Chapel, I have sought to preach through the Gospel of John. Last week we finished Ch 19, so as I had been invited by Pastor Dale Morrell to preach and to combine our congregation with yours, I thought that I would just continue on with the exposition of John’s Gospel with you all this morning.

With that I invite you to turn in your Bible with me to the Gospel of John, Chapter 20.

Read Text John 20: 1-10

Pray

Jesus was dead. He’d been dead since Friday afternoon. The Jewish leaders could FINALLY breathe a sigh of relief. This troublemaker, this one who stirred up the people and created dissension was now out of the way.

They could get back to things the way they were; the religious leaders, the powerful elite controlling the people – profiting from their religion, no longer being humiliated and embarrassed in front of the common people of the day.

All was at peace for the Jewish leaders, the Scribes, the Pharisees…

For the disciples – they were in panic mode!

Their hopes were dead, their future was gone. They had abandoned their career’s and their families to follow Him.

The One whom they had followed for three years, the One they expected to overthrow the Roman oppression and establish a kingdom with them as vice-regents had been put to death, shamefully executed by the Roman Governor and the will of the Jewish Sanhedrin.

This was not a good day to be a follower of Jesus Christ – He was dead, the question that was foremost on their minds at this moment was: “Are we next?”

The Shepherd has been struck and the sheep have been scattered!

This was a total defeat, Rome and the religious leaders had completely won, Satan and his minions were celebrating, while the followers of Jesus were mourning!

The forces of evil had won the day – OR SO IT SEEMED!

They could find nothing good in the events that had taken place over the last 36 hours. They could find nothing in their future that would turn the tide.

But there was something that could turn things around! There was one thing that would put the forces of Satan back on his heels, one thing that would turn this nightmare scenario into the most blessed, the most joyous, the most remarkable, the most glorious event in human history:

that would be for Jesus to come up out of that Grave!

A resurrection would demonstrate that God had accepted Christ’s sacrifice for sin.

John Stott put it like this: The essence of the cross (and the resurrection) is (God’s) SELF SATISFACTION by (His) SELF SUBSTITUTION.

A resurrection would CHANGE EVERYTHING!

This is the essence of the Gospel of John, the essence of the Word of God – The TOMB IS EMPTY – HE IS RISEN, HE IS RISEN INDEED!!

Because of the resurrection, the grave is defeated, because of the resurrection the enemies of Christ are ROUTED, because of the resurrection the followers of Christ are empowered and Jesus Christ is proven to be LORD of HEAVEN AND EARTH, KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

If Jesus Christ is dead and in the grave then nothing else matters, but if Jesus Christ is alive and risen from the dead - THEN NOTHING ELSE MATTERS!!!!

This Chapter of John breaks down into two big sections, First, the Empty Tomb, then the Risen Lord.

Both of those sections feature two sets of encounters, Mary Magdalene and the Disciples

Here in V 1 – 10 we will see first Mary Magdalene at the tomb V 1-2 – her story picks back up at V 11, then the disciples (Peter and John) at the tomb V 3 - 10.

First thing I want us to see this morning is

#1 Mary’s Passionate Devotion: V 1

She came to the tomb early on Sunday morning to bring spices to anoint Jesus’ body. She was last at the cross and first at the tomb!

What a testimony of God’s grace, the first one to the tomb was not one of the 11, but this woman who had been forgiven so much!!

Why does she come? We know from the other accounts that she does not come alone, she had at least 3 other women with her.

But John only talks about her. Why does Mary come to the tomb on Sunday, the first day of the week?

- Did she come out of obligation?

- Did she come out of habit?

- Or did she come because of her love and devotion to the Lord Jesus Christ?

She came because of her devotion to the One who had done so much for her, who had forgiven her of her sins, the One who delivered her from the enemy, the One who had radically transformed her life!

Is that why you came this morning? Are you hear today because of a Passionate devotion to the One who rescued you from the pit of darkness and the power of the devil, the One who radically transformed your life?

Is that why you’ve come? I trust it’s not out of habit or obligation or to be seen or any other purpose!

She came, with the other women, to the tomb, in the garden, within sight of Golgotha, before the Sun had come up.

She expected soldiers at the tomb, a seal on the stone in front of it, - Mark tells us that the women asked each other “Who will roll away the stone from the entrance to the tomb?”

When she arrives, there’s no stone in front of the tomb, no soldiers…

Matt 28:2-4 tells us what happened – tells us where the soldiers went, and what happened to the tomb:

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

Evidently, harmonizing the two accounts, here’s what happened:

Mary and the other women are walking before dawn toward the tomb, Mary notices that the stone has been rolled away and she jumps to the only other logical conclusion – someone has come in and stolen His body.

She runs away to go and find the disciples….meanwhile, the angel appears to the other women as Matthew tells us in Matt 28.

Mary’s Passionate Devotion and her lack of understanding and lack of revelation lead to # 2

Mary’s Panicked Desperation.

V 2

She thinks that someone had stolen the body…

She runs to Peter and to John (never mentions his own name in the Gospel)

She has no idea there has been a resurrection, all she can think is that someone has desecrated the tomb of her Lord – imagine if you had just buried a loved one, and at the first opportunity you had to return to the grave site 3 days later, the casket had been excavated and the remains of your loved one exhumed. – She is in a panic and she is desperate.

She runs to John and to Peter and says:
“They have taken the Lord out of the tomb!”

The “THEY” is most likely the religious leaders who hated Jesus so much or maybe she had in mind the Roman soldiers who mocked and beat Him – it would take that kind of cruelty to do such a thing to a person’s gravesite!

But the enemies of Jesus didn’t have the body did they?

In fact this is what they feared, isn’t it?

They are the ones who placed a guard over the stone – Matt 27.

The enemies of Jesus feared that someone might steal the body:

The next day, that is, after the day of Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate [63] and said, “Sir, we remember how that impostor said, while he was still alive, ‘After three days I will rise.’ (amazing how the enemies remembered that but the disciples did not! )[64] Therefore order the tomb to be made secure until the third day, lest his disciples go and steal him away and tell the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last fraud will be worse than the first.” [65] Pilate said to them, “You have a guard of soldiers. Go, make it as secure as you can.” [66] So they went and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone and setting a guard.

(Matthew 27:62-66 ESV)

None of the disciples, none of the followers of Jesus were expecting a resurrection, were they?

I’m sure they remembered many of the things He taught – I’m sure they remembered many of the things He did – but if you had to list what were the most important things He said during His earthly ministry- don’t you think that high on that list would be the prediction that He would die and rise again?

YET THEY MISSED IT

This is the sad state of many evangelicals and evangelical churches today – they like many of the stories Jesus told, they like many of the moral truths He taught – but they miss! ABSOUTELY MISS the MAIN REASON HE CAME – to accomplish our redemption through His death, burial and resurrection!!!

So they didn’t steal the body, the disciples didn’t steal the body – they were hiding from the Romans, fearing that they were going to be next!

So Mary’s desperation leads to #3

Mary’s devotion, desperation, # 3

The Disciples Investigation

V 3

For John and Peter, this is not good news, things have just gone from bad to worse – someone has stolen the dead body of Christ! - they were not expecting a resurrection!

V 4 they were running to the tomb as fast as their legs would carry them – John got there first

John was cautious, Peter was careless, John stopped outside the tomb with reverential awe, Peter ran in with reckless abandon.

John stopped outside he saw the linen cloths lying there.

John peered into the tomb and looked in – in the Greek – means a quick cursory look!

he saw the linen wrappings – not a shroud, these are long strips of cloth that had been doused in spices and wrapped around the body of Jesus.

V 5 – emphasis in the original is not on the wrappings but on the fact that they are Lying there – in other words it doesn’t look like someone broke in and hastily removed the wrappings – they were in the right place – this was no crime scene!

The wrappings were lying there – seemingly undisturbed!

They were still in the place where the body had been laid!

Had a thief come in, he wouldn’t have taken the time or the effort to remove the wrappings and neatly place them where they were! The spices formed a kind of a paste and they wouldn’t have even come apart well enough to do something like that!

What really happened? Here’s what I think: The linen wrappings were there where Nic and Joseph had left them because Jesus, when He had been resurrected from the dead – passed right through the linen wrappings! GLORIOUS!!

The stone that had been rolled away by the angel wasn’t to let Him out, it was to let John and Peter (and anyone else who would inquire) in!!!

V 6-7

Peter goes in, the word “saw” in V 6 is not the same word as in V 5

V 5 – cursory look

V 6 it is the Greek word from which we get our word – theory

- suggests more than a glance or a quick look, but some pondering over what he saw…thinking about what had happened.

V 8 brings us to # 4

- Mary’s passionate devotion

- Mary’s panicked desperation

- John and Peter’s superficial Investigation

- John’s sudden Illumination

Look at V 8 – this is the pivotal moment , the crescendo in the narrative

The word “SAW” in v 8 is a different word from the one in V 5 or the one in V 6 – in other words, in these three verses, John uses three different words for our word “saw”

Here in V 8 the word means – to see with comprehension – the lightbulb had come on, the dots had been connected – John has come to a knowledge of the truth – he sees with a Spiritual, God given understanding the truth of what had taken place

John was the FIRST ONE TO UNDERSTAND THAT JESUS HAD RISEN FROM THE DEAD!!!!

John now understands – doubts are cast away, fears are removed, and the settled assurance of who Jesus is and what Jesus has done is now fixed in his mind and in his heart!

He now knows that Jesus Christ is alive, victorious over death, victorious over the grave, victorious over His enemies – He now understands with spiritual eyes that HE HAS RISEN! He has risen indeed!!!!

We can sit here this morning and lay out all the facts, we can observe what took place that day, we can go to Israel and look into the empty tomb.

Every person who will ever know the power of the resurrection, every person who will ever have the settled assurance that Christ has risen from the dead does so just as John does here in V 8 – we come to an understanding of what happened there at the tomb, we come to an understanding of what happened at the cross – and we BELIEVE

We can rationalize, theorize, harmonize, and strategize all that took place that first Easter morning, but until the Spirit of God illuminates your understanding, illuminates your cold dead heart, you will not look and you will not believe

V 9-10 These two men left the tomb differently than they had come

they would never be the same again!

V 10 Peter went to his home, John went to his home

Do you remember who was at John’s home?

John 19:27 – “Then he said to the disciple (John) Behold your mother! And from that hour the disciple took her to his own house.

Do you think that John might have mentioned to MARY – JESUS’ MOTHER what he had seen?

OF COURSE HE DID – He had believed the GOOD NEWS – the GOSPEL – and he wanted to share it with someone as soon as possible!

- Our responsibility is to go and tell others that He has risen from the dead

Because the tomb was empty we have HOPE!

Closing Illus:

In 1982 Soviet president Leonid Brezhnev died.

As Vice President, George Bush represented the U.S. at the funeral of former Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev. Bush was deeply moved by a silent protest carried out by Brezhnev's widow. She stood motionless by the coffin until seconds before it was closed. Then, just as the soldiers touched the lid, Brezhnev's wife performed an act of great courage and hope, a gesture that must surely rank as one of the most profound acts of civil disobedience ever committed: She reached down and made the sign of the cross on her husband's chest. There in the citadel of secular, atheistic power, in Red Square, before the fall of the Berlin Wall, before the demise of the Soviet Empire - the wife of the man who had run it all hoped that her husband was wrong. She hoped that there was another life, and that that life was best represented by Jesus who died on the cross.

Paul said that if Jesus is not raised from the dead, then there is no hope for us – but thanks be to God that He did rise, that He did come out of that tomb – victorious over sin, death, and the grave and He did it so that one day – you and I can be transformed into His likeness – free from sin, free from pain – alive forevermore with Christ! AMEN

PRAY

Sermon Notes, John 19: 17-30

2010-07-17T19:38:00.000-07:00

Behold His Glory

John 19: 16-30

Intro:

The central truth of the Bible, the essential truth that defines Christianity, that defines a church, that defines a believer – is that Jesus Christ died on a cross to make an atonement for sinners!

- This is the central truth of the Bible, it’s the foundation of Christian faith, it is what defines and determines what is Christian and what is not Christian.

This truth is what we find when we open the Scriptures :

- The seed of the woman bruising the head of the serpent;

- The law of Moses and the sacrificial system – daily sacrifices, the Passover lamb,

- the history of the Nation of Israel

- ALL THESE WERE EMBLEMS OF CHRIST CRUCIFIED

We see this at the end of the Scriptures as well:

Rev 5:6 - And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain,

If you take away the Cross, if you take away the atonement, the Bible becomes just another book, one that sits on a shelf alongside the Koran, or other religious books. (like in the Book of Eli)

Without the cross, Christianity loses it’s power, it’s distinction, it’s meaning.

Recently – Fox news did a story on a congregation from Michigan, - used to be called Christ Community Church – now they are C 3 Exchange:

PLAY VIDEO

http://www.alittleleaven.com/2010/06/church-removes-the-cross-and-christ-and-his-gospel.html

There is no Christianity there at C3 exchange – they took down the cross to show that the message of the Cross hadn’t been there in a very very long time!

- This group are on the front edge of what is coming for many so called “churches” in America – one reason for such blasphemy, such idolatry and demonic influence in the religious world is that the world has rejected the message of the cross.

This morning I want us who are here to remember the cross, to honor the cross, to see that the message of the Christian faith is the message of the cross.

Read Text John 19: 17-30

PRAY

Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, John gave us a unique look at the crucifixion of our Lord – it is the shortest of the 4 accounts, leaves out many of the details the synoptic gospels tell us about – and it includes things that are not found in the other Gospels.

- as we look at these verses, we need to remember John’s overarching theme or purpose for writing his Gospel – to show that Jesus Christ is God in human flesh.

That’s what we will see when we look at these verses:

V 17 and 18

bearing His cross – just the cross beam(weighed between 75 and 125 pounds), vertical piece was usually prepared and kept at the place of execution– nailed together.

- John doesn’t tell us about Simon – the man who carried Christ’s cross when Jesus wasn’t able to carry it

- On many occasions, prisoners were unable to carry this cross beam because of the severity of the beating they received before walking up that hill to Golgotha.

o Simon of Cyrene was commanded to carry the cross beam for Jesus and carry it.

And they compelled a passerby, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to carry his cross.

(Mark 15:21 ESV)

Most scholars think that Mark mentions these two by name because they were well known names.

Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord; also his mother, who has been a mother to me as well.

(Romans 16:13 ESV)

Once He was at the site of the execution, the prisoner was laid down flat on the ground and his arms were either nailed or tied (sometimes both) to the cross beam. We know that Jesus was nailed to the cross beams (probably at the wrists)

Then they hoisted the Him up and the cross beam was attached – a tiny platform was attached at the bottom of the cross so He could put His feet on it.

The platform was there so that the person being crucified could push against it and raise themselves up enough to breathe.

Not merciful – not a compassionate thing – rather it extended the torture – kept them alive longer!

PLACE OF THE SKULL, GOLGOTHA

Latin “CALVARY”

V 19 – 22

It was customary to put a list of the charges on the cross so that witnesses could see what the person was being crucified for…

Pilate wrote this in three languages

Hebrew – the language of the Jews

Koine Greek – common language of the day

Latin – language of the roman soldiers

sign didn’t have a list of His crimes, just said

Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews

The Jewish leaders didn’t like this, told Pilate to change it – “What I have written, I have written”

in other words, Pilate had finally demonstrated some backbone and stood up to them –

V 23-24

The soldiers, callous about what they were doing, callous about the suffering of just another crucifixion, divided His clothes among themselves…

They were able to do this because the custom of the Roman Government when it came to execution or even other forms of public punishment (they paraded the officers of conquered armies through the streets naked to reduce them to total shame) was to make a public spectacle of the individual, bring as much shame on them as possible, humiliate them as much as possible– so they crucified people naked.

In the Garden of Eden, after Adam sinned, the Scriptures teach us that nakedness is shameful

Noah’s son Ham was cursed because he exposed his father’s nakedness.

Can you imagine the humiliation our Lord endured as He hung on that cross while hundreds of people looking on…?

Jesus bore the curse of nakedness for us so that we might be clothed in His righteousness!!!

John says that the Scriptures were fulfilled that they would divide up His clothing and cast lots for them. That’s exactly what happened – the soldiers had no idea they were fulfilling a prophesy – as far as they were concerned it was just a perk that came with the job,

Psalm 22:18 says this:

they divide my garments among them,

and for my clothing they cast lots.

John wants us to understand that the events of that day were not just random – they didn’t just happen, but they had been sovereignly ordained from before the foundation of the world by Almighty God!

V 25

From this sentence we are not completely sure how many people John is talking about.

His mother – Mary

then it says, His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas

- Is this two people, or is Mary’s sister Mary the wife of Clopas?

Either way, these dear women were there with Jesus through this entire ordeal.

This was the moment that had been prophesied by a man named Simeon when Mary and Joseph presented the baby Jesus at the temple – Simeon had told her:

[34] And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed [35] (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.” LUKE 2

When you look at all four accounts in the Gospels, you know that Jesus made 7 statements during His crucifixion – the 7 sayings from the cross.

John only tells us about three of them, V 26 and 27 give us the first one:

John was there, an eyewitness to the cross

Jesus was saying – I want you to consider John as your son now, and John, I want you to consider Mary as your mother.

Joseph, Mary’s husband had died already and Mary’s other children were not present there in Jerusalem at the time, so Jesus entrusted the care for His mother to John.

We know that at this moment, none of Jesus’ other family members believed in Him, so it’s most likely that none of them were around, we learn about at least two of them coming to faith in Jesus later - James and Jude

V 28-29

Jesus knew that – “all was now finished”

in other words He knew that His substitutionary bearing of the sins of His people and facing the full wrath of God the Father was complete.

He said to the Roman Soldiers “I THIRST”

-this was also a fulfillment from Psalm 22(v 15)

my strength is dried up like a potsherd,
and my tongue sticks to my jaws;
you lay me in the dust of death.

The soldiers took a sponge, put some of the sour wine on it, and gave it to Him to drink.

V 30 – the death of the Son of God

After receiving the sour wine, His thirst had been taken away enough for Him to speak in a loud voice - He said “IT IS FINISHED”

- Greek word is tetelestai

root word is TELOS – means purpose or end

in philosophy teleology is the study of purpose…

In Greek culture – merchants would write a credit to someone and when the balance was paid in full – they would write tetelestai across the bill

Criminals in jail, after they had served their time would get a paper and the jailer would stamp tetelestai across the list of their crimes – means paid in full, the debt has been removed!

Jesus was saying that His mission had been accomplished

His purpose in coming to the earth had been fulfilled to the very last!

- Jesus had drained the cup! He had faced the full measure of the wrath of Almighty God – and paid the entire sin debt for His people!!

When that was done, He gave up His life, gave up His spirit. Voluntary, He made the decision to die!

The most significant moment in Human history, the God of the Universe, the Creator of Heaven and Earth, the Author of Life – DIED!

Listen to Paul talk about this moment from Colossians 2:

And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, [14] by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. [15] He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.

[16] Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. [17] These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.

Jesus died on the cross for sinners. Other religions have rules and regulations; other religions have forms and ceremonies, rewards and punishments; but only Christanity, ONLY CHRISTIANITY has a Savior dying in our place, dying to purchase our salvation through His blood!

(JC RYLE)

“This is the crown and glory of the Gospel, miserable indeed is the religious teaching that calls itself Christian and yet contains nothing of the cross. A man who teaches in this way might as well profess to explain the solar system and yet tell his hearers nothing about the sun!”

Remove the cross, and I have nothing to say, remove the cross and you might as well put the Bible next to all the other religious books in the world because without the cross Christianity is empty, useless and worthless.

But in the cross, we see the length and breadth and depth of God’s love – For God so LOVED the World that HE GAVE His only begotton Son that WHOSOEVER belives in Him will not perish but have eternal life.

We know that the Father loves us because He did not spare His own Son but gave Him for us all.

Not only do we see the boundless, unfathomable love of God, but we also see the depths of the wickedness of man and God’s hatred of our sin!

Sin is so ugly, so damnable that nothing but the blood of Jesus can wash it away! The angels couldn’t have made peace with God for us, only the blood of Christ, the 2^nd Person of the Trinity!

When you think about these things, when you remember what Christ has done for you, remember these two truths:

1 All Christ’s suffering on the Cross was for-ordained

They didn’t come to Him by chance and arrest Him, they didn’t decide on a crucifixion on their own, every last detail was prescribed – fixed from eternity past

Acts 2:23 Peter, after Pentecost is giving his first public sermon – he says this:

this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.

All Christ’s suffering on the Cross was for-ordained

#2 All Christ’s suffering on the Cross was NECESSARY for our salvation.

- This was the great sacrifice upon which our eternal life depended.

- no one was going to heaven based on their own merit, no one was going to heaven on their own righteousness

- But only through the righteousness of Jesus Christ can we ever enter into the presence of God –

In His death, in His death ALONE – we have LIFE

Pray

benediction

Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, [21] equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

Ethiopia Orphanages

2010-07-14T10:27:00.000-07:00

Update

2010-07-10T21:28:00.000-07:00

On June 30th we sent off our I600A form along with a check for over 800.00 to the Dept of homeland security for our fingerprinting fees. On July 8, we went to the homeland security building in Portland and got our fingerprinting done! Another big hurdle complete! That same day Justin had come home from his trip to Michigan so we had him with us when we decided to visit the Ethiopian restaurant in Portland for lunch. We found the place in downtown Portland and ordered our food. Shortly after we arrived, two families came in, each one having beautiful little adopted daughters. We struck up a conversation with one family and heard about their story and their journey to adoption. They were very encouraging to us and gave us some good advice on what to do when we do travel to Ethiopia.

The food was good, but it took some getting used to. I don't think Justin enjoyed it very well, but that could have been the jet lag or the fact that he didn't sleep much his last night to be with his friend Anthony.

Financially, we have spent over 8700 so far on our adoption. Just a little over 26000 to go!!

letter to our friends

2010-07-04T06:36:00.000-07:00

The following is a letter that Janice wrote and we sent out last week - it's an update on our status and what is going on with our adoption:

Hello Friends and Family,

Jon and I thought this would be a good time to give everyone an update on our family and where we are in the adoption process.

Our boys are all well. Joshua will be a junior this fall, Justin a sophomore, and Joel will be in 7^th grade. Justin just left for Michigan for two weeks to travel with his best friend whose family is moving there. (With base closure, we’ve been saying good-byes to lots of friends.) Justin will be attending football camp when he returns, and Joshua is doing driving school (a big deal in Maine) and also going to church and football camps. I asked Joel what I should say about him, and his response was, “I’m just hanging out...” J

We have less than a year left in beautiful Maine so plan a trip to come see us! We anticipate moving to Virginia Beach (NAS Oceana) next March where Jon will be assigned to Carrier Wing 1.

In January, we started the international adoption process. Adoption has been in the back of our minds since the boys were little, and we now believe that the timing is right and that Lord is leading us to adopt our daughter from Ethiopia. There are approximately 4.6 million orphans in Ethiopia, and one in six children in this country dies before their fifth birthday. The need is great, but the process is hard! We finally have our home study completed and have submitted the necessary paperwork to U.S. immigration (USCIS). We have been told that USCIS approval usually takes about 6 weeks.

When this is done, we then wait for an FBI fingerprinting appointment, finish up the “paperchasing,” and hopefully submit our dossier to Ethiopia by the end of the summer. Once we have received a referral and a court date, Jon and I will travel to Ethiopia (this first trip may occur while we are still in Maine). We will get to meet our daughter during this trip. We then travel a second time (6 to 8 weeks from the court date) to bring her home!

Our faithful Lord has met each need in this process and has shown us over and over that He is sovereign over paperwork obstacles, bureaucracy and financial hurdles. The total costs will be approximately $35,000. A good friend organized a Zumbathon earlier this year, and we are very grateful for the community support we received. We have also done two yard sale fundraisers in which we saw God do more than we could have asked or imagined. We are also selling t-shirts as one of our fundraisers. The shirts have an outline of Africa on them and say Go. Seek. Love. (for Matthew 28:19, Matthew 6:33, and Mathew 22: 37-39) If you would like to purchase a shirt (or just make a donation to our adoption fund), you can do this at Jon’s blog, www.sacredpurposes.blogspot.com. The cost of the t-shirt includes our PayPal fee and shipping costs. You can also read updates about our adoption process and Jon’s sermon notes (he has been preaching through the gospel of John since September 2008). We are humbled and grateful for what God is doing in our family as we pursue what we believe to be His call to us. We would greatly appreciate your prayers as we continue on this adoption journey.

We hope you are having a wonderful summer. Much love from our family! Blessings, Jon and Janice

Sermon Notes, John 19: 1-16

2010-07-04T06:33:00.000-07:00

Behold His Glory

John 19: 1-16

Intro:

We thought we would never forget, but we did. On September 12^th 2001, it seemed that this nation was united like I had never seen in my lifetime. Many people who are today combat veterans, made a decision those first weeks after 9-11 to join the military and fight against those who had attacked us….yet, every year, it seems that we forget more and more that patriotism, that feeling we had when we watched those towers fall in NYC, heard about the Pentagon and the plane in Pennsylvania, it seems like we have forgotten what happened less than 10 years ago.

But it’s been 2000 years and NO ONE has forgotten what happened in Jerusalem that first Good Friday, No one has or will ever forget the events that sent Jesus Christ to the cross.

Even today we remember the name of the Roman Governor who condemned Him to death, even today we remember His suffering, His pain, His words from the Cross, His burial, His resurrection.

We forget about significant events even in recent history, but we will never forget, God forbid that anyone ever forget the events that led to our redemption.

Today, we are looking at the last day of the life of our Lord Jesus Christ, the last day He spent on Earth before His death for our sins. John records it in his Gospel

John 19: 1-16

Read Text, Pray

We saw last time that everyone else is in a panic, everyone else in this drama of redemption is hysterical or panic stricken or fearful, and in the midst of that is the calm, steadfast, majestic demeanor of the Lord Jesus – the One who is on trial, the One who’s life hangs in the balance is at peace – because He KNEW IT WAS THE WILL OF THE FATHER!

- When you are SURE you are doing the will of God, when you are certain that you are following God’s call for your life,

o there is peace, even in the midst of a raging desperation all around you – WHY? Because you are right where God wants you to be!

It may certainly be painful, may certainly look like you are under the thumb of an oppressor, but God is on His throne and what the enemy means for your harm, God is working for your good – AMEN?

Calvin put it like this:
“Though hostile forces rage and chaos threatens, God is king, therefore His people are safe.”

Phillip Brooks:

“Whenever souls are being tried and ripened, in whatever common place and homely way, there God is hewing out the pillars for His temple.”

Jesus was being threatened, His life was about to be laid down for the sins of His people, His sheep.

Let’s look at how those final hours before Jesus went to the cross came about:

V 1

Pilate had done all he could to get out of this mess, tried to release Jesus as was their custom at Passover, the people would have none of it, now his hand was forced, so he had Jesus flogged.

I think he was hoping that the flogging would be enough to pacify the bloodthirsty crowd.

Luke 23:16 tells us that Pilate had said before this
“I will therefore punish and release Him.”

Maybe that will make them happy, and they will forget this crucifixion stuff.

- it’s the act of a coward! Why did he beat Him? Why have Him scourged? No crime, but he wanted to pacify the people

- remember, he’s already in hot water with the Jews and with Rome…

The Jews knew that they had played Him like a cheap fiddle!

So he had Jesus whipped! Scourged

This is a hideous torture! - We often think that Jesus bore our sins only on the cross, but from what happens here in Ch 19:1 to V 30 He was bearing our sins.

Isa 53:5 says:

But he was wounded for our transgressions;

he was crushed for our iniquities;

upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,

and with his stripes we are healed.

A scourge was a stick, wrapped in leather with leather straps of different lengths attached to it.

at the end of the straps were sharp bits of bone or glass or metal, sometimes brass or lead balls.

The victim was laid flat on the ground, stretched out , or tied to a post or suspended from the ground.

They would give them 40 lashes (sometimes 39 because often 40 would actually kill them.

This was so brutal that often it would rip most or all of the skin off the back of the victim.

Pilate thinks if he does this, the Jews will give this up and he will be off the hook.

v 2, 3 – crown of Thorns, purple robe

The soldiers mocked Jesus, bowed down before Him in mockery – King of the Jews!

Struck Him with their hands, Matthew tells us they took a stick and gave it to Him as a scepter, beat Him in the head with it, pulled the hair of His beard out with their hands!

V 4 While this is happening, Pilate goes out to the crowd (the Pharisees, the Sanhedrin, people) and tells them that he is bringing Jesus out, and that he finds NO FAULT IN HIM!

V 5 They brought Jesus out, wearing the crown of thorns, the purple robe, beaten so badly that he no longer looked human – and Pilate made that infamous comment “BEHOLD THE MAN”

Pilate’s saying “Look at Him, does He look like a King, does He look dangerous?” This is what I can do to someone.

But there’s more to this than Pilate’s intentions,

More than once in John, he tells us about people speaking and saying things that they don’t understand, but are revealed as prophetic truth from God – here’s another one.

When Pilate says “Behold the man” he doesn’t know it but he’s quoting Scripture…

Zech 6:12 and 13:

“Thus says the Lord of Hosts, Behold the Man whose name is the Branch; for He shall branch out from His place and He shall build the temple of the Lord. It is He who shall build the temple of the Lord and shall bear royal honor and shall sit and rule on His throne.”

Pilate didn’t know it, but he was quoting Scripture about Jesus to the people.

He’s saying - Isn’t it enough for an innocent man to be beaten like that? That should satisfy them.

He thinks that by showing Jesus as a beaten, bloody, pathetic mess that they will ask for no more.

He doesn’t understand the wickedness and the hatred that drove these people – the Satanic influence on them that was driving them to call out for His life! - Nothing short of His death would be enough for them!

V 6 – the crowd, rather than being pacified by the gore, it just fueled the fire – they cried out louder and stronger – CRUCIFY HIM over and over and over!

and for the 3^rd time in John, Pilate says “I FIND NO GUILT IN HIM”

V 7

Pilate knew that the Jews didn’t tolerate any false gods – 2 different times he had brought in the image of false gods to Israel – Once on the standards of Rome when he first arrived, the other time on the shields that he hung up in Herod’s palace – became such a big deal that Caesar himself told him to remove them.

Now Caesar was watching Pilate, scrutinizing his every move – another issue over gods and the people of Israel would mean that Pilate was out of a job.

V 8 – more afraid!

He was already afraid of the Jews, afraid for his job, afraid because his wife told him that she had a dream about Jesus and that he should have nothing to do with him.

he was afraid about the whole situation, but now…he hears the Jews say that Jesus claimed to be the Son of God!!

To top off all his worries, this pagan, idolatrous Roman Governor thinks that maybe, just maybe he has just brutally beaten one of the gods…

V9 – frantic, he goes back to where Jesus is and asks him “Where did you come from?”

- he’s asking if Jesus is from the earth, or from one of the gods?

Jesus doesn’t answer him –

V 10 – Pilate then pulls rank – don’t you know that I have the power to release you and the power to crucify you?

- who was really in charge, who was really the “ranking” official here?

- story – chaplain school, young LTJG who saw an admiral in SDB’s – didn’t recognize the rank – just saw one large stripe on his sleeve – told the admiral to salute him because he had two stripes on his uniform, the admiral only had one….

V 11

Jesus says – you would have no authority over me at all unless it had been granted to you from above

- Pilate, you have no control over this thing at all, it’s only because God put you here in this position at this time and in this place –

Rom 13 tells us that all governments are under the control of God – He ordains the powers that be….

Pilate was governor by the decree of God – in a real sense, He was responsible to act FOR GOD in that position – God DESIGNED that it would happen exactly the way it happened.

God works IN and THROUGH the sinful acts of wicked men to accomplish His purposes (called the doctrine of concurrence).

Pilate’s intentions were evil, but in condemning Jesus he did a great service to the people of God.

- Illus – Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers, their actions were contemptible, but God used Joseph to prepare the world for a massive famine, those preparations saved Joseph’s family. He told his brothers:

“You meant evil against me, God meant it for good.”

“Therefore he who delivered me over to you has the greater sin.”

- degrees of sin – some sins are worse than others (Jesus said to Bethsaida and Chorizan that it will be more tolerable for Sodom in the day of judgment than for them…)

- who had the greater sin – Caiaphas and his followers.

V 12 – Caesar’s friend - was a title, carried with it great privilege – again the Jews threaten him with it…

Given his shaky political standing already, the Jews probably could undermine Pilate by promoting public disorder.

Also, historians tell us that Pilate’s teacher was a man named Sejanus.

Sejanus was a man who was in the inner circle in Rome, close friends to Caesar.

Sejanus was the one who put Pilate in for this job.

Around AD 31, Sejanus got in trouble with Tiberius Caesar and he had Sejanus executed in Rome. If Jesus was crucified after AD 31, the Jews might have been saying –

“remember your friend Sejanus, Pilate – you may be next!”

V 13 – he has Jesus brought outside and then he sits down in the place of judgment called Gabbatha to render the verdict. Time is getting away, not so much for Pilate as for the Jews – Remember, it’s the day of preparation for the Passover. The crucifixion must be over before nightfall, and it was already almost noon. (v 14)

He said to the Jews – Behold your King!

Their response(V 15)? Away with Him, Crucify Him!

“Shall I crucify your King?” – By now it was a forgone conclusion that He was going to be crucified – Pilate had been caught up, swept up into the moment – now he was just trying to endear himself to the crowds –

“We have no king but Caesar!

- This was the ultimate betrayal of the kingdom of God by the ruling class of the Jews. Pilate presents Him as their King, asks them if he should crucify their King, and they respond “We have no king but Caesar.”

How could they forget that their nation was a Kingdom –

I Sam 8 – the nation of Israel came to Samuel the Prophet and said – “We want a King so we will be like all the other nations…”

-V 8 “And the Lord said to Samuel, “Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected ME from being king over them.

OT Scriptures are full of passages that declare God to be King:

Psalm 2:6, Psalm 5:2, Psalm 10:16,Psalm 24:

24:1 The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein,
2 for he has founded it upon the seas
and established it upon the rivers.

3 Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord?
And who shall stand in his holy place?
4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
who does not lift up his soul to what is false
and does not swear deceitfully.
5 He will receive blessing from the Lord
and righteousness from the God of his salvation.
6 Such is the generation of those who seek him,
who seek the face of the God of Jacob. [2] Selah

7 Lift up your heads, O gates!
And be lifted up, O ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.
8 Who is this King of glory?
The Lord, strong and mighty,
the Lord, mighty in battle!
9 Lift up your heads, O gates!
And lift them up, O ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.
10 Who is this King of glory?
The Lord of hosts,
he is the King of glory! Selah

Psalm 45:6

Your throne, O God, is forever and ever.
The scepter of your kingdom is a scepter of uprightness;

but the Chief priests – who should more than anyone else in Israel know better said
“We have no king but Caesar.”

and so, Pilate gives Jesus up to be crucified.

Why did Pilate do what he did?
Why did the Jews reject Him and have Him crucified?

4 reasons:

1 Christ’s Righteousness reveals humanity’s unrighteousness.

- that’s why the Jewish religious leaders hated Him, His righteous life revealed to them their own wickedness, selfish motives

- it’s why Pilate hated Him too – Pilate could see that Jesus was innocent – said it over and over again – but he knew that HE (Pilate) was guilty of the death of an innocent man – made a public display of washing his hands – I am innocent of this man’s blood (Matt 27:24)

2 Christ’s Divinity reveals humanity’s Idolatry

- The Jews were not interested in worshipping the One True God – they had created a god in their own image

- saying “God created man in His own image and man has been repaying the favor ever since.”

o That’s what they had done, they wanted nothing to do with the true God who was there with them in their presence.

3 Christ’s Authority reveals humanity’s rebellion

- Pilate says “Behold your King, their response “we have no king but Caesar!”

- The Jews hated the idea of Caesar being their King, but compared to bending the knee in submission to Jesus, they would gladly bow to Caesar instead.

4 Christ’s Passion (suffering, crucifixion) reveals humanity’s powerlessness.

- Over and over, Jesus talked about how He had come to lay down His life for the sheep, to be the sacrifice for sins, to atone for the unrighteousness of man, but the people rejected this because they didn’t believe that they needed a Savior.

- But a Savior is ALL they, WE need – One who will remove all our guilty stains and cleanse us and present us righteous before a Holy God.

All the players in our text today did what they did for those 4 reasons, but today, people still reject Christ for the same reasons

Christ’s righteousness reveals our unrighteousness –

Scripture is a mirror that when they hold it up and look at themselves, they see that they don’t measure up – because in the Scriptures we see Jesus as He really is – When we see Jesus as He really is, we see ourselves as we really are!

Christ’s Divinity reveals our idolatry

Calvin said that we are all “idol factories” – making gods out of everything, making our own version of what we want God to be like –

Christ’s Authority reveals our rebellion

We would rather be without a king than to have Him to reign over us

Christ’s Passion reveals our powerlessness

It’s only through His suffering, death on the cross that we could POSSIBLY have access to God, that we could possibly have a relationship with a Holy God, that we could POSSIBLY be saved …..

Sermon Notes, John 18: 28-40

2010-06-30T19:21:00.000-07:00

Behold His Glory

John 18: 28-40

Intro:

One of the most influential Theologians of the 20^th Century was a man by the name of Dr Albert Schweitzer

- not influential in a good way!

- influenced “liberal” theology

- wrote a book called

o “The Search for the Historical Jesus”

- Denied the inspiration of the Scriptures, Divine Nature, miracles, etc…

When he read the Gospel accounts, particularly like the one we are looking at today, Jesus before Pilate, he said this:

Jesus Christ is a doll, caught upon and crushed by the wheel of history.”

He couldn’t have been more wrong!

What we have here in these last chapters of John’s Gospel is in very dramatic and specific detail, an account Jesus being arrested, led around by soldiers, put on trial, beaten, abused, crucified, killed – while in absolute complete control the entire time!

Life is not always what it seems to be on the surface, from the perspective of someone outside the Kingdom, from the perspective of someone who has – like Albert Schweitzer – no CLUE who Jesus is, from their perspective it looked like poor Jesus was crushed by the wheel of history,

But Jesus is no rag doll, Jesus is not crushed upon the wheel of history, rather, He is the stone of stumbling and the Rock of offense…

In these verses, Pilate sees himself as superior, as the one in judgment over this poor wandering prophet, Pilate in his beautiful palace, Jesus homeless and poor, Pilate with the authority of the Roman Government and the army to back him up, Jesus with not even His band of Disciples there for support –

What he didn’t know was that the only reason he is remembered through history at all, was because of this poor, Jewish prophet that plagued his wife’s dreams and interrupted his breakfast.

His name is mentioned in the Apostle’s Creed because he is the public authority who was in the position of judgment.

Let’s look at this account of the trial of Jesus before Pilate…

Read Text John 18: 28-40

PRAY

The Gospels tell us very little about Pilate except this trial and one other reference in Luke 13 – where he sacrilegiously murders some Jews who are offering their sacrifices to God.

There are some extra-biblical references to him though in the Jewish historian Josephus and others…

He was appointed governor of Judea in AD 26, not considered an easy appointment – the Jews rebelled against their Roman occupation,,

When he came into office, he wanted to demonstrate his power and authority, so he hung a Roman flag in Jerusalem – the people protested so strongly ( a sit down strike) that he relented and took the flag down

Later, he took money from the temple treasury to pay for a building project, and the people protested again – this time, he sent soldiers into the crowds disguised as peasants, and had them beat the protestors to death in the streets.

hopefully this bit of background on this man will help you understand why he was so easily manipulated to crucify Jesus – he was under great political pressure – he had already had so many run-in’s with the Jewish people that his career was on the line…which made it easier for him to give the Jewish leaders what they wanted, a crucifixion.

Quotation from JC RYLE –

All these details, all this background should remind us that God is always working to establish His will, to make His plan come to pass!!

Look at V 28 :

The Praetorium was the headquarters of the Roman governor

It was early morning, so this was after Jesus had appeared before Caiaphas (John doesn’t record this part)

Notice – the Jews did not enter into Pilates home, the Praetorium – why?

Because they didn’t want to defile themselves by entering the home of a Gentile – so they could eat the Passover with a clean conscience!!!!

How ironic is that????

These men were scrupulous to avoid any ritual defilement WHILE they were carrying out the most evil act in human history!!!!!!!

So here you have some men who were very RELIGIOUS, but were not affected by their religion at all…

- there are people like this in every church, in every denomination, no matter if it’s liberal or conservative,

JC RYLE:

“it is no uncommon thing to find people excessively particular about the observance of trifiling forms and outward ceremonies while they are the slaves of degrading sins and detestable immoralities”

- think Mardi Gras – get all the partying and revelry out of your system before LENT!

We behave in a similar manner every time we honor Christ with our lips, while our hearts are from Him..

This is what fallen humanity looks like,

RELIGION WITHOUT FAITH IS DANGEROUS AND DEADLY. – RC Sproul

V 29 – they wouldn’t come to Pilate, so he went out to them…asked the question

“what has He done wrong?” “What’s this all about?”

In other words, what are the charges here? You can’t just turn Him over to me and expect me to kill Him – give me some crime that has been committed…remember he doesn’t like them, they don’t like him….

V 30 – arrogant answer…

“why do you THINK we brought Him to you?”

They didn’t even want to get into the charges if they didn’t have to, they just wanted Pilate to accept their statement that Jesus was guilty….

V 31 Pilate didn’t like their attitude..

You take Him and judge Him for yourself.

Their answer revealed to Pilate what was really going on…

V 31b

“it is not lawful for us to put anyone to death.”

They wanted the death penalty!

Now Pilate understands, they want Jesus killed!

Look at V 32 –

He had told them before hand what kind of death He was going to face –

John 3: 14

“Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so too must the Son of Man be lifted up.”

V 33 – Evidently the Jewish leaders had given Pilate some kind of testimony about what Jesus had said or done, so he asks Him –

“Are you the king of the Jews?”

V 34 –

Now who’s on trial? Jesus is asking him if he is really interested in knowing the truth, or is he just doing his job of interrogating the witness…

V 35 – He’s not really interested, he’s just trying to get to the bottom of this case and get on with his day…

“Do I look like I care?” – What have you done?

V 36 – My kingdom is not of this world!

He’s not saying that He has no dominion over this world, (in Matt 28, He says “all authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth)

He’s saying – Pilate, my kingdom is not like your kingdom – your kingdom is built on violence and war, intimidation and persecution – that’s how kingdoms of the world function….

In other words, Jesus had no intention of establishing a kingdom by force, there was going to be no rebellion against Rome by force from His followers.

The only dominion Jesus exercised was over the hearts of men and the only weapons He gave them were spiritual weapons.

This kind of kingdom didn’t need soldiers or taxes or allies – the Roman Government needed not be afraid of His kingdom….or did they?

Fast forward to the year 312 AD,

Emperor of Rome is about to cross over into Italy to expand his empire – camped on one side of the

Milvian bridge – that night he had a dream…

Saw a symbol “CHI-RHO” (looks like a capital P with an X through the straight part…)

Voice said “By this sign conquer” – led to his conversion to Christianity - then it became the official religion of the Roman Empire!!

V 37

Jesus did not come to win a kingdom with a sword or to gather disciples and followers by force – rather He came to testify to fallen humanity the truth about God, the nature of God, the truth about human beings, the nature of human beings, and how fallen, sinful humanity can be reconciled to Holy, Sovereign God! – that’s why He came!!

V 37 is what Paul had in view when he wrote:

“I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, - 1 Tim 6:13

Pilate’s answer is full of sarcasm:

V 38 – WHAT IS TRUTH?

It’s the question of someone who has given up hope in ever finding the Truth.

We live in a world where truth is no longer seen as objective – something is true if you experience it, if it’s effective or meaningful – it’s true!

- two things that are polar opposites can both be true!

- Christianity and Hinduism cannot possibly both be true, yet I heard a “Evangelical” pastor say that a man came up to him and told him that he had found Jesus in Transcendental meditation!

o NOT POSSIBLE

o If you believe it, it’s true for you is the mantra today – try that when you go to the bank…..

Pilate is looking for truth, while the whole time the one who is the TRUTH (John 14:6) is standing right in front of him.

Notice, Pilate went right back outside after asking the question – he doesn’t want to be in the same room with Jesus…

V 39 – tries to get out of it, but the Jewish leaders will have none of it, they would rather release this terrorist Barabbas…

his full name was Jesus Barabbas

Barabbas means - ‘son of the father’

Lessons from this text:

1 It’s impossible to take a neutral stand when it comes to Jesus

Pilate couldn’t play both sides of the fence, he knew Jesus was innocent, knew that there was no real reason to crucify Him, but he did it anyway.

No one can be neutral when it comes to Jesus, either you believe Him and take Him at His word, or you reject Him

- many try to accept Him on their own terms, all they do is make Jesus in their own image, REJECTS HIM

2 Religion, by itself is empty, hypocritical, and worthless.

pray

benediction

Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.

Pictures from "Hell"

2010-06-28T09:12:00.000-07:00

Click on the title of this post to go to a photo article from Foreign Policy.com and it lists the countries that rate the lowest in stability and other factors. # 17 on the list is Ethiopia - the caption beneath the photo says that over 1/3 of the children under 5 years of age are underweight!

Sermon Notes, John 18, 1-27 Part 2

2010-06-22T03:54:00.001-07:00

Intro:

It takes a very long time to build up trust in another person, doesn’t it…. but it only takes 5 minutes to destroy that trust…

we have all had our trust in someone else destroyed – haven’t we? AND we have all destroyed someone else’s trust.

We have betrayed and been betrayed…

We are in the middle of a passage of Scripture that details the most well-known betrayal in all of human history…by 2 men – one betrayed Jesus with a kiss, the other with his words – both betrayals.

It’s such a key event in the ministry of Jesus that when Paul, in 1 Cor. tells the church about the institution of the Lord’s Supper he describes it not as the night in which Jesus was sharing the Passover with His disciples, not as the night in which He was arrested…

Instead, Paul calls it the night in which He was what? BETRAYED

Read Text,

Pray

Continuing our study of John, by way of review from last week:

Jesus is in the Garden of Gethsemane – Judas arrives with anywhere from 200- 1200 people, most of whom are professional soldiers..

Judas then showers Jesus with kisses to show them who to arrest – and Jesus is arrested.

I mentioned last time that John wants us to understand what Jesus wanted the disciples to understand – that through this whole process, no matter what it looked like from the circumstances – Jesus was in complete control!!!

- just as true for your circumstance as it is for the one here in John 18…it may seem hopeless, that all is lost – but God is in control of all the circumstances, all the players on the board, all the details – He is working ALL THINGS for your good and for His Glory

In order to show us that truth, John, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit gives details (and leaves out some details) that demonstrates to us - the readers of his gospel – that Jesus is in control..

- V 6 – Jesus asks them “Who are you seeking?” “Jesus of Nazarath” “I AM”

§ Woosh and they all fell down like bowling pins!

- they all get up, He asks them again, Who are you seeking?

o Jesus of Nazarth – I already told you that I am Him – LET THESE OTHERS GO – and they did!

So last week we saw Christ’s

- Supreme courage - doesn’t run away

- Supreme power - He could have defeated the whole army with just a word

- Supreme love - v 9 – I have not lost one

- Supreme obedience – v 11 “I must drink the cup…”

So, after seeing the beautiful, Sovereign majesty of Christ on display showing His complete control

in contrast to that, we see lies, deception, false accusations, physical violence, betrayal, arrest, political maneuvering….

So, John paints for us a dramatic contrast between the majesty, the supremacy of Jesus – always, through every twist and turn, through all these events, in COMPLETE control – His Supreme Majesty on display – contrasted with the behavior of (in this section) Peter. Peter the sinner, Peter the coward, Peter the broken fisherman.

V 12 – 14 tell us the setting for what is coming…

V 13 – Annas – What a piece of work this guy was…

Why did they take Jesus to Annas first? Caiaphus was the High Priest- Caiaphus was the one with the power to send Jesus to the Romans for trial – that’s what they really wanted!

Well, everyone in Israel at that time knew that Caiaphus was an empty suit

He had been appointed High priest by the Roman Government – but in his case, as in the case of the previous several High Priests, Annas held all the power!

Annas had been high priest from around 6 AD to about 15 AD, (while Jesus was growing up)

The Romans wanted a “yes” man to be priest, and Annas held too much power, so they kicked him out.

So technically, Annas was still high priest – in the eyes of the Jews, Annas was high priest, not Caiaphas.

Annas was so powerful that even when he was removed from office, he pulled the strings on every high priest after him that held that title.

The next 7 guys that held the title of High Priest after Annas - 5 were his sons, one was his grandson, and one (this one) was his son-in-law.

How did he have that much power – how did he get the Romans to put his family in those positions?

He did it the way a lot of politicians get their power today – He bought it!!

He bribed the right people and it bought him the position of High Priest for his kids and family.

So how did the High Priest (a legitimate high priest) get the kind of money he needed to buy the office of high priest?

- Annas was the person who set up the concession stands in the court of the Gentiles for the sacrifices!

o people from all over had to come and bring a sacrifice yearly

o Annas’ people would “inspect” their sacrifices – if they saw a “spot or blemish” on the sacrifice – they would say it was unacceptable for sacrifice.

o When that happened, they had to buy one of Annas’ animals for the sacrifice!

o So you have to go and buy your lamb at 5 times the price, but when you go and pay, you find out that you have the wrong kind of money – the Temple had their own currency – and if you didn’t have that kind – you had to exchange it – another opportunity to make a big profit!

o the outer court became known as the Bazaar of Annas.

- It was quite a scam! The people of Israel hated this man!

Remember this though, who was it who had twice messed up Annas business? JESUS

Two different times, beginning of His ministry, and end of His ministry He had driven the money changers and the sellers of sheep and animals OUT of the temple, so Annas had a reason to hate Jesus – Jesus had hit him where it hurt – in the wallet!

That’s Annas…Now, back to Peter…

Look at V 15:

“Simon Peter followed and so did another Apostle…”

Let’s give Peter some credit here, he had enough courage to follow Jesus from Gethsemane to the home of the High Priest.

After all, people are not likely to forget a man who cut off a guy’s ear – especially at that guy’s house!!

A disciple or disciples outside the place where He was being held might suggest to the High Priest that a rescue operation was in motion!! So it was a dangerous place.

“another disciple…” Most likely this is John, the author of this book – but we don’t know for sure.

V 16 and 17

Look at how she asked the question:

She didn’t ask it like this “ Are you one of His disciples?”

She said, “You are not one of His disciples, are you?”

- Here’s DENIAL# 1, betrayal # 1 from Peter

No, I’m not.

V 18 – Peter is trying to remain anonymous, hide in the shadows, but he goes over to the fire to warm himself.

This shows us that the trial takes place at night – completely illegal according to Jewish law.

In V 19, the scene shifts back to Jesus being questioned by Annas:

The High Priest asked Jesus about two things:

His disciples and His doctrine

In a Jewish trial, they had a kind of 5^th Amendment – you were never supposed to testify or answer questions…

Instead, witnesses were called, witnesses against and witnesses on behalf of the accused.

V 20-21 – Jesus answers Annas and in His answer, He is telling this man that what is happening there is illegal –

In effect, Jesus is saying “why don’t you do this the right way and call witnesses? That would be the proper way!

V 22-23

One of the officers thought that Jesus had disrespected the High Priest, so (to earn brownie points) slapped Jesus across the face.

He was saying “Who do you think you are?”

Jesus again called attention to the fact that this was an illegal trial, an illegal interrogation, and that He was innocent!

What a contrast to Annas – everyone knew Annas was corrupt – he was a politician

o politics – two words,

§ poly – many

§ tick – blood-sucking parasites

Annas bears close resemblance to what Ronald Reagan said about politics:

“Politics is supposed to be the second oldest profession. I have come to realize that it bears a very close resemblance to the first.”

V 24 – Annas sends Jesus to Caiaphas the acting High priest

Only Caiaphas has the authority to turn Jesus over to the Romans – so his father in law sends Jesus to him – in effect he’s telling Caiaphas, “I want this man executed”

V 25 – 27 finishes out the account of Peter – outside warming himself by the fire.

Two more questions about his association with Jesus were asked – Matthew tells us that the second denial included an oath – “I swear I don’t know the man…”

The third time, it wasn’t just an oath, it was with a stream of cursing that he denied knowing Jesus

- I DON’T KNOW THE BLANKITY BLANK MAN!!

o he cursed like a sailor (a fisherman)

As soon as that third denial was out of his mouth, a rooster crowed… - Luke tells us that when that happened, Jesus was being transported and He looked at Peter (Luke 22:61)

What lessons can we learn from this passage?

1 Man is guilty of his own sin and responsible, but God is Sovereign

- Annas was guilty of corruption, conducting an illegal trial, hatred, ultimately murder, but who was in control ?

- Peter was guilty of denial, but who was in control

- Judas was guilty, but who was in control

God ordains whatsoever comes to pass, even sin – not that He is guilty of sin, everyone is guilty of their own sin, but God ordains sin to accomplish His will

The greatest sin in history is about to take place, the crucifixion, and God Sovereignly ordained that event so that sinners like Peter, sinners like you and me could be saved.

Man is guilty, God is Sovereign

2^nd Lesson

People, even followers of Christ are capable of horrible, sin

Peter, after promising that he would never betray Jesus – these others may leave Jesus but not me, I will lay down my life for you. (John 13:37)

Yet at the moment of truth, Peter failed! Such is the nature of the human heart.

Man is guilty, responsible for his own sin, God is sovereign even over man’s horrible sin,

Sinners who are guilty of horrible sin, are exactly the kind of people that Jesus died to save!

He didn’t die to save people who are sinless, there are no such people, He died, He gave Himself for people who have it in them to betray Him – people like me, people like you!

On the other hand, Jesus will never, never forsake or betray those on whom He has set His love.

Pray

2010-06-21T19:22:00.000-07:00

Money update:

Approximate amount of money we need to adopt: $ 35,000

Amount of money we have spent to date: $ 7931 - approx 23% of total.

Total left to raise: $ 27,069

So what does that mean for us? It means that we are grateful to God for supplying our needs thus far. We are grateful to all who have given and donated to our cause. It also means that we have a long way to go!!

Please continue to pray that God would provide. If you can and would like to give, we would certainly appreciate it!

The big news is that our home study is completed! This is a MAJOR hurdle! Next on the agenda is the forms from the US Citizen and Immigration service. That means fingerprinting and more waiting.

Sometimes it's tough keeping the end in sight when we are waiting on paperwork or filling out forms. But then we think about a little girl who is waiting for us to come and bring her home and it puts other things in their proper perspective.

I hope you had a happy Father's day. God bless!

Jon

Sermon Notes, June 13

2010-06-14T16:53:00.000-07:00

Here we are in John 18, continuing our study of John’s Gospel – the arrest, then comes the scourging, then the crucifixion itself.

From Ch 13 up to Ch 17, we have spent a lot of time with Jesus and His disciples, but while Jesus was teaching his men, preparing them for what was to come, other things were happening behind the scenes.

The Jewish leaders were plotting to kill Jesus. He had done so much to anger and expose their hypocrisy:

- He had defeated their attempts to arrest Him (John 7) – the temple police went in to arrest Him – remember what happened – “No man ever spoke like this man.”

- He declared Himself to be equal with God and greater than Abraham (John 8) “Before Abraham was, I AM)

- He healed the man born blind on the Sabbath! (John 9)

- He said “I and the Father are One.” (John 10)

- He raised Lazarus from the dead (CH 11)

- Triumphal Entry (CH 12)

So they were anxious to have Jesus arrested, put on trial, and killed …

But Mark 14:2 tells us that they did NOT want to do it at the Passover – they were afraid of a riot from the hundreds of thousands of people who would be there in Jerusalem during that celebration.

But Jesus was in control, not them. He very carefully arranged for the place and the time where He would be arrested and put on trial.

He set things into motion in the upper room – taking Judas by surprise telling him “what you do, do quickly…” Judas thought he was the only one who knew….

But Jesus knew, He knows the deepest darkest deeds, the secrets that you think only you know, Jesus knows.

He sent Judas away before Judas was ready. He forced the hand of the religious leaders. Now, here in Ch 18, they were coming for Him.

John, just like Matthew, Mark and Luke each had a purpose behind the writing of their gospel, so we will see as we go through this section what parts John leaves in, and what he leaves out.

For example, remember that John wants us to see the Divinity of Jesus - the fact that Jesus is God, so He doesn’t include the agony in the garden that Jesus experienced. Rather, John through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, shows the supremacy and the majesty and the dignity of Jesus. John wants us to see the contrast between Jesus and the two other main characters in this section, Peter and Judas.

In these 27 verses of John 18, there are three scenes that John presents.

V 1-11 Jesus’ Supremacy in the Garden

V 12-18 Scandal in the Courtyard Part 1

V 19-27 Scandal in the Courtyard Part 2

First of all, Let’s look at V 1-4, Christ’s Supreme Courage

V 1 “spoken these words” – everything He prayed in Ch 17 and all that He said to the Disciples in Ch 13, 14, 15, and 16.

Now, it was Passover week and we know that there were thousands of sacrifices going on that week, it was a massive undertaking just to kill all those animals – bloody mess!

One historian said that before 65 AD, when the temple was destroyed, there were one particular year 256 thousand lambs slain for the Passover in Jerusalem. – A Quarter of a million!

In the city, the Jews had built a long trough, a channel that ran from the temple ground down to the small brook called the Kidron. In order for Jesus to leave the city and go to the garden of Gethsemane (which was in the mount of olives) He had to cross that brook – water was stained red with the blood of those lambs – a vivid reminder to Jesus of the sacrifice He was about to make for the church!

V 2 says that Judas knew the place because Jesus often met there with His disciples.

If Judas knew the place, why did He go there?

He went there because:

- It was the place of prayer

- It was the place of rest

- It was the place of fellowship

- The real reason – HE KNEW JUDAS WOULD LOOK FOR HIM THERE!!!!!

Jesus wasn’t looking to start a revolution, He didn’t want the people to rise up – He didn’t want His disciples to be captured or hurt, so He chose the place for His arrest – a secluded out of the way location where they would have privacy, but also to show His men that He was in control of the situation, that it was a willful surrender!

All through this section, He is protecting the 11, as we will see!

V 3

Judas had procured a band of soldiers and some officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees…

- “Band of Soldiers” – Greek “speiran”

- refers to a “cohort” – consisted of minimum of 200 men, max of 1200 men - These are professional soldiers from Fort Antonia, right next to the temple area

o Plus, you have the temple police, security force – we don’t know how many of them came; plus the priests and the Pharisees

o not some small mob, talking about HUNDREDS of people coming out to get Him in the night!

The other Gospels tell us something important that happened between V 3 and V 4 – do you know what that was?

- Judas went up to Jesus and as a signal to the Roman guards particularly, kissed Jesus – Greek construction means that he kissed Jesus repeatedly.

That’s the most infamous kiss in the history of the world. The most despicable act of betrayal in the history of humanity happened when Judas walked up, pretending innocence, pretending to re-join the group, walked up and began kissing Jesus on the face.

- Inferiors (or those who see themselves as inferior) kiss the hand, the feet

- Worshippers kiss the hem of His garment

- only an equal kisses the face – act of familiarity, warmth and affection.

V 4 – “knowing all that would happen to Him…”

What a contrast to the cowardly act of Judas, Jesus shows His Supreme Courage – He doesn’t run away (that’s what they expected – that’s why they carried weapons and lanterns.

V 1-4 Supreme courage

V 5-6 Supreme Power

Read V 4 and 5

V 5 – “I am He”

In the Greek, the word “he” is not there, literally He said “I AM” (eggo Imee)

What’s that? The Covenant name of God…

- seen through our study of John 7 times Jesus referred to Himself by saying “I AM”

o John 6:35 “Bread of Life”

o John 8:12 “Light of the World”

o John 10:7 “the Door”

o John 10:11 “the Good Shepherd”

o 11:25 “The Resurrection and the Life”

o 14:6 “Way, Truth and the Life”

o 15:5 “True Vine”

Now, Jesus, taking charge of the events that are taking place asks the question “whom are you seeking?”

Jesus of Nazereth – I AM

V 6 – drew back and FELL TO THE GROUND…

Professional soldiers, hired thugs, temple priests and religious leaders – FELL TO THE GROUND –

hundreds of them fell to the ground at the sound of His voice saying His name!!!

Jesus wants the disciples (and us) to know that He has power over this crowd,

He wanted Judas to know it, wanted this Roman army to know it too!

the crowd that had come for Him, FELL DOWN

some commentators said something like this:

- the people in front were so startled that they stepped back and tripped the people behind them, started a chain reaction, they all fell kind of like dominios….Really?

o This is not the Three Stooges take on Jesus – these were trained, disciplined soldiers – like the Marines - they didn’t trip,

Jesus demonstrated a small sample of His Supreme Power

Alexander Maclaren (British Pastor of the 19^th and 20^th centuries) wrote:

“There was for a moment a little rending of the veil of His flesh, and an emission of some flash of the brightness that always tabernacle within Him; and that, therefore just as Isaiah, when he saw the King in His glory, said ‘woe is me, I am undone!’ and just as Moses could not look upon the Face, but could only see the back parts, so here the one stray beam of the manifest divinity that shout through the crevice, as it were, for an instant, was enough to prostrate with a strange awe even those rude and insensitive men.”

All of them, the Roman cohert, the temple police, the religious leaders, Judas himself – fell on their face before Jesus when He peeled back the veil just enough for them to see who was in control and a demonstration of His power.

What’s kind of amazing to me is that they don’t just get up and run away! After being knocked down by two words, they didn’t turn and run away!

- or they didn’t repent and change sides!

Didn’t do either of those – they resisted the revelation that God had given them – they did it for the same reason you and I resisted His revelation, same reason people today resist His revelation (His Word) – because of the wickedness in their hearts!

Supreme courage, supreme power, now V 7 -10 Supreme love

Read V 7 and 8

The religious leaders would have loved to have gotten their hands on the disciples too, but because Jesus was in charge, He asked them again a second time “Whom are you seeking?”

The response again comes back – Jesus

- He says, ok, that’s Me, let the rest of these men go!

Just as He did by choosing the location of His surrender and the timing of His surrender, Jesus is protecting His men!

- look at v 9 – fulfillment of the prayer He prayed back in Ch 17 – John is quoting that prayer here in V 9

so to keep them safe, Jesus, fully in command of the situation, tells the crowd, “let my people go!”

look at V 10

Peter’s got courage! He took a sword (probably just a long dagger) and started swinging!

Cut off the ear of the servant of the High Priest

Malchus –

Do you think this is what Peter was trying to do?

No, swinging for the fences! – looking to get a home run!

- Had Jesus not acted, Peter would most likely have been put to death as well - charged as a criminal, arrested and sentenced to death for assault.

Once again, to protect His men and to demonstrate His complete control of the situation, Jesus performs a miracle!

- recorded not here but in Luke 22: 51

- Jesus touched His ear and healed him

It would be very difficult to bring charges up against Peter if there were no missing ears, cuts or scars on Malchus!

V 11, Supreme Obedience

“drink the cup” – metaphor – we use a modified version of it today “you are going to have to TAKE YOUR MEDICINE”

I have to drink the cup Peter, I have to take the full measure of God’s wrath – I’m doing this so that the Father will be glorified, and so that you, and millions more who will come after you can be saved!

That’s the end of the first act, Act 2 Begins in V 12

Get to that next week:

Jesus Christ drank the cup of God’s wrath so that you would not have to face that same wrath for an eternity. Most of the world refuses to trust in the merits of Jesus Christ as their sole means for salvation. One day, they will come before Him and every knee, every knee, will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord to the glory of God the Father – for those who reject Jesus, it will be too late…

Are you living under the wrath of God today? Unless you have embraced Jesus Christ by repenting of your sins and trusting Him alone for your salvation – you are on the road to facing the cup of God’s wrath and having to drink it for eternity!

If that’s you, come to Jesus today, He drank that cup for you, He faced the wrath of God for sin on your behalf – so that you might receive the cup of life from Him as you trust in Him alone as your Savior and King!

Pray

Benediction:

Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant,21 equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us [1] that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

Yard Sale Angel

2010-05-21T07:28:00.000-07:00

After a wonderful night of Zumba, we got up very very early on Saturday to prepare for our yard sale. The Sun was just coming up when I left the house to put up poster boards pointing people to our house and letting them know we had stuff to sell.

I got back to the house around 6AM and began setting up tables and pulling boxes out of the garage. Janice was in the house getting things ready and the boys all came out and helped me get everything outside. We got all the boxes into the driveway and began the task of setting up. While we were setting up, 45 minutes before our 8 AM start time that we put in our classified ad, people began showing up. (One guy actually came by the house on FRIDAY asking if he could look through our stuff!) This lady rolled down her car window and asked me if we were 'open.'

Who am I to turn down someone wanting to give me money for junk? I told her to come on over! I even teased her about helping us unload some of the boxes.

After that, there was a steady stream of people for most of the morning. Then, God did something amazing.

A lady walked up with her two daughters and commented on the shirts we were all wearing. She asked what "GO. SEEK. LOVE." meant. I explained the Biblical references and that we were adopting and selling these shirts along with the yard sale to raise money for the adoption. She seemed very interested in what we were doing and we continued to talk as she looked around the sale. After a minute or two, she turned to one of her daughters and asked her to go to their car and bring back an envelope.
I didn't think anything of that at the moment, she then turned to me and asked me more about our adoption. When her daughter returned she took the envelope from her and handed it to me. I don't remember her exact words, but she said something like this: "you will understand this later, but I am doing this to be obedient to God. This is to help you with your adoption." I took the envelope and thanked her - not knowing what was inside. She asked if she could look at the shirts we had for sale, so I took her inside where we had the shirts. While we were walking inside, curisoty had gotten the better of me so I peeked inside the envelope and saw that there was at least one hundred dollars inside! We went into the house and I gave her two shirts to take in appreciation of her gift. A few minutes later, she and her family left. Janice and I looked inside and there were 4 one hundred dollar bills inside that envelope!!!

What a blessing from the Lord. As she was leaving this lady told me that her daughter was in need of an organ transplant. I promised to pray and thanked her again and she was gone.

She will probably never read this blog, but I wanted to honor her gift and ask you to pray for her daughter.

One other thing - the forcast for Saturday was rain from 9 am to around Noon. We saw the clouds early in the morning and I prayed that God would hold off on the rain during our sale. Well, it threatened a couple times, but it never rained. In fact, just to show Himself strong, God held off the rain until I cleaned up the last piece from the sale and put it into the garage. Only then did the rain come. Thank You Lord was all I could think to say!