Daniel 7 GUD har kontroll

Daniel 7 GUD har kontroll

Ikke frykt dyrene, frykt GUD, HAN har gitt Menneskesønnen all makt.

1. Dyrene Daniel så.

INTRO.

Noen ganger glemmer jeg hvor vanskelig Daniel må ha hatt det, kanskje dere også gjør det. Jerusalem byen han bodde i hadde blitt angrepet flere ganger, bare Nebukadnesar hadde angrepet og underlagt seg den to ganger. Venner og familie av Daniel hadde kanskje blitt drept eller også bortført til Babylon. Daniel måtte leve livet sitt i Babylon, og når Daniel ba og spurte hvor lenge de måtte fortsette å bo i eksil fikk han ett svar han ikke ville ha, jødene skulle leve lenge i eksil, noe som hadde vært og kom til å fortsette å være grusomt. Han ble behandlet som en utlending, og en som ikke vil innordne seg etter lovene og reglene i landet. Noen laget også spesifikt regler for å fange Daniel i lovbrudd. De hadde mat som var mot den jødiske Loven å spise, de skulle kun tilbe kongen, osv. Noen ganger nå jeg leser om Daniel så glemmer jeg dette, for Daniel kan det fremdeles ha opplevdes som å bo i ett terror-regime, der det du gjorde, og sa kunne få deg drept. Han ble behandlet som viktig, og som han var noen, når han kunne gjøre noe for lederne. Men ellers ble han sett på en utlending. Daniel ville ha fred, Han ville hjem til Judea, han ville sikkert tilbake til familie og venner, hvis han hadde noen igjen. Han vet at det er det er jødenes synd, og mangel på omvendelse som har ført dem dit de er. Men det forandrer ikke det faktum at han vil hjem. Han bor i Babylon, ett krigersk kongedømme der man ble innrettet eller blir henrettet. Det er i denne konteksten Daniel levde i, og det er i denne konteksten vi burde lese Daniel 7, som vi skal se på i dag.

1. Hvor finner jeg det i teksten.

V.4-8

2. Forklar teksten.

Vi har alle opplevd mareritt, og selv om Daniels drøm definitivt kan sammenlignes med et mareritt, så var den så mye mer enn det. Se for deg at du er Daniel, du står og ser utover havet, det kommer sterke stormer fra alle kanter. Du må holde deg fast for å ikke bli blåst uti havet, ute i vannet begynner det å boble og fire store dyr som kommer opp av havet, det ene styggere og grusommere enn det andre. Det første dyret ligner løve med ørnevinger, vingene blir revet av, dyret brøler og skriker av smerte, det blir reiste opp på føttene og får ett menneskehjerte. Det andre dyret ligner en bjørn, som kommer opp av havet med tre ribbein i tennene, du hører en stemme som sier til det, reis deg og spis mye kjøtt. Og dyrene slutter ikke å komme, nå ser du ett dyr som ser ut som en leopard kommer opp av havet, vannet bruser rundt det. Og selv om du helst vil stikke av, klarer du ikke å la være å stirre på det. Det har fire hoder og fire fuglevinger og blir gitt herskermakt. Og når du tror du ikke orker mer, og du er i ferd med å svime av fra frykt og utmattelse hva skjer, jo det kommer ett fjerde dyr, styggere og mer grusomt en de tre første. Det hadde tenner av jern, klør av bronse, det spiser og knuser alt rundt seg, du ser at de som slipper unna blir trampet i hjel og knust. Dyret kommer nærmere deg og du ser at det har ti horn. Dette er det styggeste du noen gang har sett, men så skjer det noe veldig rart, tre av hornene blir revet ut, det vokser ut et større og styggere horn, der de tre første var, det har øyne og munn og du kan høre det skryte og opphøye seg selv.

Det vi ser på i dag er skremmende, for meg høres det ut som de mest skremmende bildende jeg får, når jeg leser Johannes Åpenbaring, fæle dyr som kommer opp av havet. Det ene dyret styggere, og mer skremmende enn det andre. Så jeg forstår godt Daniel når han sier:

«Jeg, Daniel, ble skrekkslagen av tankene mine, og ansiktet mitt bleknet. Men jeg gjemte alt dette i mitt hjerte.»

Jeg Christian synes dette var ubehagelig lesing, og dere synes og kommer sikkert til å synes at dette er ubehagelig å høre på. Og for å være helt ærlig, tror jeg at det er noe av poenget. Jeg er ikke veldig glad i store poetiske bilder, men ser frem til å se på dette med dere i dag.

Selv om han var skrekkslagen, visste Daniel at det bare var hos GUD at kunne få svar på hva dette var. Så Daniel spurte en i GUDS nærhet om hva dette betød. Han fikk til svar i vers 17. «Disse store dyrene, fire i tallet, betegner fire konger som skal stå frem på jorden»

Så la oss se på dem.

Det første dyret:

Det første dyret lignet en løve, med ørnevinger, det ble reist opp på føttene som ett menneske og ble gitt ett menneskehjerte.

Løven var i datidens Midtøsten ett tegn på det babylonske riket, det ble brukt til å skape frykt hos landene rundt det babylonske riket. Og de hadde god grunn til å være redde. Så løven med ørnevinger kan ha vært ett bilde på kong Nebukadnesar. Han ledet 8 felttog i løpet av en tiårsperiode, og erobret etter hvert hele Mesopotamia. Han erobret Jerusalem i 598 f.Kr. Jojakin kongen av Juda ble ført til Babylonia. Han erobret Jerusalem igjen i år 586 f.Kr. for å pasifisere stater som var vennlige mot Egypt. Og da ble Sidika og store deler av den jødiske befolkningen deportert til Babylon.

Vi har også lest at Nebukadnesar ble gal, og levde som ett dyr i flere år, før han vendte om. Og ble ett menneske igjen. Det kan samsvare med at løven fikk ett menneskehjerte.

Det andre dyret:

Det andre dyret lignet en bjørn som med tre ribbein i tennene, dette dyret fikk beskjed om å reise seg opp og spise mye kjøtt.

Bjørnen kan være ett bilde på det Medo-Persiske riket, ledet av kong Cyrus og hans sønn Cambysus. Det var ett krigersk rike som underla seg tre store stater.

Det tredje dyret:

Det tredje dyret, en leopard med fire hoder og fire fuglevinger. Som ble gitt herskermakt. Dette kan være riket til Aleksander den store. Han underla seg store områder og døde i en alder av 32 år, da ble riket hans delt i fire.

Det fjerde dyret:

Det fjerde dyret er muligens det Romerske riket, jerntennene kan vise til det romerske rikets overveldende millitære makt, hvordan det ikke hadde kvaler ved å bruke, misbruke og undertrykke mennesker. Romerriket hadde evne til å tillegge seg land og kulturer, og blande sin kultur inn i områdene de underla seg. Men de var ikke alltid så tollerante, og det var romerne som rev tempelet i Jerusalem i år 70.

Dette var bare en kort, og rask gjennomgang av hvilke riker disse dyrene kan ha vært. Dette kan også være helt feil, for disse inngående tolkningene av bibeltekstene er gjort av mennesker og vi kan gjøre feil. Men det er interessant å lese hva andre har brukt lang tid på å sette seg inn i og skrive om. Så disse dyrene kan peke på riker som har vært, eller som vil komme. Før har vi jo snakket om profetier som delvis eller helt oppfylt.

2.Frykt Gud, han har kontrollen!

1. Hvor finner jeg det i teksten.

V.9-11

2. Forklar teksten.

Midt oppi kaoset og frykten Daniel føler, skjer det noe enda rarere. For ett øyeblikk siden kunne Daniel se disse fryktelige dyrene som drepte, ødela og for fram, det ene styggere og grusommere enn det andre. De er der fremdeles, men gjør veldig lite. Tronstoler blir satt frem, og en som beskrives som gammel av dager trer frem og setter seg på tronen. Klærne er hvite som snø og håret er som ull (Det er slik Jesus beskrives i Johannes åpenbaring kapittel 1). Tronen er som laget av flammer og en elv av ild renner utfra tronen. Bare så det ikke skal være noe tvil så er denne personen GUD. Dyrene som for ett øyeblikk siden var det skumleste Daniel hadde sett, var plutselig ikke så skumle, de gjorde heller ikke så mye. Bortsett fra hornet selvfølgelig det klarte ikke å holde kjeft. Men som vi ser så får det ikke gjort så mye. Der er GUD, omringet av tusener av engler som tjener HAM. Titusener på titusener står foran HAM, retten blir satt og bøker blir åpnet, og som vi vet holdt hornet fremdeles ikke kjeft. Jeg er ikke sikker om det forstår at det står og fører bevis mot seg selv, i sin egen rettsak. Det snakker, skriker og skryter, jeg synes jeg kan høre det. Se for deg en ond versjon av Eselet i Shrek filmene, jeg har gjort alt. Jeg har drept så mange i krig, jeg har hersket over hele verden, ingen har større hær eller makt enn meg, jeg har til og med revet tempelet ditt i Jerusalem GUD, jeg har forfulgt og drept folket ditt, byttet ut lovene dine, og tider med mine egne, hva kan du gjøre med meg gamle mann?

Men som vi leser videre blir det ingen episk kamp med spesialeffekter fra Michael Bay, det er ingen trumpet som lyder før tusener av legioner av engler kommer flyvende og kjemper med dyret med hornet. Bare se i vers 11:

«Jeg fortsatte å se fordi jeg hørte de store ordene som hornet talte. Og mens jeg så, ble dyret drept, og kroppen ble knust og kastet på ilden for å brennes.»

Hadde han ikke vært så redd, hadde Daniel stått og klasket seg selv i pannen, og nesten vært redd og flau på dyrets vegne.

Det dyret sier, eller gjør har ingenting å si. GUD på tronen tar makten fra dyret, fordi HAN kan og vil. HAN dreper dyret og kaster det på ilden for å brennes, fordi det er HANS rettferdige dom over dyret. Det er målt veiet og funnet for lett. En grusom hersker, ett grusomt kongedømme går i fra å være noe folk frykter, og lever i redsel over til å slutte å eksistere, hvorfor? Fordi GUD vil det slik.

Og det er ikke bare dyret med hornet som GUD dømmer, men alle dyrene. Også de andre dyrene blir fratatt all makt, og livslengden deres blir fastsatt med dag og time. Akkurat som dyret med hornet er det ikke fordi de blir redde og overgir seg. Men fordi GUD i sin rettferdige dom tar makten fra dem. Dyrene som var de verste, mest fryktinngytende kongene på jorden, hadde ikke lengre makt, de hadde ikke lengre liv. Hvorfor? Fordi de hadde møtt noen mye større, og mye mer fryktinngytende, GUD! De var så oppslukt av egen makt og fortreffelighet at de ikke forsto at mektig, aldri har og aldri vil kunne måle seg med allmektig.

Daniels bok er skrevet slik, at den gir håp også for oss i dag. Vi har opplevd grusomme ting i vår nære historie, og trenger ikke å se tilbake til bibelske tider. Nazi-Tyskland, Hiroshima og Nagasaki, Lenin, Stalin, 11.September og One Direction. De er kanskje ikke så ille, men jeg klarer ikke å få What makes you beautiful ut av hodet. Så om du går rundt og er redd for en verdensleder, enten det er Xi Jin Ping, Vladimir Putin, Kim-Jong Un, Donald Trump, Borris Johnson, Angela Merkel, eller Erna Solberg. Så ikke vær redde, GUD har full kontroll, Han har ikke falt av tronen. Gud skjelver olle av frykt dem. Akkurat som oss skal de også stå foran GUDS rettferdige dom. Huske det Jesus sier i Matteus 10:28

Vær ikke redde for dem som dreper kroppen, men ikke kan drepe sjelen. Frykt heller ham som kan ødelegge både sjel og kropp i helvete.

Dette bringer oss til mitt tredje og siste punkt

3. Menneskesønnen og verden

Vers. 13-27

2.Forklar teksten.

I synene sine når han står foran tronen, ser Daniel Menneskesønnen, som kommer med himmelens skyer. I evangeliene referer Jesus til seg som Menneskesønnen flere ganger, og hver gang er dette noe som virkelig provoserer fariseerne. Dette fordi de ikke tror at Jesus er GUDS Sønn, og mener derfor at HAN driver med blasfemi. Og når vi leser vers 13-og 14 som Jesus peker på når Han referer til seg selv som Menneskesønnen, kan vi forstå at de blir provosert, bare se selv:

¹³ Jeg så i mine nattsyner, og se!
          – med himmelens skyer
          kom en som var lik en menneskesønn.
          Han gikk bort mot den som var gammel av dager
          og ble ført fram for ham.
¹⁴ Han fikk herskermakt, ære og rike
          så alle folk og nasjoner og tungemål skal tjene ham.
          Hans herskermakt er en evig makt
          som ikke skal forgå.
Hans rike går aldri til grunne.

Menneskesønnen kommer med Himmelens skyer, i det gamle testamentet brukes skyer noen ganger for å beskrive GUDS herlighet. Jeg er ikke sikker på om det er tilfellet i denne teksten. Men tenker det kan være det. Da Daniel ser Menneskesønnen (Jesus) kommer med Himmelens skyer og gå mot den som er gammel av dager (GUD). Hos GUD blir Jesus gitt herskermakt, og rike, som aldri skal forgå, eller gå til grunne. Alle folk, nasjoner og tungemål skal tjene Jesus. Dette er ulikt fra de fire dyrene Daniel så tidligere i synene sine, som alle ble målt, veiet og funnet for lette. Jesus, menneskesønnen som ble gitt dette av GUD fortjente det. Hvorfor? Fordi Han er GUD, fordi Han gjennom sitt syndefrie liv, og død på korset reparerte forholdet mellom oss og GUD. Dette ser vi også i Johannes åpenbaring kapittel 5:

² Da så jeg en mektig engel som ropte med høy røst: «Hvem er verdig til å åpne boken og bryte seglene?» ³ Men verken i himmelen eller på jorden eller under jorden var det noen som kunne åpne boken eller se i den. ⁴ Da gråt jeg sårt, fordi ingen var funnet verdig til å åpne boken eller se i den. ⁵ Men en av de eldste sa til meg: «Gråt ikke! For løven av Judas stamme, Davids rotskudd, har seiret og kan åpne boken og de sju seglene.»
⁶ Og jeg så et lam som sto midt på tronen, mellom de fire skapningene og i kretsen av de eldste, og det så ut som lammet var slaktet. Det hadde sju horn og sju øyne, og øynene er Guds sju ånder som er sendt ut over hele jorden. ⁷ Lammet kom og tok imot bokrullen fra den høyre hånden til ham som satt på tronen.
⁸ Da det tok boken, falt de fire skapningene og de tjuefire eldste ned for Lammet. Hver av dem hadde en harpe og gullskåler fulle av røkelse, det er de helliges bønner. ⁹ De sang en ny sang:
          Verdig er du til å ta imot boken
          og bryte seglene på den.
          For du ble slaktet,
          og med ditt blod har du frikjøpt for Gud
          mennesker av alle stammer og tungemål,
          av alle folk og nasjoner.

Jesus gjorde det ingen andre kunne gjøre, Han kom frem til GUD. Han er lammet som ble slaktet, og er verdig til å åpne bokrullen, og føre dom over oss. For Han har levd som oss og død for oss. SÅ istedenfor å bli fratatt alt i dommen, drept og kastet på ilden som er GUDS dom. Fikk Jesus makten, æren og rikene under himmelen. Og vi som er i Han blir vi en del av Menneskesønnens evige rike, ikke på grunn av noe av det vi har gjort, men på grunn av det Han har gjort, lammet som ble slaktet.

Daniel er fremdeles livredd og fortsetter å spørre om det fjerde dyret med de alle hornene. Og får høre skremmende ting, hornet skal sluke jorden, tråkke den ned, hornet skal tale mot og fare fram mot den høyeste hellige. Og de hellige, de som tilhører GUD skal overgis i hornets hånd, en tid, tider og en halv tid. Deretter peker teksten tilbake på det vi allerede har lest om. Det fjerde dyret med hornet, blir fratatt makten sin dømt, drept og kastet på ilden for å brennes, GUDS dom!

I vers leser vi at GUDS folk de hellige skal forfølges, og dette er en profeti for alle tider Daniel så det på sin tid og vi ser det i dag. Men det forandrer ingenting, for allerede her i Daniels bok ser vi hvordan det kommer til å ende, Jesus, Menneskesønnen seirer over de som forfølger de hellige, Hans folk. De hellige er de som har vært, og oss som sitter her i dag, dere som følger med på stream, og de som kommer lenge etter oss. Tror du på Jesus er du en av de hellige. Når det kommer til slutten av vers 25 der det står om hvor lenge de hellige skal overgis i hornets hånd, tid, tider og en halv tid, så vet jeg ikke hva det betyr. Så beklager jeg det, for meg er ikke det så viktig, for jeg føler dagens tekst peker på noe viktigere.

At herredømmet, makten og rikene under himmelen gis til Menneskesønnen, Jesus får det som allerede er Hans, det Han har gjort seg fortjent til ved å ha levd ett syndfritt liv som menneske, og død for våre synder, og tatt straffen vi fortjener slik at vi kan være del av Hans evige kongedømme, slik at være del av Hans hellige, ikke fordi vi er perfekte i oss selv, men fordi Han har gjort oss hellige. Og vår jobb er ikke å fortjene det han har gjort, men å tjene og adlyde Ham.

Så for å oppsummere dagens preken i en setning:

Ikke frykt dyrene, frykt GUD og tro på Jesus Hans Sønn.

Col 1:1-14 The gifts of GOD and our life in gratitude

Col 1:1-14

Intro:

Have you ever met a Christian who makes you think, what is different about this person?

To answer my own question: I have.

Like my friend Robert we’ve been friends for as long as I can remember. There is really something in the way he speak and behave towards others: That really reflect the Gospel in his life. I see it in the way he treat and loves his wife and children. It’s something about the way he root himself, in the word of GOD. It makes me think, that this man, he is something special, he even looks like Jesus, with his long hair and unruly beard.

So the question becomes:

“Is it something about Christ that makes Robert special, or is it something about Robert that makes Christ special”?

If Robert knew that I had asked that question, he would been quite offended. He makes it clear that he lives a live reflecting what he believes. So if he didn’t believe the Gospel, his life wouldn’t reflect it.

We’re going to have a look at the generous gifts GOD has given us in verses 1 to 14. In the same text we’re also going to have a look at how our lives reflect our beliefs. We’re going to do this through to points. The first one I’ve called The gifts of GOD, the second point I’ve called Our life in gratitude.

The gifts of GOD

1.State the point:

Reading todays passage we see that; GOD gives us everything we need. Everything from ministers of His word, to salvation from our sins! Just have a look at verses 3-5.

2.Show it in the text:

³ We always pray for you, and we give thanks to GOD, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁴ For we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and your love for all of GOD’s people, ⁵ which come from your confident hope of what GOD has reserved for you in heaven. You have had this expectation ever since you first heard the truth of the Good News.

3.Explain the point:

If Paul’s letter stopped a verse 4, it could be understood as the Colossians were justified through their fantastic works in v.4. This is exactly why we go through books of the bible and why we read things in context. Because when we continue in verse 5 we see the reason for the Colossians faith in Jesus and their love for all GOD’s people. It is the confident hope of what GOD has reserved for them in Heaven. Basically they look forward to Heaven.

Where did this hope come from? It came from the truth of the Good News, the Gospel. So looking at verses 3-5 we see that GOD is the provider of the faith, the love and the hope. What was it the Colossians did that made them special? Nothing, at best they “accepted” GOD’s generous gifts.

As we continue to reading through the verses from 1-14 we see that GOD doesn’t even stop there: He is the giver of faith, love, hope and the Gospel. Through the fruits of the Gospel our lives are changed, from the day we hear and understand it.

Who is responsible for us hearing the Gospel? Have a look at verse 1, GOD chose Paul as an apostle of Christ. Why did GOD do that, because He wanted to. GOD gives us ministers of His word. Their job is to teach the word of GOD. By sharing the Gospel through the preaching of the word, bible studies, and praying that hearts and mind may be opened to His word.

GOD is responsible for sharing the Gospel, and giving us the complete knowledge of His will, spiritual wisdom and understanding.

In all things, GOD provides for us. He gives us all the strength, patience and endurance we need. He wanted us to be saved, so He transferred us from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of His son Jesus. Jesus loved us so much that He purchased our freedom and forgave our sins, through His death on the cross.

What did we do to deserve this? Nothing! Jesus wilfully died for our sins, beaten, whipped, and crucified. He paid the ultimate price for our freedom and forgiveness. GOD knew that no other sacrifice would heal the wedge between man and Him. In all His wisdom and love for mankind, GOD sacrificed His only Son. So that whoever believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life. All the blessings GOD has given in verses 1-14, are gifts we have done nothing to deserve.

So what I see in Robert, and everything you see in other Christians that are makes you think, what is it about these people that make the special. Well it Is GOD, they are simply working out the gift GOD has already worked into them.

4.Illustrate the point:

If a rich man decided that he felt like giving you 10 million kroner. Polite as you are you accepted this generous gift, and became a millionaire. The rich man gave you 10 million of his hard-earned money, whilst you said thank you and danced all the way to your bank.

5.Apply the point:

GOD gives you these gifts because He loves you, Jesus died for you because He loves you, He gave you His Spirit, The Holy Spirit because He loves you.

So no there’s nothing we can do to deserve God’s gifts and love. When a Christian does something well it’s because of what GOD gave them. Not because they’re brilliant.s

There are no super-Christians, but there are people GOD works stronger through than others. Not because they deserve it but, because the way they live their lives, allow the fruits of the Gospel to grow, and be made more obvious. GOD’s gifts never stop being just that, gift!

So or all we can do is to gracefully receive His generous gift and live a life in gratitude, where we let the fruits of the Gospel be made obvious in our lives. Where we create as good a soil as possible for His gifts to grow. This brings us to my second point that I’ve called Our life of gratitude.

Our life of gratitude

1.State the point:

Do you think that there a link between the Gospel and behaviour?

Yes there is, because a faith is living and a faith without good fruit is not a real faith

2.Show it in the text:

Let’s have a look at verses 6 – 8.

“This same Good News that came to you is going out all over the world. It is bearing fruit everywhere by changing lives, just as it changed your lives from the day you first heard and understood the truth about GOD’s wonderful grace. You learned about the Good News from Epaphras, our beloved co-worker. He is Christ’s faithful servant, and he is helping us on your behalf.”

3.Explain the point:

In these verses, we really see the power of GOD’s Word; If we start by having a look at verse 6

“This same Good News that came to you is going out all over the world. It is bearing fruit everywhere by changing lives, just as it changed your lives from the day you first heard and understood the truth about GOD’s wonderful grace”

Those of you coming to our bible study might remember that to start with the Gospel was shared only in the town of Jerusalem. When the persecution of the Christians started. It went from Jerusalem, to Judea, to Samaria and then to the ends of the earth. The Gospel spread all over the world. Not only was the gospel shared all over the world. People all over the world received the Gospel and believed it. Just look at the Word of GOD. It has been translated into 518 languages. The result of this is that a lot of people have, heard, was taught and understood the Gospel.

There’s a lot of great examples of how hearing and understanding GOD’s word changes lives.

One is the Methodist minister William Booth and his wife Catherine. Who wanted to share the, Gospel with those who were living on the outside the acceptable Christian lifestyle. They preached the Gospel, to prostitutes, drunks, the poor and the homeless. They took care of their physical needs, such as food, clothes, somewhere warm and safe to stay as well as the preaching of GOD’s word. Doing this they lived and shared the Gospel. The founded the Salvation Army.

Do you want to honour and please GOD with your life? Do you want to live a life so close to the Lord, that people will see you’ve been with Jesus?

The only way for us to honour and please GOD with our lives, is to be filled with knowledge of His will, spiritual wisdom, and understanding. To do that we have to hear, learn and understand the Gospel.

The best way I know of to do that is: To make a conscious decision every week to go to church, to go to bible study, to read the bible daily, and to pray daily.

I am not telling you to go to church so that I can tell you how to live your life. I’m saying just like Jack and Robert told me. Come to church so that you can; hear, learn and understand the gospel, and grow in Christ. That is the reason you should go to bible study, read the bible and pray daily, the source of godliness is rooted in the bible.

How do I know that I understand the Gospel, you might ask? Have a look at verse 6. When we understand the Gospel our lives will be changed and some of the signs of a changed life is: v.4 faith in Jesus, love for all GOD’s people, v.6 fruit of changed lives, v.8 love for others, v.10 every kind of good fruit.

in Galatians 5:22-23: Paul writes that the fruits of The Spirit is: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-controll. For anything to bear fruit it must be alive.

What is the most common reason for a tree not bearing fruit? To put it bluntly, it’s more than likely dead. Then what do you think is the most common reason for faith not bearing fruit? A faith without fruit is a dead faith. A faith bearing fruit is not something you can muster up yourself, so dare to ask yourself:

Am I bearing fruit, Am I growing in Christ, have I heard and understood the Gospel?

A faith without actions is not a faith, neither would actions without faith be faith, it would be a statement.

Saying I am a Christian without leading a Christian life, is like saying me saying that I am the world’s tallest man. I can say it, you can hear it, but it wont make it so.

But when my friend Robert tells me that he is a Christian, I don’t doubt it for a second. Why? Because I’ve seen how he treats his wife and Children. I’ve seen and heard how he can talk to complete strangers about Jesus. I’ve seen how faithful, and gentle and self-controlled he is. Robert’s witness is that he say’s that he is a Christian, and he act’s like someone who is in Christ.

Living a life in close fellowship with GOD, will do something to you! When He is the one who feed and nourish you. He enables you to grow closer to Him in faith, and to bear much fruit. When you spend time in His word and with Him it will do something to you. As it did to Robert, and not just him.

4.Illustrate the point:

Look at Nelson Mandela - he spent 27 years in prison on Robben Island, and in those 27 years never missed one church service or one Bible study. Week in, week out for 27 years the bible made an impression on him. Now we don’t know if he actually bowed the knee to Jesus, that’s between him and GOD - but the impact that Jesus had on him was seen in his remarkable transformation from the terrorist/freedom fighter founder of umkonto we sizwe (ANC military wing) to the man who said “we need to forgive, we need to reconcile” and lived it. The man who stepped down from power, the man who was humble and gracious. GOD’s Word affects us.

5.Apply the point:

Just like the church in Colossae, we need to live a life that reflects our living faith. Showing our faith in Jesus, our love for all GOD’s people bearing fruit everywhere. Even if we’ve done all this, and live in that way, we can’t rest on our laurels. We need to commit to spending time in GOD’s word, , study the bible, pray, listen and obey GOD, and humble before Him. That will smack our tomatoes so that we’ll be deeply rooted in Him.

I don’t think anyone will disagree that my second point today, about how we live our lives has been especially challenging and offensive. I’m preaching it, and let me tell you, I feel judged. While reading and preparing this I thought,

“ oh boy I’m in trouble” And I have a feeling I’m not the only one reacting like that. Why because I am not drowning in fruit, but to rest of you who feel the way I do I want to say this: Sanctification the process of becoming more like Christ, growing in Him, and for the fruits of the Spirit to take hold. It is a life long process, and for most of us, It doesn’t happen over night. As long as you see that something is happening in your that is a good sign.

If you don’t feel that you are growing, come talk to us one of the Elders in the church. We will pray for you, and help you as best we can. Sometimes there’s little adjustments you can do in your life, and other times there’s more complex situations that has to be dealt with. The best advice I can give you is simply, think for second. Who has given you all the gifts I’ve been talking about today? Yes it is GOD, so turn to Him, come to Him in Jesus’ name, and ask Him to help you. He will. Remember Jesus died for your sins back when you were an unforgiven sinner.

Conclusion:

GOD is incredibly generous, He keeps giving, and He gives us everything we need. Everything; Ministers of His word, Faith, Hope, the Gospel, understanding of His word. Therefore lets live a life in gratitude close to Him so that we stay deeply rooted in His word, reading the bible, going to bible study, hearing His word preached, praying to Him. All this will create Good soil where all good fruit will grow. Our Faith will grow, our love for Jesus, for all GOD’s people will be made visible.

Jesus in the garden

Jesus in the garden

Introduction:

Whenever praying, have you ever thought to yourself:

“What’s the point”, Even if Jesus can hear me, He has no idea what I am going through!

We all realise that one time or another, that life is hard.  Even here, in such a beautiful country, a country that’s been so blessed. A country where most of us live with so much . Even here, we see that life can be so hard.

Statistics tell us that in Norway 25% of pregnancies end in miscarriages; almost 50% of marriages end up in divorce. On top of that, up to 33% of Norwegians have suffered from some kind of mental disorder last year.

We can only ask ourselves;

Where does Jesus fit into the suffering and struggle in Norway?

Do we write Him off as silly folklore, or as the opium of the masses? Do we write Him off, because He doesn’t fix the world, the way we want him to.

Do we say to Him “Jesus if you don’t answer my prayer, I’m going to stop believing in you”

As we know honest questions demand honest answers, so we are going to look at what the bible says about suffering and about Jesus. I have three points and they are: He was a man of Sorrow, He was alone, and He had a choice.

1. He was a man of sorrow. (He knew what suffering was)

So to my first point. Jesus was a man of Sorrow.

1.State the point:

When we look at Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane, we see that He was familiar with sorrow, and suffering!

2.Show it in the text:

Have a look at Matthew 26:37-38

³⁷ He took Peter and Zebedee’s two sons, James and John, and he became anguished and distressed

.³⁸ He told them, “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”

3.Explain the point:

Jesus wasn’t a stranger to being tested.

He was man anguished and distressed. A man whose soul was crushed with grief to the point of death.  

We always speak about Jesus being 100% man and 100% God. But do we remember it? Jesus experienced terrible anxiety and sorrow, to the point where it almost killed Him.

Jesus fell to the ground in the garden while praying, crying out;

“Abba, Father,” “everything is possible for you. Please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” Mark 14:35-36

Jesus prayed intensely being in such agony that His sweat fell to the ground like great drops of blood Luke 22:44.

Sweating blood is a real thing. Observed in people experiencing extreme physical, mental, and emotional pressure. Like Jesus who was carrying the sin of the whole world on and in his own body.

4.Illustrate the point:

Our sin caused Him great physical and mental suffering. Our sin caused Him intense sorrow and grief Matt 26:37-38

5.Apply the point:

Throughout the Gospels we most of the time see Jesus from His “godly” side. We forget that He was also fully human. Jesus the 100% God and 100% man, is the one sitting by God’s right hand in Heaven interceding for us. He does not have a theoretical understanding of sorrow and suffering. He has an intimate and personal understanding; Since He alone died, and lived through sorrow and suffering, for your sin and mine!!!

This gets us to my second point. He (Jesus) was alone.

2. He was alone

1.State the point:

Though He had a crowd of followers, He had to carry His grief and agony alone in the garden.

2.Show it in the text:

Let’s have another look at Matthew 26:37-38.

³⁷ He took Peter and Zebedee’s two sons, James and John, and he became anguished and distressed.³⁸ He told them, “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”

Now have a look at verse 40

⁴⁰ Then he returned to the disciples and found them asleep. He said to Peter, “Couldn’t you watch with me even one hour?

3.Explain the point:

Peter, James and John seemed unaware of Jesus’s agony. And the spiritual battle, being fought in the garden that night.

While Jesus was praying:

“My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine”.

His closest friends were far, far away in the land of dreams. They were not praying that He might be given strength. Nor making sure that no one disturbed Him, in His intense prayers. They weren’t thinking of Him at all, but catching up on their sleep. Already here, we hear the echoes of verse 31, where Jesus told His disciples.

“Tonight all of you will desert me”.

The first leader of the Christian church, the disciple whom Jesus loved, and his brother, had left Jesus alone, with His thoughts and fears, while carrying the sins of humanity. Later that night, Jesus’s prophecy in verse 31 came true in verse 56

At that point, all the disciples deserted him and fled.

4.Illustrate the point:

Peter, James and John did not keep watch with Jesus, although that was all He asked them to do.

All the disciples swore to Jesus:

“Even if I have to die with you, I will never deny you” Matthew 26:35

The same night after making this promise they all failed Him. There’s no doubt that the spirit was willing, but the flesh was weak! The disciples intentions were honourable, but they failed miserably.

5.Apply the point:

They all ran away from Jesus. He was alone, while carrying the sins of the world. Why did this happen, why did Jesus accept this, cause that is what He did. Well… My third point is that Jesus had a choice.

3. He had a choice. (but He desired to do His Fathers will)

Well… My third point is that Jesus had a choice.

1.State the point:

It’s easy to forget that, He had a real choice that night in the garden. The choice to save us or to let us fend for ourselves.

2.Show it in the text:

Have a look at verses 46-54. This is right after Jesus came back from praying a third time.

⁴⁶Up, let’s be going. Look, my betrayer is here!”

⁴⁷ And even as Jesus said this, Judas, one of the twelve disciples, arrived with a crowd of men armed with swords and clubs. They had been sent by the leading priests and elders of the people. ⁴⁸ The traitor, Judas, had given them a prearranged signal: “You will know which one to arrest when I greet him with a kiss.” ⁴⁹ So Judas came straight to Jesus. “Greetings, Rabbi!” he exclaimed and gave him the kiss.

⁵⁰ Jesus said, “My friend, go ahead and do what you have come for.”

Then the others grabbed Jesus and arrested him. ⁵¹ But one of the men with Jesus pulled out his sword and struck the high priest’s slave, slashing off his ear.

⁵² “Put away your sword,” Jesus told him. “Those who use the sword will die by the sword. ⁵³ Don’t you realize that I could ask my Father for thousands of angels to protect us, and he would send them instantly? ⁵⁴ But if I did, how would the Scriptures be fulfilled that describe what must happen now?”

We are going to have a look at why Jesus did that, starting with the beginning.

3.Explain the point:

Have a look at verse 36:

⁶ Then Jesus went with them to the olive grove called Gethsemane

Why is this significant? Well… in John’s Gospel we read that Judas knew Gethsemane, and that Jesus had often gone there with the disciples John 18:1-2 Judas also knew that it was a quiet place far away from crowds; and the chances of an uproar from His followers were small. Well aware of Judas’s plans Jesus didn’t change His. Knowing that Judas was coming He told His disciples:

“Up, let’s be going. Look, my betrayer is here!” Matt 26:46

Jesus could probably see and hear Judas’s band of merry men, long before they entered the garden. It might have been quite dark, so they probably carried torches. The chances of such a big group having ninja like skills, is quite slim. They were probably all rallied up, carrying their torches and pitchforks, ready to have themselves a good old-fashioned lynching. A Lynching is, when a group of people (a mob) capture and execute someone.

But to their surprise, Jesus came to meet the angry mob, on their way to arrest Him.

Why didn’t Jesus hide? Why did He tell Judas to do what he came for? Simply because Jesus chose to give himself up, He had decided to come quietly. Something that Peter made quite difficult, trying to slash of Malchus’s head. He missed and chopped of his ear instead.

You can just picture how: a quiet surrender could have turned into a massacre, 12 people against, an angry mob armed with clubs and swords. In Luke’s Gospel we get a deeper glance into the story.

⁴⁹ When the other disciples saw what was about to happen, they exclaimed, “Lord, should we fight? We brought the swords!” Luke 22:49

Jesus made it clear that He chooses to surrender when He says:

“Those who use the sword will die by the sword. ⁵³ Don’t you realize that I could ask my Father for thousands of angels to protect us, and he would send them instantly?

Another translation says in verse 53

⁵³ Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels. ESV

I can’t stress it enough! Jesus’s gave himself up freely. A legion is 6000, so 12 legions of angels would be roughly 72 000 angels. If Jesus wanted to He could have asked God to send 72 000 angels to free Him from his captors, but Jesus chose not to. Jesus fixed Malchus’s ear, and came with them quietly.

Why did Jesus come quietly? We know that He could have could have called for 72 000 angels and left a trail of dead bodies from Gethsemane to Jerusalem. We find the answer in verses 39, 42 and 44 where He prayed “yet I want Your will to be done, not mine”.

We also see it in verse 54 where Jesus says to His disciples;

^“But if I did, how would the Scriptures be fulfilled that describe what must happen now?”

Although Jesus had an actual choice. He loved His Father. Therefor His desire was to do the will of His Father, as we saw earlier as He prayed sincerely:

“yet I want Your will to be done, not mine”.

4.Illustrate the point:

Is there any Grey’s anatomy fans here today? Well if there is, you might remember when Denny say’s to Izzie;

“I chose you Izzie Stevens”, “I’ve been given a choice, and I chose you”!

Looking back into the garden that is what Jesus did.

HE CHOSE YOU! HE WAS GIVEN A CHOICE. HE LOVED HIS FATHER SO MUCH, THAT HE CHOSE TO GO THORUGH ALL THAT PAIN AND SUFFERING FOR YOU. HE CHOSE DEATH, SO THAT YOU MAY LIVE.

5.Apply the point:

After hours of agony, intense prayer and sorrow, Jesus gave himself up willingly. He came quietly, and He did not resist. The desire to do His Father’s will, was greater than His desire to survive.

Conclusion:

To sum it up.

He was man of sorrow. (He knew what suffering was)

He was alone.

He had a choice. (But He desired to do His Father’s will)

Jesus has endured, a great deal of suffering and agony for us. He has felt it all on His own body. He endured it even though He had the choice not to.

(EMPHASISE THIS NEXT POINT A LITTLE CHRIS, SLOW YOUR DELIVERY AND RYTHEM DOWN...)

HE – CHOSE - IT!

He knows what’s going on in YOUR  life,  FROM THE TIME YOU WERE CREATED IN YOUR MOTHERS WOMB, THROUGH YOUR TEENAGE YEARS, RIGHT UP TO THIS DAY IN YOUR HISTORY, AND EVEN NOW.....

(SLOW RYTHEM DOWN EVEN MORE LEAN ON THE PULPIT AND SAY )

He- sits- beside- His- Father- in- Heaven- praying- for... FOR YOU. That’s our Jesus, that’s our Lord and Saviour. He chose you!

(LEAN FROM THE PULPIT)

THINK ABOUT THAT AS WE READ HEBREWS 4:15 AND WITH THIS I’LL FINISH!

YOU CAN FOLLOW IT IN YOUR BIBLE IF YOU LIKE BUT I WILL PARAPHRASE THE VERSE, THAT MEANS MAKE THE VERSE SIMPLER FOR US TO UNDERSTAND AS YOU FOLLOW...

Vs15.  WE DON’T HAVE JUST ANY HIGH PRIEST WHO COULD BE DISCONNECTED FROM US AND THEREFORE UNABLE TO UNDERSTAND OUR WEAKNESSES, BUT ONE WHO KNOWS US VERY WELL (INSIDE and OUT) AND HAS BEEN TEMPTED JUST LIKE YOU AND ME...YET HE HAS DONE IT WITHOUT ANY SIN WHAT ‘SO EVER...

THAT’S THE PERSON OF Jesus INTERCEDING, MEDIATING, PLEADING FOR YOU RIGHT NOW.

AS WE GO INTO COMMUNION, TALK TO HIM...CONFESS TO HIM.... THANK HIM.... INVITE HIM TO BE PART OF YOUR LIFE AND THE DECISIONS YOU MAKE DAILY ....WHY? BECAUSE YOU WERE THE REASON FOR WHAT HAPPENED IN THE GARDEN OF GETHSEMANE. LET US PRAY .

The Intecessor

Letter to Philemon part 2: The intercessor

 

Have you ever been in a hopeless situation, unable to get out of it, unless someone helped you?

I have, in my last year at university I was horrible student. I didn’t show up for classes. And dragged my feet through the hospital internship. I was told that if I didn’t get my act together I would fail, and have to do the year over. I was moved to do my internship in a different hospital. I met my new instructor and,old her about my bad attitude .About me wanting to change it, and become a better student. My instructor there taught me more in 3 months than I had learned in 3 years. She told my teacher that my attitude had improved drastically, and that I was a hard worker. If it hadn’t been for that woman, I would have left university and never finished my degree.

 

Last week we looked at forgiveness and slavery, in Paul’s letter to Philemon. I talked about how hard it can be to forgive those who hurt us, because we don’t really want to forgive. We want revenge, and the only way we can forgive someone is to turn to God and ask for His help. We don’t want to forgive because we are, in fact, slaves: slaves to sin. Our default setting seems to be slave to sin. We are like Onesimus – we have run away from our true Master and chosen a worse one! We have chosen sin.

The theme of today’s sermon in intercession.

( TO intercede is to settle an argument between two or more people. It is to speak to someone, in order to defend or help another person. So to intercede is to stick your neck out for someone, with a real possibility that your head will be head blown off!)

Just like Onesimus we need someone to intercede for us.
We need someone to represent us before God and ask for His forgiveness, to ask for us to be brought back under His mastery.

And as we spoke about last week, if we belong to Jesus, though our hearts are mastered by sin, through Jesus we’re given the strength to forgive, and turn from the slavery of sin. And we can do like verse 6 tells us to: to put into action the generosity that comes from our faith.

One of the ways we do that is to stand up for those with no rights – just like Jesus does for us. That’s the major theme of Philemon, and so what we will look at today is.

1. The intercession of Paul…

2. The intercession of Jesus…

1.Paul intercedes on the Behalf of Onesimus.

Paul writes this letter to intercede on the behalf of Onesimus, Philemon’s runaway slave.

¹⁰ I appeal to you to show kindness to my child, Onesimus. I became his father in the faith while here in prison

Verses 17-19: ¹⁷ So if you consider me your partner, welcome him as you would welcome me. ¹⁸ If he has wronged you in any way or owes you anything, charge it to me. ¹⁹ I, Paul, write this with my own hand: I will repay it. And I won’t mention that you owe me your very soul!

 

This is only a starter, when it comes to the letter to Philemon.

Did you know that roughly 90 % of the letter to Philemon is intercession? 18 out 25 verses in the letter to Philemon, has an interceding quality.

Paul phrases his letter cleverly, and instead of demanding Philemon’s submission for the sake of Christ, and the authority of Paul. He request a favour, from his friend.

Though the are friends Paul understood that a slave that steal, and run away from his master is a useless slave. And therefor sympathize with Philemon on this, he continues the letter making it clear to Philemon, that Onesimus is no longer useless. But in fact so useful that Paul would prefer Onesimus to remain with him in Rome. He continues his letter telling Philemon that Onesimus is now more than Philemon’s slave. He is a Christian, a beloved brother of Paul and Philemon. Even more so Onesimus is now a part of God’s people. So Philemon must love him, not because Philemon is ordered to do so by Paul. But have a look at verses 4-5:

4 I always thank my God when I pray for you, Philemon, 5 because I keep hearing about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all of God’s people.

Philemon’s love for God’s people is evident, and now he must love Onesimus, who have become a Christian, one of God’s people.

So far Paul has gone quite easy on Philemon, he has told him of Onesimus becoming a Christian. How he now is very useful to the both of them. Onesimus has become a beloved brother to Paul and Philemon.

But this is where gloves come off, In verses 17 – 19 Paul basically says to Philemon, If you consider yourself a Christian, and if you’re my friend. You will receive Onesimus as you would receive me.

If Onesimus has done anything to you, or owes you anything. I ask you my friend: Please charge that to me. I will repay you. Not to mention that you owe me your very soul, I was the one who led you to the Lord! You were once, as lost and deprived as Onesimus remember? Pretty powerful stuff isn’t it?

Reading verses 1-2 we understand that the letter is a Public letter, and Paul also intends the church that meet in Philemon’s home to hear it. Should Philemon In spite of Paul’s argument no matter how elegant and logical it was, fail to submit to his request.

Then Archippus and the Colossian church would prove to be Paul’s representatives in Colossae. And they would apply the “pressure” needed to help Philemon do the right thing. As a church they also need to look out for each other’s godliness, and as you can imagine. Though Philemon might have needed a nudge in the right direction, he also needed support from his church. Because to not punish a runaway slave, when the law permitted it was unheard of. I can just imagine the way people talked about Philemon in Colossae:

Did you hear about Philemon? he didn’t punish an unruly slave because of a letter he received from a Jew named Paul. He must have lost his mind!

He might be have been the laughing stock of Colossae, so Paul knew that he would need the support from his fellow Christians.

Paul’s intercession on the behalf of Onesimus might be difficult to understand in today’s society. Especially since we don’t have slaves, and most countries don’t have as severe punishments as they did back then.

But let’s say you had been to Rema 1000, and while you were there you saw a chocolate. You really wanted this chocolate, but knew you couldn’t afford it. You only had enough money for eggs, milk and bread, so you slip the chocolate into your pocket and pretend like nothing. When getting to the till, taking out your money the chocolate falls out of your pocket. The lady at the till call security, and you are held back until the police arrives to question you.

The whole thing ends up in court where the Judge and the owner of Rema 1000 wants to make an example of you. You sit there while they try to accuse you of everything under the sun, in addition to stealing a chocolate bar. They say “he is a part of an organized crime-ring”.” While you sit there rendered speechless, with your head cradled in your hands thinking I’m in trouble. You hear a voice coming from beside you saying: “ Objection! This is the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard! Yes he stole willingly, but he’s not a gang member. He stole because he wanted chocolate, and that was a stupid thing to do. But there’s no reason to trial him as a part of a crime ring” You look up and there beside you is a man in long black cape. He is your lawyer, speaking and interceding on your behalf.

 

This is what Paul did for Onesimus, he acted as his lawyer. He spoke and interceded on his behalf. Telling Philemon that Onesimus was a changed man, who was no longer the useless slave, but trustworthy Christian.

2. Jesus the intercessor!

It must have been wonderful to have a friend like Paul. Imagine a friend who willingly paid, your debts, and interceded with anyone, wanting to you punished you for your actual crimes! The good things is that we have an intercessor like that, we have Jesus!

 

If we’re in Christ, He is our intercessor.

 

Have a look at verse 6:

^“And I am praying that you will put into action the generosity that comes from your faith as you understand and experience all the good things we have in Christ.”

That is what Paul writes in verse 6 of his letter to Philemon. Understanding and experiencing all the good things we have in Christ, what does that mean?

After reading the letter to Philemon, what feels like a hundred times, I realized that we are Onesimus! Upon realizing this. Paul’s letter of intercession became much bigger than a friend looking for a favour. To me it became the Gospel about Jesus Christ compressed onto a page or so. We see Paul taking on a Christ like role and interceding for Onesimus his beloved brother, offering to make right the wrongs he has made, and to pay off his debts. By doing so, he talks Philemon out of carrying out his lawful right. To punish his servant for running away from his responsibilities, and stealing from him. Onesimus deserved punishment. But Paul but intercedes, why did Paul do this? Because Jesus had done it for him first, Paul only showed Onesimus a fraction of the love and mercy Jesus had already shown him. Paul used to be a zealot Jew, persecuting the Christians in Jerusalem. In acts, we can read that he was present at the stoning of Stephen the first Christian martyr.

He took men and women out of their homes throwing them in to prison for being Christians. He went to the synagogues to get letters of approval to chase down and arrest Christians in Damascus, he was threatening and eager to kill the Christians (acts 9:1). It was while persecuting Christians Paul met Jesus, and had his life changed completely. He became one of the most noted and important people in Christianity. God forgave him: the murder and persecution of His people. So it’s no wonder Paul sticks his neck out for Onesimus. Paul has felt the generosity of Christ, and therefor he can show Onesimus the same generosity.

Just like Onesimus we’re in trouble! We are so guilty that it’s not even funny. Luckily, for you and me, I don’t know what you have done, and you don’t know what I have done. But we all know that we haven’t loved God perfectly, because we’re not able to keep God’s commandments. If we’re not keeping God’s commandments, we’re not keeping the commandment’s Jesus gave us.

When an expert in religious law asked Jesus what was the greatest commandment, He replied.  “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”

So we are in trouble because! We have sinned against God, and awoken His righteous anger. We don’t measure up to the bare minimum of God’s expectations of us. We don’t love Him perfectly, we run away from Him saying: No God it’s my life, and I want to live it my way. It isn’t sin it’s my choice. We even try to steal His Glory, so that we can glorify ourselves! “Big” Preachers baptizing people in their own name, or people charging sick and desperate people hundreds of kroners to pray for them.

We are Onesimus. We have betrayed our master. We have run away, pretending to live our own life. Free as our own master – but we’re not free. We’re a slave to our own sinful desires. We need an intercessor. We need a Paul. And that is exactly whom we have:

He whom we wronged, God. He loves us so much, that He even gave us a way out. After all we have done to Him, and He knew from the start what we were like.

He sent us His own son, Jesus. So that He could intercede on our behalf. Jesus was born fully human and fully God, He lived a life experiencing the same joy, sorrow and other things we feel, including temptation. Jesus lived a sinless life, which means: He didn’t sin once, He loved God His Father perfectly. Fulfilling the law, living a perfect life. Then Jesus died a perfect death on the cross, where He carried all our sin and punishment. In Roman times the punishment for a runaway slave was crucifixion. We, like Onesiums, stand guilty, and the sentence is death by crucifixion. We deserve the complete and eternal separation from God.

But Jesus God’s son took it all on Him. So now when we sin, when we disobey God and awaken his fury. Jesus is sitting beside God saying: That is Christian, he is far from perfect in fact, and he is quite the sinner. Nevertheless, he is in Me, and I have died for his sins. Therefore, he is no longer a sinner but one of Your children. We have the best intercessor, In the words of v19 Jesus says: “Father charge it to me. ¹⁹ I, [Jesus], write this with my own hand: I will repay it.

 

Imagine that you’re Onesimus, you’ve ran away from you master. Stole from him, and dishonoured him. You come to Paul, you cry on his shoulder telling him everything: How you ran away and stole more money than you’ll ever be able to pay back.

You expect total and utter condemnation, but what you receive is mercy. Paul tells you that he knows Philemon, and just like you, he led Philemon to the Lord. He tells you he is going to write him a letter, and that he will settle you debt with Philemon. Can you imagine the joy you would feel, free of an impossible debt and forgiven. Through the works of one man!

 

That is how we should feel every day. In the same way Paul interceded on the behalf of Onesimus, pronouncing him no longer useless. But in fact extremely useful, and a beloved brother. Jesus is now interceding on our behalf, pronouncing us as no longer sinners but clean. Because of His death on the cross, if we are in Christ. We are pronounced God’s children, and no longer, strangers sentenced to an eternity separated from God.

I am Philemon

An introduction to Philemon: We are Philemon

Introduction

The letter to Philemon is written to a rich man in Colossae named Philemon, by the Apostle Paul. It’s also written to Apphia who more than likely was Philemon’s wife, Archippus who might have been Philemon’s son and a minister in the Colossian church meeting in Philemon’s house. The letter is also to be read aloud in the Colossian church.

Paul writes a letter to Philemon after meeting Philemon’s slave Onesimus in Rome. Onesimus ran away from his master Philemon, and to make sure he would be able to provide for himself. He might have stolen some money or things, from Philemon. Paul grows quite fond of Philemon, and they develop a friendship. Paul leads Onesimus to Christ, and he becomes a great help to Paul, whilst being imprisoned.

We don’t know how long Onesimus stayed in Rome, but we know that he told Paul that he had ran away from his master.

Philemon and Paul are old friends, Paul led Philemon to the Lord. Since Paul can’t go see Philemon he does the next best think. He Writes him a letter where he intercedes for his friend Philemon.

1 MINUTE ABOUT ROMAN SLAVERY.

1.State the point: Forgiveness is hard but it’s possible through Christ!

To forgive someone is one of the hardest things we do as humans, but it’s possible trough Christ. Especially if it’s someone we trust or love, are we able to forgive that. We will have a look at that now.

2.Show it in the text Forgiveness is hard but it’s possible through Christ!

If you open your bibles in Philemon, and have a look at verse 6.

“And I am praying that you will put into action the generosity that comes from your faith as you understand and experience all the good things we have in Christ.”

3.Explain the point Forgiveness is hard but it’s possible through Christ!

Forgiveness is painfully hard and, quite often it is because our pride has been wounded. And just like the Greco-Roman society , we find it exceptionally hard to forgive someone for wounding our pride, I bet Philemon felt that way too. Nevertheless, He was told to forgive those who sinned against him, as we are told to forgive those who sin against us.

Jesus states the importance of forgiveness on multiple occasions.

In Mark 11:25

“But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too.”

In Matt 6:15

“If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.”

A lot of us even say it ourselves when we get up or when we go to bed, when we pray The LORD’S Prayer. Remember somewhere in the prayer when you get to:

“and forgive us our sins,
as we have forgiven those who sin against us.”

Just think about that for a minute, we actually pray. God forgive my sins, the way I forgive those whom sin against me. We should realize that the way we forgive others, effects how we will be forgiven. It is an eye opener, but it doesn’t make it any easier to forgive. So what do we do then, do we sit down in a lotus position and go aaahmmmm. Do we try to muster up the appropriate amount of forgiveness? No we don’t, we can’t forgive by ourselves. We are sinners, we don’t really want to forgive, we want vengeance. So the ability to forgive was not considered noble in the times of Philemon. And we still see it now, and we hear it as well. If someone is rude to you, how do you react? Do automatically think I forgive you beloved child of God. Or are you more like me, and wish you had been a bit better at thinking on your feet. So that you could either deck them or be really rude back?

You see whether we are Romans, Norwegians, British, and so on. To forgive someone is not attractive, REVENGE on the other hand is. So how do we then forgive those whom sin against us. Well, God has even given us the tools we need to forgive those whom sin against us.

When you become a Christian, you do so because you want to be in Christ. You realize that without Him you are lost, you need Jesus to save you from your sins. Moreover, speaking like a one who has been a Christian for a while, it’s still find it very easy to sin, and I do. However, the thing is that I feel so awful afterwards, sometimes I feel so bad it makes me sick! The guilt and sin that I carry, is too much for me to carry on my own. So I do the only thing I can do, I pray and ask the Lord for forgiveness. After having done this I feel the forgiveness, and I believe that God has forgiven me. Being forgiven is a great feeling, isn’t it? You know when you were younger, and had to walk to and from school every day. Do you remember the books in your backpack weighing you down Ugh! It was so heavy, wasn’t it? Do you remember the feeling of getting in the door and throwing off the backpack. I felt like the weight of the world had been lifted off my shoulders, I still feel like a sinner. Nevertheless, I know that I am a forgiven sinner.

Forgiveness is absolutely one of the good things we’ve been given in Christ. In Ephesians 1:7 we can read that God purchased our freedom with the blood of His Son, and forgave our sins. When we have received such wonderful gift, it’s only right that we repay it. It is required of us.

4.Illustrate the point Forgiveness is hard but it’s possible through Christ!

I know it’s not easy at all, sometimes it takes years to fully forgive someone. I have a friend named Anne, and her mother treated her really, really badly. I won’t go in to details, but it’s the kind of dysfunctional family stuff you see on TV. Anne hadn’t spoken to her mother for many years, and hated her passionately since she ruined her childhood. As Anne and I was talking I asked her if she had spoken to her mother lately, and she said no. I told her that it was important for her to forgive her mother, but if she didn’t want to see her she didn’t have to . She replied that she had forgiven her mother, but it was still hard for her. A few days ago Anne rang me, just to tell me that she had been to she her mother.

Now I have met Anne’s mother and I know that she is a peculiar woman at best, so I asked her how did it go? She told me that it had gone quite well, and that it actually was a nice visit.

The thought of receiving Onesimus as a brother, might not have been what was closest to Philemons heart But as we all now, brothers argue and fight. Sometimes they don’t even like each other. But most of the time brothers do love each other, even though it might take months, even years to fully heal from hurtful things said and done-

5.Apply the point Forgiveness is hard but it’s possible through Christ!

Forgiveness isn’t easy, but the good thing is that we don’t have to do it alone! When we’re in Christ, we have received the costly gift of forgiveness, and The Holy Spirit will compel us to forgive. God will give us the strength, and the will to do it. As I said It’s not something we have to do on our own. A part of putting the generosity that comes from our faith into action, is to forgive. Alexander Pope quite smartly put it like this:

“To err is human; to forgive, divine.”

All we have to do is to pray, and ask for the strength to forgive. I bet Philemon had to do the same. So when a master and a slave see each other as beloved brothers, how long do you think slavery could last?

1.State the point: We’re all slaves, either of Christ or sin

Earthly masters or not, we’re all slaves, either of Christ or sin.

2.Show it in the text: We’re all slaves, either of Christ or sin

When reading trough the letter to Philemon, I counted Paul mentioning his imprisonment five times on average every fifth verse in his letter to Philemon mentions his imprisonment. Just see for yourself:

v1: ”This letter is from Paul, a prisoner for preaching the Good News about Christ Jesus, and from our brother Timothy.”

V9: “But because of our love, I prefer simply to ask you. Consider this as a request from me—Paul, an old man and now also a prisoner for the sake of Christ Jesus.”

V10: “ I appeal to you to show kindness to my child, Onesimus. I became his father in the faith while here in prison.”

V13: “I wanted to keep him here with me while I am in these chains for preaching the Good News, and he would have helped me on your behalf.”

V23: “Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends you his greetings.”

3.Explain the point: We’re all slaves, either of Christ or sin

Why does Paul go on, and on, and on about being in prison, does he want a fruit basket? By all means he deserves it. But that can’t be why he keeps bringing up his imprisonment. As the other letters in the bible, when something is frequently repeated, it is because it is important. Four out of five times, when he mentions his imprisonments; there is a reference to Jesus or the Gospel (the Good News) about him. Verses 1,9,13,23. Paul tells Philemon that he is in chains for preaching the Good News, and calls himself a prisoner for the sake of Christ Jesus. Because of his faith in Jesus Paul is taken places he does not want to go. He is put entirely at mercy of God, just as a slave is put at the mercy of his master. Paul refers to himself as a slave of Christ many times, e.g. Romans 1:1This letter is from Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, chosen by God to be an apostle and sent out to preach his Good News.

Pauls letter forced Philemon in to deciding who he was. Was he a slave of sin or a slave of Christ? The way he received Onesimus when he returned would tell Paul, and the church who met in his house that.

We’re either Slaves of Christ or of Sin

So who are we, are we slaves of Christ or is sin our master?

The bible tells us that the wages of sin is death, and that we have all sinned, we’re not anywhere near Gods glorious standard.  What does that mean to us, well I won’t say the first thing that comes into mind, but we’re… eh IN TROUBLE. It seems out default setting is to be slave of sin, dead, and nowhere near how God wants us to be. Is that it then… should we all leave right now, and make up a more convenient theology, a theology that has a more relaxed view on sin and death. We could worship Prince Philip… hmmm, no that’s right there’s already someone doing that. Well… I have good news for you.

We don’t have to, we can stick with the real thing. Why drink diet coke, when you can have the real thing?

In John 8:34-6 Jesus says

“I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave of sin. A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son is part of the family forever. So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free”

When we become Christians, our chains of sin that we have dragged around with us a lifetime are broken. We turn to Jesus and repent of our sin, we wish to obey God wholeheartedly. We realize that we don’t have to go off and do something stupid, that only hurts us more, and leads into more sin. We see that we are no longer slaves of sin, but of righteous living. The Holy Spirit that that comes into us when we become Christians compels us to lead a righteous life. So as we see God even gives us the tools to lead a righteous life, and to no longer be slaves of sin. We’ve been given everything we need to be slaves of Christ and not of sin. So all we have to do is to turn to Jesus and repent of our sin.

4.Illustrate: We’re all slaves, either of Christ or sin

Did you know that a slave that ran away from their master in ancient Rome, and was caught had a FUG burnt into their forehead and a collar around his neck. Sometimes they collar had some kind of inscription like: “Hey my master is Tyranus Quintus, I have ran away. If you find me, kill me and bring my head back to my master. He will reward you ” Isn’t that what sin does to us? Luckily it most of the time doesn’t behead us but it hurts us. To be a slave of sin is to be at the mercy of the cruellest master there is. Isn’t it better to be the slave of righteous living, the slave of Christ. He who has freed us once and for all, He who takes the collar of around our neck, and breaks our chains of sin.

5.Apply the point: We’re all slaves, either of Christ or sin

As Jesus said:

“I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave of sin. A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son is part of the family forever. So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free”

If you don’t want to be a slave of sin anymore, turn to Jesus and repent of your sin. He will set you free, and give you all the tools you need to be a Christian and a slave of Christ.

Conclusion

Point 1: Forgiveness is hard but it’s possible through Christ!

Point 2: We’re all slaves, either of Christ or sin

God has given us tools to forgive each other, and lead a life of righteous living, as a slave of Christ. So all we need to do is to turn to Jesus and repent of our sins.

Why is Jesus the only way to God?

 

Who is Jesus?

Merry Christmas

Isn’t Christmas wonderful? It’s the time to celebrate the birth of sweet baby Jesus. The only person ever born with a halo, Christians or not we all put out our nativity scenes. Shepard’s, angels, oxen, donkeys, Mary, Joseph, baby-Jesus.

It’s so nice, it’s so inoffensive, it’s so harmless. It’s a socialists dream!

What happened to the sweet baby Jesus?

But then Jesus had the audacity to grow up, and just like all children growing up He wasn’t so sweet anymore. As a child but especially as an adult, He started running around fulfilling prophecies about Himself. Making even the most so-called God-fearing Christians in church choke on their tea. With what He had said and done. He starts making outrageous statements like the one in today’s passage.

I am the way, the truth and the life

What is so outrageous?

You might think, well open your bibles on John 14:6-7 and see for yourselves, Page 648 in the back of the church bibles.

Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. If you had really known me, you would know who my Father is. From now on, you do know him and have seen him!”

Where has all the niceness gone`?

It was so nice ,the miracle of Immaculate Conception (Mary getting pregnant without ever having sex) Jesus teaching wise and good things, Jesus dying for us. If we give the gospel, a quick a shallow browse I think most people would agree that: This Jesus is remarkably easy to digest. He is downright likeable, He is nice, and He is so good with children. He teaches people to not be naughty but play nice.

So WHY did He have to go ahead and say something like that, He was doing so well; riding donkeys handing out fish and walking on water, why did He have to go and ruin it all? Jesus was the perfect mascot for niceness.

Until we actually READ WHAT HE WAS LIKE, what he actually said. And then we are forced to conclude either this man is out of His mind. Or He speaks truth.

Jesus existed. He was historical. We know what he said and did.

Jesus is either of vital importance or of no importance at all. And just like that, our one politically correct human right of being neutral is pulled away like a rug under us. We cannot stay neutral to Jesus; we are either for Him or against Him.

He said: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. If you had really known me, you would know who my Father is. From now on, you do know him and have seen him!”

The context it was said in

These words are being spoken during the last supper. He told the disciples plainly that He was the Messiah. He was the Savior who had been promised by God as early as the fall of man. Jesus had told His disciples that He was going away and that they could not follow Him there.

Just imagine the tension. The disciples got more and more confused, and agitated. They knew something was going to happen, but they did not know what. Although Jesus kept telling them that, He was going to die, and rise again. I bet Jesus could feel the tension too, He basically said, I am going to my Father’s House preparing places for you to stay in; I will come back for you when everything is ready. When I do, we will never be apart again. So don’t worry about me, you know by what way I travel and where I am going.

It must have perplexed the disciples hearing what Jesus said. Thomas was the one voicing their concerns when he said “No, we don’t know, Lord,”, “We have no idea where you are going, so how can we know the way?”

Jesus replied; “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me”

We’re going to have a look at what the bible says about Jesus, and if His claims stand the test of time.

I Am the WAY

Jesus said I am the way. He did not claim to know or teach a secret cure, He IS the cure. He is the only man who has ever had a perfect intimate relationship with God. By that I mean; Jesus was the only person who didn’t sin, He lived a perfect life. Jesus’s relationship with God, and His knowledge of God was not corrupted by sin, since he had none. There is no other way to God. I am the way is not everyone gets through Jesus eventually – He is not an idea, He is a person. Only by KNOWING Jesus can we come to God.

I Am the TRUTH

Jesus said I am the truth, He said to those who believed in Him “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” Being the truth Jesus heals the sick, He heals possessed by casting out demons, He brings people back from the dead, He saves people from sin-controlled lives simply by speaking the truth. Jesus is the truth. He said to Philip that anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father. Jesus is the true image of the Father. Jesus tells us that if we are faithful to His teachings, the truth (Jesus) will set us free from our slavery under sin.

Jesus is THE truth. No there is no other truth Hut him. He is the revelation of the Ultimate Reality. Being the truth, Jesus is the Centre of the universe.

I am the LIFE

Jesus said I am the life. Jesus is life, because He was never subject to death, He made death, His subject to. Why because when we read in the gospels, Jesus always had power over death. Jesus brought a young girl back to life after dying, He brought Lazarus back from the dead, being dead for several days. Lazarus had already started to smell. Even more awesome is that when Jesus died, God raised him from the dead.

Which proves that even as dead, death had no hold on Him. It would have ended ironically if He weren’t God. The man who brought Lazarus and the little girl back from the dead, would meet His end at death. It would have med it quite clear that it was all a fraud, and what we believe is be wrong. And all of us who work in ministry would have wasted our lives teaching rubbish. However, we see that it’s contrary, Jesus did rise, so that those who are in Him (those who repent of their sins and seek Him (God)) will be risen to eternal life. That is why He said, I am the resurrection and the life.

HE is not just the life bringer but he is life. He sustains all things, He gives us every breath – but he is also our eternal life. Only because what Jesus did for us on Calvary can we have eternal life.

A personal savior, a personal cure.

Jesus is the cure to our Human condition, only by knowing Jesus can we get to God. We can’t achieve it through, sitting with our legs crossed going ahmmm. We won’t achieve it facing a certain direction, praying. We won’t get to God our own way if we make up our own gospels and rules, giving ourselves the opportunity to become God’s and saviors of other planets. We can’t even do like the scientologist and try to pay our way to enlightenment. Jesus is personal ,and we must know Him in that way.

He is the Truth not ideas about truth!

Being the truth Jesus, heals, cast out demons. He does this because He Is who He Is. The truth is realized through Jesus, not trough us realizing ourselves. Whether it is trough money, spirituality, sex or the Eurovision song contest. We are not the Centre of the universe, Jesus is, and only by getting to know Jesus can we know the truth. And only the ultimate truth that Jesus is can set us free from sin, our cruel and horrible master.

Marked for death!, but granted life

We are marked for death, because of our sin. We are so corrupted by our sin that, God can smell it, it’s actually so evident that sometimes we can almost smell it ourselves. Only trough turning to Jesus, repenting of our sin can we experience His resurrection, into our eternal life. Only His blood can clean the stench of our sin, and rise us from the death. To get to God we must live the same perfect life, and die the same perfect death Jesus did. And the only way to do that is to have a personal relationship with Him! We won’t have a chance for a new life in my name, not even in the name of love. Only in the name of Jesus, can we experience a new life. In this life and the next.

The theoretical other way

Jesus said that He was the only way to God, but there is actually another…. Be perfect. Before God sent His son Jesus to the earth to die for our sins, the only way to be right with God, and to have a relationship with God was to obey the Law given by God. The Law consists of 613 laws, among others the 10 Commandments. So to be perfect per definition would be to always obey the Law of God. To make it even clearer, to be perfect you can NEVER have broken any of His laws, from the beginning, you must have kept all 613 of them.

When an expert in religious law asked Jesus what was the greatest commandment, He replied.  “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”

If our love was perfect, we would obey the law.

Ironically if we loved God perfectly we would keep His Commandments, but we don’t. We follow our own sinful hearts, we don’t trust God. And that is evident when Christians try to be righteous according to the Law by their own strength. We have all met them; either the think they are better than everyone else, or they are so down trying to carry the Law by their own strength.

Be perfect like your Father in Heaven is perfect.

Jesus even tells us to be perfect just like God, and if there is one thing that is sure; it is that we’re not perfect. It’s one of the most common excuses when we mess up isn’t it; “give me some slack I’m not perfect!” We’re not even perfect like our better halves, how then can we be perfect like God, it is impossible. That means that we can’t deserve salvation.

We’ve effectively sawed off the branch we’ve been sitting on, by trying to come up with a clever way to deserve God’s grace. It is impossible. Simply because we are sinners, we don’t even measure up to our own expectations. How can we measure up to Gods, when fulfilling all His commandments is the absolute minimum of what He expects of us. And if we do not even meet His lowest expectation. What happens, well if we break God’s commandments, we are sinners. And if we are sinners we are perishing! For the wages of sin is death, and everyone has sinned. We have all fallen short of God’s glorious standard, we can’t meet God’s standard. So is that it then, are we doomed?

Well as always, there is more! We cannot meet God’s glorious standard, but… wait for it… Jesus can, because He alone, carried the full weight of the Law !

We’ve looked at the passages showing us who Jesus is, and through this we’ve seen that Jesus really is the way, the truth and the life. And now we’ve seen that we cannot according to the bible make our own way to God. There is but one way left, there is but Jesus. He is the way, the truth and the life, no one can come to the Father but through Him! So isn’t it arrogant claiming this about Himself? Well… no, not if it is true.

I am Johanna’s husband.

I am Chris, Johanna’s only husband. Is that not arrogant of me to claim, well yes it is, if it isn’t true, if I can’t prove it.

To prove that, I have a certificate of no impediment, which is an official document from Norway and Northern - Ireland confirming that neither Johanna or I are married to anyone else, I have a certificate of marriage confirming that on Wednesday July 21. 2010 Johanna and I was lawfully declared husband and wife. I also have a ring to show people I am married, but the best part is that I have Johanna my wife that I can physically show you, to prove that I am Johanna’s husband.

What the bible says about Jesus.

The same way we have the bible, the word of God. We believe that it is true, because of faith, because of the evidence, and because of the experience of the holy spirit. And if the bible is true, then what it tells us about Jesus is true. Jesus was the only son of God, He came from Heaven to earth. He lived a perfect life, a life without sin. He came to earth to die for our sins, and that is what He did on Calvary. He took our sin, our punishment and our diseases with Him up on the cross. He lived a perfect live, and He died a perfect death. Because He had no sin of His own, death could not hold Him, Jesus conquered death. So when we die, if we are in Christ. We will die a perfect death, after living a perfect live.

Why you might ask? Because of Jesus, when we repent and turn to Him. His death for our sin is made valid for us, and though we sin, it doesn’t kill us because Jesus has already dealt with our sin on the cross.

So does that mean that Jesus died for everyone?

Yes, Jesus did die for everyone who has ever lived, and for everyone who is ever going to live!

Does it mean that everyone is going to be saved?

Everyone who repents and turns to Jesus (believes in Him, that He is who He says He is) will be saved.

What about other religions; Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Baha’i, Mormonism?

Only those who put their faith in Jesus will be saved.

What about our church?

Our church does not have an exclusive cross over our threshold and you will be saved deal with God. Only those who put their faith in Jesus will be saved.

So what are you going to do?

So turn to Jesus He is the Way, the Truth and the Life, nobody comes to the Father but trough Him! To know Jesus is not to sit in a bench and hear someone talking about Him, to know Jesus is as to know any other person. I know Daniel because I spent time with him, I know that he likes star trek better than star wars, I know that he’s not very fond of sugar. I also know that he is man who is really truly burning for Jesus. I don’t know this because I’ve heard someone say this about him. I know this because I have spent time with him, and talked to him, and experienced him. And it is the same way to know Jesus, we need to spend time with Him. Not just hearing what, me or anyone else says about Him. We need to pray (talk with Him), read the bible (get to know who He is, and His persona) Jesus is personal, He is not some lame theory, nor is He made up person. He is real and He wants to have relationship with you. I don’t know what you do or don’t believe. Whether are here looking or want to prove once and for all that there is no God. For many it is helpful to believe in something, it makes our lives easier. Whether it saying we all have to find our own way to God, or my way is the only way. Or even there is no God I believe in science. The truth is that there is only one way to God, and there is only one way to be forgiven for your sins. And that is trough Jesus Christ. So we’re going to finish with a prayer now. I am going to pray out loud and you can pray this silently to yourself, if you want to become a Christian. This is the day the Lord has made. And He has made it so that we have another chance to repent of our sins, turn to Him and believe.

Dear Jesus,

Thank You for dying for my sins, and making a life with you possible. I know that I am a sinner, and that I am lost without you. Forgive me, my sins, and help me believe in you. Turn my heart towards you, and help me to be more like you every passing day. I believe in You and want to be Yours, in your glorious name I pray Amen.

If you have prayed this prayer and want to become a Christian, or if you just want to know more about Jesus. Come see either Daniel, Jack or myself after the service. We’re going to stay for coffee and have time for you and your questions.

Genesis 9-10. A new hope: Humanity on the silver screen

Genesis 9-10.

Intro

HOLLYWOOD ENDING

Have you ever heard the expression a“Hollywood ending”? A Hollywood ending is an ending that has an unlikely, positive outcome; Like in most films where the nerdy boy gets the pretty girl, or where the superhero saves an oilrig, the planet, and the pretty girl.

JAMES BOND

However, some films do have the complete opposite ending, like “James Bond on her majesty’s secret service” Where James Bond saves the world, the girl, and marries her in the end. During the last 40 seconds of the film she is shot dead, during a drive by shooting.

REAL LIFE HOLLYWOOD ENDING

Last week we witnessed a real life Hollywood ending of chapter eight when Noah, his family, and the animals finally could exit the ark. They came back to a world from which the evil men and women had been washed away. Noah built an altar to the LORD, and sacrificed the animals and birds that God approved of. The smell pleased the LORD. It actually pleased God so much that He said to Himself in chapter 8:21-22:  

“I will never again curse the ground because of the human race, even though everything they think or imagine is bent toward evil from childhood. I will never again destroy all living things. ²² As long as the earth remains, there will be planting and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night.”

Chapter 8 leaves us with a promise, and to this day, God keeps his promise. Not for the sake of us. He does it for the sake of His awesome grace, ultimately expressed through the cross!

This is where we’re at when we start in Genesis 9. I am going to go through todays text under the following headings:

1. Restoration

2. The human condition

3. A new hope

1.Restoration

God’s righteous anger ceased when the creation’s punishment was fulfilled, and the wicked had been washed away.

GOD INSTRUCTS NOAH AS HE INSTRUCTED ADAM

Some of you who followed the whole series might have noticed that God blesses and instructs Noah and his sons, as he blessed and instructed Adam and Eve. It is just like the story of Adam and Eve all over; we bite our fingernails and think to ourselves “will Noah and his sons be a better Adam than Adam?”, “Cain wasn’t the saviour, is it Noah? Is he the serpent crusher?”

God says to Adam and Eve in Gen 1:28:

“Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground”

God says to Noah and his sons in Gen 9:1-2:

Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth. 2 All the animals of the earth, all the birds of the sky, all the small animals that scurry along the ground, and all the fish in the sea will look on you with fear and terror. I have placed them in your power.

RESTORATION YAAAAY!!! WAIT A MINUTE

Wow! Creation is restored, Noah has saved us. This is brilliant I’m getting the champagne… Hold on for a second, something seems strange.

There’s a difference between Genesis 1:28 and Genesis 9:2, did you notice that?

In Gen 1:28 God told Adam and Eve to reign over the animals. In Gen 9:1-2 God tells Noah and his sons that all the animals will look on them with FEAR and TERROR!!! This could be an ominous sign!

Noah and his sons are told to repopulate the earth; they are given the authority to rule over the creation. They are given a fresh start; the good order of GOD is restored.

THE GOOD ORDER

Do you remember the good order? God created the animals; God created Adam, and from Adam God created Eve. God set man to rule the creation with the authority given by Him, and He set Eve to be his helper. The Good order is: God the ruler of everything, man the ruler of creation, woman his helper, and the rest of the creation.

GOD’S COVENANT

After presenting God with a pleasing offering, God established a covenant with Noah.

Noah and his family are under God’s protection from wild animals and humans. As I mentioned earlier, the unique thing with this covenant is Gods promise. God will preserve the creation from complete destruction, as long as the earth remains. [Gen 8:21-22]

Have a look in your bibles at verses 8 – 11:

⁸ Then God told Noah and his sons, ⁹ “I hereby confirm my covenant with you and your descendants,¹⁰ and with all the animals that were on the boat with you—the birds, the livestock, and all the wild animals—every living creature on earth. ¹¹ Yes, I am confirming my covenant with you. Never again will floodwaters kill all living creatures; never again will a flood destroy the earth.”

WE’RE THE DECENDANTS OF NOAH!!!

Did you notice that God’s promise applies to us? Does anyone see where in the text we find that God’s covenant applies to us?

It’s in verse nine, the last word “descendants” we are the descendants of Noah and his sons! If we fast-forward for a minute to chapter 9 verse 19, we can read: “From these three sons of Noah came all the people who now populate the earth.” We are the descendants of Noah and his family, therefore that covenant applies to us. As long as the earth remains, life will go on in spite of our sin.

God seals His covenant with Noah and his descendants by placing a visible sign in the “clouds” His rainbow is our promise, life will go on as long as the earth remains.

CLICHÉ ENDING

After being the “savior “of the world Noah retreats to a quiet life as a farmer and plants himself a vineyard. It seems like a beautiful finale doesn’t it? The hero that saved humanity has done his duty, he is going to cultivate the ground and live a quiet life from now on. The mood is set for a heartwarming finale, a real “Hollywood ending” The music is swelling, the string quartet is getting, ready to play. The Kleenex man is handing out tissues, we are waiting for the six final letters T-H-E E-N-D, THE END.

2.The human condition

SOMETHING#S WRONG!

Sitting in front of the cinema screen waiting for THE END to appear, something happens...BOOM.. Like a fist to the face we are hit with the sudden realization that there is more. We get up and start running, are we going to be able to outrun the truth? The truth catches up with us, and as we are pierced by its sword, we fall to our knees screaming “Noooooo”

We remember Genesis 9:21: “One day he drank some wine he had made, and he became drunk and lay naked inside his tent” We remember Genesis 9:24 - 25: “When Noah woke up from his stupor, he learned what Ham, his youngest son, had done. Then he cursed Canaan, the son of Ham: “May Canaan be cursed! May he be the lowest of servants to his relatives.”

Just as the final 40 seconds of “In her majesty’s secret service” everything goes to pot, (Although James Bond’s wife isn’t killed in the bible as far as I remember).

Noah the man that had great promise of being our “saviour” has done a 180. He has gone from being the saviour of the mankind; to being so drunk that he loses consciousness, inappropriate, naked and cursing his family. What happened???

Was Noah not meant to be the new Adam, did he fail as well? Did he not bring mankind, and the animals back to a restored earth? Was he not the saviour we were waiting for, the saviour God told us would come in Genesis 3:15 is he not the serpent crusher?

A PLANET NOT RESTORED

Well, look at verse 5 “And I will require the blood of anyone who takes another person’s life.

We realize that the world after Noah isn’t restored after all, a restored world would not need laws against murder! We’re pointed back to before the flood, Adam and Eve rebel against God in the garden [Genesis 3:6]. Cain murders Abel [Genesis 4:8], and Lamech’s disproportionate act of retaliation against the man who hurt him [Genesis 4:23-24]. Sin is out of control, and wickedness is so great. So God must do the only just thing ,He has to judge the world, killing all of mankind, except Noah and his family.

FLAWED DNA

So Noah has failed to save the world from sin. Why? Because Noah himself is a sinner! Just like Cain and Abel, Noah inherited the “DNA” of Adam and Eve. Noah’s rebellion against God is their rebellion against God. We face the same problem with Noah as we did with Adam and Eve, as we did with Cain and Abel, as we did with Lamech. The problem is that the sin has not been dealt with. We need someone to deal with our sin, but how?

Noah knew God, and God knew Noah. God deemed him righteous and blameless in His eyes. But what did Noah do? In spite of his close relationship to God. In spite of seeing God’s awesomeness and glory what does he do? After building his vineyard Noah get so plastered that he strips naked and, passes out. You’ve heard the story; Ham finds Noah drunk ,passed out and naked in his tent. He tells his brother who covers him up. Noah finds out what Ham has done and curses him, and blesses his brothers. Noah’s inability to enjoy the fruit of his orchard wisely, led him to sin. Just like Adam and Eve’s rebellion against God in the garden of Eden, where them eating from the forbidden fruit led to sin. And the result is the same: naked before the Lord, full of shame, and a terrible curse passed on to the son.

And we are no better. We show God and others the content of our hearts through our actions, and what we see. It’s not pretty, Adam and Eve knew God, they had an unique fellowship with Him, So did Noah. Yet, what they have in common is that they, sinned against God. The first rulers of creation, and Noah the “saviour” of mankind. They failed, they didn’t plan to fail, yet they did.

When Noah, his family and the animals left the ark, they also brought their sin. They brought their rebellious hearts, their desire and imagination for evil, the world still contained people capable of sin.

WE RE ALL SINNERS

In the letter to romans, Paul writes: “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard [Rom 3:23]” We don’t need much interpretation to understand that we’re all sinners. That is the reality, we’re living in today, more than six billion sinners on one little planet. There’s no escape from being sinners, not even for Christians, (Well, at least not on this side of death. One day we will be fully restored!)
Just like there was no escape for Noah there is no escape for us. As Christians we are not better than others, but since we are in Christ by his mercy, we receive the same favour Noah received, although he was a sinner. And the word of God says the same about us: We’re blameless and righteous in God’s sight. Amazing isn’t it?

We get to know GOD, we develop deep and meaningful relationships with Him. Just like Adam, Eve and Noah, we know Him, we might actually know God better than they did. However, what do we do? We do what they did, we sin although we know better. Our generation is especially good at twisting the word of God into what we want it to be. Our churches seem quite often to be more concerned with being nice, than sharing the gospel and leading the congregation according to God’s word.

We try to create Christianity 2.0 where we become God’s equal and our own saviours. But if we’re honest with ourselves, we realize that this is hopeless. Just look at the bible. The Bible is filled with would be “saviours”, and they all crash and burn. Adam the first of his kind set to rule the creation messed up, Abel and Cain didn’t work out, Noah didn’t work out, Abraham didn’t work out, Samson didn’t work out, David didn’t work out, Solomon didn’t work out. No matter how bright, rich or gifted they were, they didn’t seem to work out. Why? Because they were all sinners, just like us.

3.A new hope

GOD ALWAYS KEEPS HIS PROMISE

But is this how it ends, not with a bang but with a whimper? Thank God, there is more. In chapter 10 we see God remembering His promise. The promise that life will go on as long as the earth remains [8:21-22]. We see how in spite of his sin, Noah becomes the ancestor of all of mankind. Just like Adam before him, before the flood. You see, although Noah failed, although he didn’t keep his part of the deal, God in all His glory always does. Life goes on, and so does God’s plan of salvation. There’s 65 more books in the bible after Genesis, and they show humanity as we are, not as we present ourselves. Still after all that time, filled with sin and failure to comply with the will of God. Earth is remaining; God is still acting out His plan of salvation not because of us, because of His awesome GRACE.

GENEALOGIES ABOUT JESUS

We see how from Shem, Ham and Japheth became the fathers of everyone in the world. We see how they had sons; how their sons had sons, and their sons, sons had sons, and so on. We can follow God’s master plan through the genealogies. In chapter 10 we read about the linages of Shem, Ham and Japheth. I have to admit that up to this point I found genealogies being, painfully boring. However, as I was reading about the descendants of Shem, I realized that the genealogies aren’t just a list of hard to pronounce names. They actually point towards Jesus. I am going to show you this by reading a shot summary of the descendants of Shem in chapter 10 verses 21-25, chapter 11:18-26 and Matthew 1:1-17.

The scripture I read is inspired by God, the chronology I read it in might come from my head. My point with reading this to you, is to show you that the genealogies points towards the serpent crusher[3:15]. The only One who’s ever lived a perfect life, the only one who can be the saviour. Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

From 10:21-25 we read that Shem had Aram. Aram had Arphaxad, who had Eber, who had Peleg. Peleg we pick up again in 11:18-26. We see he has Reu, who has Serug. From Serug we have Nahor, then Terah, then Abram who was renamed Abraham.
Turning to the New Testament we read in Matt 1:1-17 This is a record of the ancestors of Jesus the Messiah, a descendant of David and of Abraham: Abraham was the father of Isaac. Isaac was the father of Jacob and so on we go, on and on through the centuries until finally, finally we reach the one we have been waiting for!

Here is the serpent crusher, the one who is born of man, yet not born of man: fully human, yet fully divine. Human, yet sinless. The one who can defeat Satan, defeat death, and destroy sin. v15 Eliud was the father of Eleazar. Eleazar was the father of Matthan. Matthan was the father of Jacob. 16 Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary. Mary gave birth to Jesus, who is called the Messiah.

Throughout the bible, we see great men rise and fall, we see people that we think might have “saviour-potential” Noah, Abraham, Moses, Samson, Saul, David, Solomon. We know they all fail, there is but one.

JESUS AS PERSON AND SACRIFICE

There is but Jesus. He is the only one who led a perfect life, He is the sacrifice that is without a blemish. Only His blood can atone for our sins once and for all.

He is a full sufficient sacrifice. The aroma of His sacrifice on the cross is a fragrance God finds pleasing, so pleasing that the aroma unleashes eternal life for all those who turn to Him and believe! Jesus is the reason God promises Noah that life will go on as long as the earth remains. Genesis 8:21-22. Jesus is the new Adam, a better Noah. He is the serpent crusher, He is the only one who can deal with our sin. That is what He is did on the cross, He dealt with our sin. People are born and people die, as long as the earth remains, there is hope. Every day we’re given is a new chance to turn to Jesus and repent of our sins.

Conclusion

1. When Noah and his family, leaves the ark after the flood. They return to a semi-restored world, where sin yet is to be dealt with.

2. Noah couldn’t save us because he is a sinner, and for the same reason we can’t save ourselves. We need someone without sin.

3. There is only salvation through Jesus, He is the serpent crusher, it’s because of Him Adam found favour with God, it’s because of Him we who are in Christ find favour with God.