Pressed like Olives Mimosa AM 10/31/10

At the foot of Mount Olives is a garden called Gethsemane. Gethsemane can literally be translated as ‘oil press’. This was a place where olives were pressed.
Matthew and Mark’s Gospel describe it as an ESTATE in the Greek but John’s gospel calls it a Garden.
Gethsemane was a place where the burden of the poor was evidenced as they were tied to the wealthy landowners. Many of the wealthy landowners of Jesus’ time were the Sadducees. Many of Jesus parables refer to these wealthy landowners. We know that the Sadducee party was very wealthy because of the homes that were excavated in Jerusalem that have 20,000 dollar vats of wine. They lived a very extravagant life off the backs of the poor. Remember last week we discussed how they were abusing the Temple to make money off of the poor. They also became wealthy off the backs of the common man that had to work in the vineyards and in the wine presses.
The Mount of Olives was one of the places where this would occur. Olive oil production was very necessary and common in ancient Jerusalem. Olive oil was a staple of the diet, was used in lamps for lighting, and was used to put on skin for the health of the skin in a dry and arid environment.
The Olive Tree was important in Messianic Expectations because one of the prophecies that the Jews anticipated was that the root of Jesse would be restored.
In an earlier sermon we explored how it seemed the family of David had been cut off after the Babylonian Exile but the OT prophesied that a shoot would grow out of the stump of Jesse. Olive Trees will grow for over 1000 years and many times they are cut down to the roots and will lay dormant for a time. Then all of the sudden, a live shoot will come out of the stump and will grow.
This is the prophecy of the Messiah that will come from the family of Jesse.
Isaiah 11:1
Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse, And a branch from his roots will bear fruit.
This is a direct image of an Olive Tree and the process of pruning and new growth.
The image of the very Messiah is tied to the Olive Tree.
It is interesting that when Jesus enters Jerusalem He will enter from the Mount of Olives – This image would not be lost on anyone. The shoot of the stem of Jesse will ride into Jerusalem and He is riding in from the Mount of Olives that was known for its olive trees.
IN the Scripture we see Jesus on Thursday night of His passion week going to the Mount of Olives and going to the Garden of Gethsemane.
Remember last week we looked at Jesus triumphal entry into Jerusalem and the Cleansing of the Temple on Sunday of this week. Now we have Jesus on the night he would be betrayed and the evening before His crucifixion going to the Garden for what is called the Watch.


Matthew 26: 36
36 Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to His disciples, "Sit here while I go over there and pray."

This was part of the Passover celebration in which you would stay up all night remembering how the Israelites in Egyptian bondage prepared to leave Egypt the night before Moses lead them across the Red Sea.
To understand why this location of Gethsemane is important in this story we need to understand what happened when Olives were pressed.
Remember that Gethsemane was the ‘place of the olive press’ and this is where Jesus goes on the night before He is crucified.
Olives were put into a circular stone basin with a huge millstone. This millstone would roll round and round and break the olives apart. This process is called the CRACKING of the OLIVE. Literally the Olives were crushed.
Once the millstone had crushed the olives they were gathered into burlap sacks and had large weights placed on top of the bags. After a period of time the oil would come seeping out of the sacks and would be collected.
This process would take some time but great pressure had to be placed on the olives to get them to release their oil.
Now consider how this factors into our story of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus is in the very place known for olive presses. This is where olives were crushed and their oil was released.
Now we have the Messiah- the shoot from the root of Jesse – the very image of this olive tree prophecy in the place where olives are crushed.
Imagine that Jesus growing up knew he would have to die for us. He knew His entire life and His life was shaped by the Scripture of Israel. Consider Isaiah 53
Isaiah 53 is about the suffering servant of God. This prophecy is about the suffering of the Messiah and how He would die for our sins.

Isaiah 53: 5
5 But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities ; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed.

Three aspects of the Messiah come out of this passage – Pierced, Crushed, and Scourging
We all know that Jesus was pierced in His hands and His feet by the crucifixion and we know he endured the horrible Scourging of the Romans that killed some people by itself. But what about being Crushed?

I would propose that this element of Jesus Passion is often overlooked at our own peril. The passage in Isaiah 53 says that He will CRUSHED for OUR INIQUITIES.
I propose that is the taking on of our sin by Jesus and was probably the biggest burden of all. Jesus WHO KNEW NO SIN took on the penalty of OUR SIN.
We see this crushing weight of the sin of the world in the Garden of Gethsemane.
In Luke we find the parallel version of the account of the Garden of Gethsemane in Matthew 26.

In Luke 22 we read his account of the Garden of Gethsemane.

Luke 22: 39-44
39 And He came out and proceeded as was His custom to the Mount of Olives ; and the disciples also followed Him. 40 When He arrived at the place, He said to them, "Pray that you may not enter into temptation." 41 And He withdrew from them about a stone's throw, and He knelt down and began to pray, 42 saying, "Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done." 43 Now an angel from heaven appeared to Him, strengthening Him. 44 And being in agony He was praying very fervently ; and His sweat became like drops of blood, falling down upon the ground.

Imagine the image of this agony. IN Matthew 26 he tells us that Jesus prays three times to let this cup of agony pass from Him. This Cup would be the Cup of Consummation but also the Cup of Wrath against Sin.
Jesus is literally being crushed by this burden of the sins of the world that he will have to bear.
Just like the Olives being pressed, Jesus is being crushed and his blood is being spilled.
Just like the Olive oil that drips out of the bags being crushed, Jesus’ is in so much anguish that He is sweating blood. Medical science tells us that this happens when the capillaries burst near the surface of the sin because of a person under great stress.
This is an element of suffering of the cross that we loose sight of and that is the anguish of bearing the sin of the world.
Now to take this story of Gethsemane and really understand what it is saying to us we need to lay some groundwork on some very important Biblical Doctrines:

INCARNATION:
TO UNDERSTAND WHAT IS GOING ON AT GETHSEMANE WE MUST UNDESTAND THE TWO IMPORTANT DOCTRINES FOUND IN SCRIPTURE.
1) INCARNATION
John 1:14
14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Shortly before the turn of the century, a young man from Ohio homesteaded in the wilderness of the Dakotas. He built himself a sod house, and the Indians were his only neighbors. In desperation for companionship, he wrote a lonely hearts organization requesting correspondence with some young lady. Down in the hills of southern Missouri, a newspaper man saw the plea, and as a joke, answered it in the name of his cousin. Without her knowing it, he carried on correspondence with the lonely man in the Dakotas. When the young lady found out about it, she was embarrassed and enraged. She finally consented to read the letters, and as the homesteader seemed to be a man of integrity, she then took up the correspondence. After some time, she received a letter announcing that he was coming to see her. One day, the man who had simply been a name, a phantom figure, arrived and introduced himself. The young people fell in love and returned to the sod house together. They had a long and happy marriage. Before Christ came into the world, God was real enough but seemed so distant, so intangible, and ill-defined. In Jesus, God stepped off the train, so to speak, and walked down main street for every eye to see and for every person to know.
Jesus came saying, "He that hath seen me hath seen the Father" Jn. 14:9.
JESUS IS GOD – THE WORLD WAS CREATED THROUGH HIM, THE FATHER, SON AND SPIRIT ALL HAD ROLES IN THE CREATION OF THE WORLD

Colossians 1: 15-16, 19
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities -all things have been created through Him and for Him.
19 For it was the Father's good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him,
When Paul said that Jesus was the image of the invisible God, he did not mean that Jesus was LIKE God. He meant that Jesus WAS God.

In San Antonio, there were identical twins whose houses were side by side. Shortly after they were married, one of the brothers took his wife to a beach resort for a brief vacation. When they returned, the other brother and his wife went to the same resort. The landlady at the resort was very bewildered and upset. Finally, she called the wife aside and confidentially told her that her husband had been there the week before with another woman. You can see how that would cause some confusion can't you? But, Christ was IDENTICAL with God NOT ONLY in the sense of SIMILARITY but also in SAMENESS. Christ and God are not twin beings, they are one and the same. In Christ dwelt all "fullness" vs. 19. In other words, nothing of God was missing in Christ.
We must understand that GOD BECAME MAN- JESUS IS THE GOD MAN
We cannot fathom the cross and what took place until we try to wrap our minds around this idea.
FLESH –
Jesus took on the rags of flesh to save us from our sin. Jesus took on our humanity so that we could become like Him.
One early Christian scholar said that Jesus became man so that we can become like God. He did not mean that we would have equality with God but that we could share in the Divine life. God became man so that we can have ETERNAL LIFE IN HIM.
A Roman servant, knowing that his master was to be put to death, clothed himself in the garments of the latter that he night be taken for him. He was taken and put to death, and his master caused a statue of brass to be erected as a monument of gratitude for the poor servant's fidelity and affection.
IN the same way that the servant took on the garments of the master, Jesus took on the flesh of humanity.
REPRSENTATIVE AND SUBSTITUTION
When we say that Jesus died for our sins we need to be sharp in understanding exactly what that means.
Paul states that one of the fundamental truths of the Gospel is that Jesus died for us.

I Corinthians 15:3
3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures

To start down the path of understanding exactly what Jesus accomplished begins with understanding that Jesus became the Representative of Mankind and of Israel.
Jesus is the New Adam or the new Humanity.
Jesus was obedient unlike Adam. Adam was disobedient and brought sin to the world. Jesus was obedient even unto death and brought obedience.
JESUS TOOK ON DEATH AND CAME OUT THE OTHER SIDE VICTORIOUS. HE TOOK ON THE DEATH THAT ADAM’S SIN BROUGHT TO THE WORLD AND CAME THROUGH IT WITH THE RESURRECTION. HE CONQUERED SIN AND CONQUERED DEATH.
ISRAEL- Jesus dis what Israel could never do. God wanted to bless all nations through Abraham and Israel was tasked with being this blessing.
Israel failed miserably and all through the Gospels, particularly Matthew’s Gospel we are presented with Jesus as Israel. He is obedient in all things where Israel was disobedient.
He obeyed the LAW perfectly and did what Israel could never do. Israel was also under the Curse in that the Curses of disobedience were upon Israel. Israel would have to bear the Curse of the Law.
In the Law of Moses we learn that Cursed is anyone that hangs on a tree. The ultimate curse was to be hung on a tree for a Jew and crucifixion was the ultimate slap in the face for a Jew.
Jesus obeys the Law of Moses and then takes on the Curse of the Law on the Cross.
By doing this Jesus opens up the promises made to Abraham to all nations.
So in these images we see themes emerge.
ADAM- Disobedience, Death
Jesus – Obedience, Life – resurrection
Israel – Law breaking – Curse
Jesus – perfect Law keeping – blessing to all nations
How did this work:

2 Corinthians 5: 21
21 He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

This passage displays this majestic doctrine that Jesus became sin on our behalf. He took on our sin in His flesh even though he was innocent.

Romans 8: 1-3
1 Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. 3 For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh,

The Law of Moses could not accomplish what God did in Christ: God condemned sin in the flesh. Particularly he condemned sin in the flesh of Jesus.
By the cross we are now lifted from the penalty.

Matthew 23: 37-38
37 "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling . 38 "Behold, your house is being left to you desolate !

This image is found in the Barnyard fire, when a fire breaks out the hen gathers the chicks up her wings and when the hen is found dead the next day the baby chicks are found alive in her scorched wings.
The same is true for what Jesus says of Jerusalem. A fiery judgment would come on Jerusalem just a few years later from the Romans.
In the same way we will see God face to face and if we have been found in Christ we will be able to look upon God and have fellowship with Him.

Hebrews 12:29 tells us that God is a Consuming Fire

All through Scripture God’s presence is represented by Fire. How can we stand in the presence of God’s love that is like a consuming fire.
This passage from Christ tells us something. – We must be In Christ!
Just as Christ took on sin, he now gives us righteousness to stand in God’s presence. We have been declared justified if we are in Christ.
To be in Christ, means that we are saved from the wrath of a holy God that cannot have fellowship with sin in any way.
The way Christ work on the cross can be demonstrated by the following story:
In a book called 30 years in Madagascar by Thomas Matthews explains a custom of the natives of Madagascar.
Madagascar, where he was for thirty years a missionary, describes this native custom: The prisoners were kept in chains, but they had to earn their own living, and were confined to prison only during the night. On the days, however, on which the Sovereign appeared they were not allowed to leave the prison; or if allowed out on these days, at noon, before the Sovereign as to appear, they all had to return to prison, were counted, and locked up.
Why? Because if one of those criminals managed to hide himself, and then emerge from his hiding place to gaze at and salute the Sovereign, as she passed, wearing her diadem and beautiful in the glory of her royal apparel, he was a free man. Whatever his crime had been, his chains were at once struck off, for he had looked on the Sovereign in her beauty and saluted her, and no one could do that and still remain a prisoner.
In this story we can look at the people in chains in this story as us in the chains of sin. Without Christ that is what we have to look forward too. When we are put into Christ we no longer are consider condemned or lost.
We are now alive in Christ.

Galatians 3: 26-27
26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.

To be clothed with Christ is tied to the idea of Matthew 23
God gave us visible SIGNS to show us this lesson. Every time we see someone baptized it is a reminder of being clothed in the righteousness of Christ and without that righteousness of Christ we cannot be with God. If we want to live eternally with our Father, we will have to be clothed in Christ.
The other Sign that God gave us is the Lord’s Supper. In the Lord’s Supper we partake of the Cup which is the New Covenant in Christ’s Blood and the Bread which is the body that is broken for us. This is all about the ATONEMENT Christ brought on our behalf.
When we come to the Lord’s Table we are to remember the Altar of the Cross as well as the Fellowship in Christ’s Blood that we have at His Table.
When we are gathered around His Table we are experiencing a foreshadowing of the time when we are in the presence of God. WE are literally eating and drinking at Christ’s Table in His presence. WE should come to this Table in the right mind, realizing that we are in God’s presence.

Meaning what you say and saying what you mean AM 10/24/10

Saying what you mean
I grew up in a place that makes Fayetteville look like high society. All the folks in my hometown, if you could call it a town, are good down home folks that live very simply. When I was a sophomore in high school we got a new principal and it was big news in our community. What made matters even more interesting is that he was from India. It took people the longest time to figure out when he was called an Indian it meant that he was from the country of India and not a reservation. That would be the first in many misunderstandings in our community.
Our principal turned out to be a wonderful principal but he was always hard to understand. I remember on game days he would come up to me and put his arm around me and would give me words of encouragement about the game that night. He would say something, laugh and walk away. I would laugh too because I had no idea what he was saying.
When he was first introduced to our football team, I had an older cousin that was a great football player but not the smartest guy in the world. He was so fired up by our new principal’s message that he was the first to greet him afterwards. He greeted our new principal by constantly saying “It is great to meet you Mr. Kutty. Mr Kutty we are glad you are here.” Well our new principal was noticeably perturbed with my cousin and we couldn’t figure out why. Well the next day we found out. Our principal’s last name was not Mr. Kutty but was Mr. Thomaskutty. Thomaskutty was his full last name but my cousin thought he was introduced with his full name and Thomas must have been his first name.
Many times I believe we may misunderstand our Savior, but more specifically we just don’t get the full meaning of what He is saying.
I think we have to peel back the layers of time and see Jesus in his day and time and realize that He taught with methods of this day.

Jesus used methods that many great Rabbis and teachers of His day and one of the most advanced methods of Jesus day was called Remez.

Remez is the Jewish practice of quoting one verse from the OT but realizing that your audience would recognize the passage and now where it comes from.
Today if I said, “Four Score and Seven Years Ago” Most of you would not say, “Well, he must be talking about something 87 years ago.

You would know that I am talking about the Gettysburg Address. It may bring the whole speech to mind where Abraham Lincoln changes the entire course of what the Civil War would be fought over.

That speech at the cemetery at Gettysburg would change the face of American history.
All I had to say was one phrase from that and you knew exactly what I am talking about. Jesus did the same thing with the OT Scripture and knowing this deepens much of your understanding of what Jesus was really trying to convey.
It will also show you that Jesus challenged the authorities of His day and you will understand exactly why they wanted to put Him to death.
The passage I want to look at begins in two places during the Passion week of Jesus that bring about His crucifixion.
We know in the Gospel accounts that Jesus is on His way to Jerusalem throughout His entire ministry and has resolutely turned His face to Jerusalem.
We set the stage for a week that would change history and this is the week of Jesus Crucifixion.
There is a story that we have tended to make less radical that it really is and that is the Triumphal Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem.

II. Cleansing the Temple

One of the Big events in Jesus Passion week is when He first enters Jerusalem in Matthew 21 and cleanses the Temple.
To understand this event and what a big splash it made in the days of Jesus. Most scholars agree that this is the event that sealed the fate of Jesus with the Jewish authorities and the Romans.
They were using the Gentile Court- This was a place where Gentile converts could worship God in the Temple.
The Sadducees had moved the moneychangers into the Court of the Gentiles as well as the Royal Stoa. The Court of the Gentiles was separated from the Inner Courts of the Temple by the wall of Separation.
Royal Stoa was a place where money could be exchanged. It was not so bad that money was exchanged or sacrifices had to be bought. That was not the problem but it was the cheating that was going on.
The Temple complex – the entire area of the Temple was huge, it was 480 meters by 280 meters. Imagine area almost 5 football fields long and 3 football fields wide. This place was very big.
The area that surrounded the Temple was called the Royal Stoa.
The Royal Stoa ran 180 meters and opened up the Temple Complex.
The Stoa was a place for secular affairs and was a magnificent structure that was open with many columns and ornate carvings.
The East end of the Royal Stoa would have housed the Sanhedrin.
This was the place where all buying and exchanging of money would take place. But we know that in the time of Jesus the money changers felt like the needed more room and moved from the Stoa into the Temple courts and into the Court of the Gentiles.
Now the Gentiles would not have a place to worship as well as it would take animals and money changers into the Temple Complex
During the Passover one would have to purchase a lamb and this is where you would have come. You would have to come to the Royal Stoa or the Court of the Gentiles. Jesus came to a place where 10s of thousands of people would come. This would be the most crowded place in Jerusalem during the year. If you were going to make a statement that everyone would hear and see, this would be the place to go- the Royal Stoa and the Court of the Gentiles.
The Sadducees had set up a system where people would come to the Temple with their sacrifice and have to get it approved by the priests. Imagine a family coming from Galilee and saving all they have to purchase a lamb that is unblemished or raising one just for this purpose and then getting to the Temple and being told that their lamb was not good enough.
They had a little racket going on in which they would send the people out to get an ‘APPROVED’ lamb from the moneychangers in the Stoa or the Court of the Gentiles.
With this background info we need to now turn to the text and we will see if this has shed some light on this passage.

Matthew 21: 6-17
6 The disciples went and did just as Jesus had instructed them, 7 and brought the donkey and the colt, and laid their coats on them; and He sat on the coats. 8 Most of the crowd spread their coats in the road, and others were cutting branches from the trees and spreading them in the road. 9 The crowds going ahead of Him, and those who followed, were shouting, "Hosanna to the Son of David ; BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD ; Hosanna in the highest !" 10 When He had entered Jerusalem, all the city was stirred, saying, "Who is this ?" 11 And the crowds were saying, "This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth in Galilee."
12 And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves. 13 And He said to them, "It is written, 'MY HOUSE SHALL BE CALLED A HOUSE OF PRAYER '; but you are making it a ROBBERS' DEN." 14 And the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them.


Jesus does something very interesting in cleansing the Temple. This seems like an odd thing to do.
People were killed because of these disturbances and the Roman soldiers would have been watching over the Court from their Garrison at Antonia that overlooked the Temple.
Many Messianic expectations were that the Messiah would come and cleanse the Temple.
What Jesus did was very explosive and would have been seen as raising hopes that God would not kick the Romans out of Palestine as well as run the Sadducee and the corrupt priestly class out of town.
But when Jesus runs them out of the Temple he quotes a verse that is very important to understand.
Remember earlier I talked about a method called REMEZ in which one passage was quoted but the speaker would expect everyone to know what he is talking about.

This is one of those cases when Jesus says:
VERSE 13 - but you are making it a ROBBERS' DEN."
Jesus is quoting from a very famous passage in Jeremiah chapter 7

Jesus uses this passage to drive home his point and this passage from Jeremiah 7 would have been very offensive to the Sadducees and the Temple authorities.



Jeremiah 7: 1-4
1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, 2 "Stand in the gate of the LORD'S house and proclaim there this word and say, 'Hear the word of the LORD, all you of Judah, who enter by these gates to worship the LORD !' " 3 Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, "Amend your ways and your deeds, and I will let you dwell in this place. 4 "Do not trust in deceptive words, saying, 'This is the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD.'

This is the opening of this passage and it shows us that Jeremiah 7 is about the Temple. It is Jeremiah prophesying against the abuse of the Temple during his day before the Babylonian Captivity.
There was bad abuses going on and the people thought they could just say, The Temple of the Lord, The Temple of the Lord – in other words – we can get away with bad behavior because we have this lucky charm of the Temple and God will protect us as long as we have the Temple.

Jeremiah goes on to say:
9 "Will you steal, murder, and commit adultery and swear falsely, and offer sacrifices to Baal and walk after other gods that you have not known, 10 then come and stand before Me in this house, which is called by My name, and say, 'We are delivered !'-that you may do all these abominations ? 11 "Has this house, which is called by My name, become a den of robbers in your sight ? Behold, I, even I, have seen it," declares the LORD.


You notice that Jeremiah names many of the 10 commandments that the Jews were breaking during this time of Jeremiah:
Stealing Murder Adultery False Witness Worshiping other Gods

They were practicing evil and detestable things

Now look at verse 12 of Jeremiah 7
. 12 "But go now to My place which was in Shiloh, where I made My name dwell at the first, and see what I did to it because of the wickedness of My people Israel

Jeremiah the prophet is referring to an event that is earlier in Israel’s history.

1 Samuel 4 is the story of what happened in Shiloh. The Israelites had gone out and fought the Philistines and were routed. They went back to Shiloh where the Ark of the Covenant was and they decided to take the Ark into the Battle. Shiloh was the place where the Tabernacle was located before the Temple was built.

Because they were wicked the Philistines routed the Israelites, took the Ark of the Covenant and killed 30,000 Israelites.

They were routed because of their disobedience. The priesthood was corrupt. This was the time when Eli’s sons were killed and Eli fell backwards and was killed.

The rest of Jeremiah 7 talks about how the Jews would not listen to the teaching of God but were stiff-necked people. They would not listen to God but were hard headed.
Now go back to the passage of the cleansing of the Temple.
When Jesus quotes this passage about the Den of Robbers goes back to Jeremiah’s lament against corruption in the TEMPLE.

What would these people hear from Jesus?
Not only are the ripping people off but Jesus is speaking Judgment against them.
The Priesthood was corrupt just like in the times of Jeremiah and this Temple now is under Judgment. Just like the Temple was under judgment before in the time of Jeremiah and would be destroyed but now this Temple will be destroyed.

Go back to Jeremiah 7: 5-9
5 "For if you truly amend your ways and your deeds, if you truly practice justice between a man and his neighbor, 6 if you do not oppress the alien, the orphan, or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place, nor walk after other gods to your own ruin, 7 then I will let you dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers forever and ever. 8 "Behold, you are trusting in deceptive words to no avail.

What would this sound like to the people of the time of Jesus. When he quotes from this passage it would resonate with them.
Think about this- Much had been given to the Sanhedrin and the priestly class.
They were getting rich off the backs of the poor. The Temple was running an operation where poor people were being taken advantage of. The Gentile court has been taken over.
Literally, the alien, the poor were being taken advantage of.
Now you can see why this quote, when Jesus simply says – Den of Robbers – it would bring back this painful reminder of Jeremiah’s prophecy.
This is tough stuff but Jesus will not let them off the hook.

NOW JESUS ADDRESSES THE GENTILE COURT
JESUS ALSO QUOTES FROM ANOTHER PASSAGE FROM THE OT IN THIS PASSAGE:
VERSE 13: 'MY HOUSE SHALL BE CALLED A HOUSE OF PRAYER '

Isaiah 56: 4-7
4 For thus says the LORD, "To the eunuchs who keep My sabbaths, And choose what pleases Me, And hold fast My covenant, 5 To them I will give in My house and within My walls a memorial, And a name better than that of sons and daughters ; I will give them an everlasting name which will not be cut off. 6 "Also the foreigners who join themselves to the LORD, To minister to Him, and to love the name of the LORD, To be His servants, every one who keeps from profaning the sabbath And holds fast My covenant ; 7 Even those I will bring to My holy mountain And make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be acceptable on My altar ; For My house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples."

Remember I talked about the Court of the Gentiles and how it had been taken over by the money changers. Jesus quotes in Matthew 21 from the passage in the OT that gives us this idea of the Court of the Gentiles.

In Isaiah 56 – we see the eunuch (this is a Gentile) that obeys God and will have a place to worship in the Temple – A Temple that God wants to be a house of Prayer for all nations.
God wants His house to be a house of prayer for all people – The Jews of Jesus day have taken this away from the Gentiles.

Imagine a Gentile traveling from Asia Minor or Greece, who has come over 1000 miles to worship but now cannot because of the corruption. Jesus is not happy about this situation.
Jesus quotes from this passage in Isaiah 56 to make His point – this is a house for ALL people.


II. PALM BRANCHES
John’s parallel passage to Matthew 21 in John 12 tells us that the branches that they use to usher in Jesus are Palm branches.
Palm branches was the symbol of REVOLT in Judaism and was attached to the revolt against the Greeks but was more specifically attached to the Zealots.
Zealots were people in the time of Jesus who wanted to kill the Romans. They carried a sword called the Sicarii and were reported to be able to sneak up and kill a Roman solider in just seconds and slip right back into the crowd.
There was a law in the time of Jesus that made it illegal to wave palm branches if you were a Jew. It was a crucifiable offense to wave a palm branch if you were a Jew in the time of Jesus.


Lets go back to the text of Matthew 21 one more time:
15 But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that He had done, and the children who were shouting in the temple, "Hosanna to the Son of David," they became indignant 16 and said to Him, "Do You hear what these children are saying ?" And Jesus said to them, "Yes ; have you never read, 'OUT OF THE MOUTH OF INFANTS AND NURSING BABIES YOU HAVE PREPARED PRAISE FOR YOURSELF'?"
After the cleansing and the triumphal entry of Jesus the Temple authorities are upset with Jesus. They don’t know what to do with themselves and Jesus nails it home with the final quote.

IN this passage we see three times Jesus uses REMEZ an in this passage
Jesus quotes from Psalm 8 and when you read the entire verse that Jesus quotes you can see that there is much more to what He is saying.

Psalm 8: 2
From the mouth of infants and nursing babes You have established strength Because of Your adversaries, To make the enemy and the revengeful cease.
In this passage we see David say that the adversary and the enemy will cease – they will be defeated in essence.
Now take all of this together and you can paint a very coherent picture of what is going on in Matthew 21. Remember that this event happens on Sunday and just a few days later on Friday Jesus will be crucified.
You can see the words of Jesus and how challenging they really are.
He is calling out some sinful activity among the leaders of the Jews and Is taking the challenge right to the base of their power. Jesus Is openly challenging them because the time has come.

APPLICATION:
1) The mindset that Jesus challenges is that one can depend on the outward trappings of religion but neglect obedience.
The Jews of Jeremiah’s time and the authorities of Jesus time were corrupt but believed the Temple would save them.
In the ministry of Jesus- time and time again- we see that God wants the sacrifice of your heart.
God wants the circumcision of man’s heart.
God wants obedient people that love him and love their neighbor. Jesus came to usher in the Kingdom and bring this mindset to His Church.
The New Israel- the reformed Israel- the reconstituted Israel that would be Jesus and His followers will be those that no longer depend on dead ritual but a living faith.
2) Christ cares about ALL people. Jesus wanted the Temple to be a House of Prayer for ALL NATIONS.
Later in Jesus Great Commission He will send His disciples to make followers of all nations.
God’s Kingdom is for the outcasts, the widows, the orphans, the underpriviledged.
No one will be excluded at God’s table- Part of the image of the Lord’s Supper that we partake every Sunday is that Jesus has invited all people to His kingdom banquet.
Everytime we celebrate the Supper we are to remember our brothers and sisters around the world doing the same and unity that we have in Christ.
Jesus Kingdom doesn’t exclude anyone but is for all nations.
The Church will become the first true GLOBAL movement.
3) The palm branches show that the Jews believed that Jesus would lead a violent revolt.
Many wonder why the Jews that celebrated Jesus coming into Jerusalem on Sunday would shout Crucify Him on Friday. Why did they change so fast?They expected Jesus to violently overthrow the Romans. That was evidenced by the palm branches. A highly explosive image that is illegal in the palm branches but Jesus is not about violent revolt.
We can see where people have tried to force the Kingdom of God by force and this is always going to lead to disaster.
The way of Jesus is the way of the Cross- take up your cross and follow me- this kingdom will be different.
This kingdom will go into the places of power and love with a self-sacrificing love. This passage found in Matthew 21 really brings out the ultimate decision of all people:
The world of Power, of Caesar, of Power, money, corrupt Religion
Religion made in the image of man. Or Jesus – the real man from Nazareth. The man that was willing to wade into the corrupt power of the Temple- overshadowed by the Roman fortress of Antonia – all that swirling around – Jesus stands there and asks us to make a choice.
The choice between obedience to HIM and a cross shaped life or a life of power and abuse, a life of making God into our image.

The Book that God Breathed Mimosa AM 10/17/10

The new minister was asked to teach a boys' class in the absence of the regular teacher. He decided to see what they knew, so he asked who knocked down the walls of Jericho. All the boys denied having done it, and the preacher was appalled by their ignorance. At the next deacons' meeting he told about the experience. "Not one of them knows who knocked down the walls of Jericho," he lamented. The group was silent until finally one seasoned veteran of disputes spoke up. "Preacher, this appears to be bothering you a lot. But I've known all those boys since they were born and they're good boys. If they said they didn't know, I believe them. Let's just take some money out of the repair and maintenance fund, fix the walls, and let it go at that."
This story is humorous but it masks a big problem and that is the growing ignorance of the Bible in our time.
I believe that much of the ineffectiveness of churches is due to the lack of Bible knowledge. I think it is high time for Churches to consider making education in the Bible a high priority for their membership.

University of Wisconsin historian Thomas Reeves indicts popular religious belief and service. "Christianity in modern America is, in large part, innocuous," he writes. "It tends to be easy, upbeat, convenient, and compatible. It does not require self-sacrifice, discipline, humility, an otherworldly outlook, a zeal for souls, a fear as well as love of God. There is little guilt and no punishment, and the payoff in heaven is virtually certain."

This view of Reeves is in large part because people have no idea what the Bible teaches on many subjects.

Time Magazine in ran a very popular and controversial article about the introduction of the Bible as a subject in Public school in 2007

Time magazine pointed out a few statistics:
Only half of U.S. adults know the title of even one Gospel. Most can't name the Bible's first book. The trend extends even to Evangelicals, only 44% of whose teens could identify a particular quote as coming from the Sermon on the Mount.

SIMPLY PUT, THE BIBLE IS THE MOST influential book ever written. Not only is the Bible the best-selling book of all time, it is the best-selling book of the year every year. In a 1992 survey of English teachers to determine the top-10 required "book-length works" in high school English classes, plays by Shakespeare occupied three spots and the Bible none.

And Shakespeare would almost surely have agreed. According to one estimate, he alludes to Scripture some 1,300 times. As for the rest of literature, when your seventh-grader reads The Old Man and the Sea, a teacher could tick off the references to Christ's Passion--the bleeding of the old man's palms, his stumbles while carrying his mast over his shoulder, his hat cutting his head--but wouldn't the thrill of recognition have been more satisfying on their/own?

If literature doesn't interest you, you also need the Bible to make sense of the ideas and rhetoric that have helped drive U.S. history. "The shining city on the hill"? That's Puritan leader John Winthrop quoting Matthew to describe his settlement's convenantal standing with God.

1st book copied on the Printing press was the German Guttenburg Bible.
Most purchased book in the world.
The Bible would inspire the institution of the European University, Western Law and Democracy as we know it, the founding of Hospitals, and an end to Barbarism in the world.

Over 40 different authors writing in 3 different languages- Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek
40 authors over thousands of miles telling the same story. They tell the same story of Paradise Lost, God’s Rescue, and Paradise regained.
The system of chapters was introduced in A.D. 1238 by Cardinal Hugo de S. Caro, while the verse notations were added in 1551 by Robertus Stephanus, after the advent of printing.
According to statistics from Wycliffe International, the Society of Gideons, and the International Bible Society, the number of new Bibles that are sold, given away, or otherwise distributed in the United States is about 168,000 per day
Translated into over 1200 languages

I. Why is the Bible so transformative and so Important? Why is the Bible authoritative?

The Bible gets its authority from God because it is the very breathed word of God.

In the OT the word for Breath or Wind is Ruah. Ruah is also translated as Spirit.


We see this word used in Genesis 1:1-2

1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit (Ruah) of God was moving over the surface of the waters

In this passage we see the usage of Ruah for the Spirit of God that hovers over the chaotic waters of the Creation.

We see this same word used Genesis 2:7
7 Then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed (Ruah) into his nostrils the breath of life ; and man became a living being.

The word used for the Breath of God is the same word used in Genesis 1 and that is Ruah. Ruah is the very life giving breath of God.

In these two passages we see two things that this Breath of God brings about and that is ORDER AND LIFE.

God wants to bring order and life to a world of Chaos and Death. Sin breaks apart the bonds of God’s covenantal love and God wants to repair and bring order back to the chaos that sin brings.

We see in the New Testament a fuller revelation that this breath of God is actually the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit that reveals God’s will, brings life to the world, and brings order from Chaos.

So what does this concept have to do with the authority of the Bible?




2 Timothy 3: 14-17

14 You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them, 15 and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is inspired (theopneustos) by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness ; 17 so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.


Paul gives Timothy wonderful Pastoral advice in this passage by having Timothy reference his rearing.
Timothy will be able to overcome the false teachers around him and preserve his doctrine by remembering the Scripture that he learned as a child.

Paul goes on to explain to Timothy a very important point that helps nail home what we are talking about.

ALL SCRIPTURE IS GOD BREATHED – THEOPNEUSTOS.

This word for INSPIRED IN THIS PASSAGE IS THEOPNEUSTOS.

THIS IDEA OF THEOPNEUSTOS GOES BACK TO THE IDEA OF GOD BREATHING LIFE INTO ADAM.

This word theopneustos is unique in the Bible, this is the only place where is it is found.
Also, theopneustos is not found in any other Greek writings of the ancient world.

Paul uses this word to make a point. He combines two words to make a very explosive and important point.

What would one naturally come to mind when you talked about God’s breath?

Theo- God Neustos – Breath - The Bible came from the very breath of God.

Just as God breathed life into the nostrils of Adam, God breathed life into the Scripture.

This idea of inspiration is picked up by Peter while he uses different words to explain the same thing.

1 Peter 1: 20-21
20 But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation, 21 for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.

Peter is explaining the same process as the Apostle Paul. God Breathed is the exact same thing as the Bible being inspired by the Holy Spirit.
Just as we saw in the Genesis account of Creation we see the Holy Spirit’s work here as bringing ORDER from CHAOS and also as bringing LIFE from what was lifeless.

The HOLY SPIRIT inspires these regular men to write sacred writings, writings that are powerful and life changing.

God uses the literary conventions of that time to communicate. God uses regular human language to communicate timeless truths.

This process is much like How God took on flesh.
Consider that God humbled Himself and took on flesh to become Jesus of Nazareth.

He met us where we are in our condition to communicate love and truth.

With the inspiration of Scripture God condescends and comes down to our level to communicate truths that we can understand in human language.

This book is very powerful and can transform lives. Why do you think the Roman Empire wanted to destroy the Bible? They knew this was a dangerous book that could result in changed lives that would challenge the Empire.

This book is dangerous because of the power it has to transform when it is read and implemented.

The Hebrew writer speaks of this power found in the Scripture. A power to slice into the very inner thoughts. To lay bare what does not want to exposed, to shine light in the dark.

Hebrews 4: 12

12 For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

How does this work?
How does the word of God divide and pierce into our inner person?

Paul gives us a spiritual law that is sometimes neglected and should be emphasized today more than ever. Do you wonder why people think and say that craziest stuff?
Why do they think just totally upside down and are hostile to Christianity?

Romans 8: 5-8
5 For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. 6 For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, 7 because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God ; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, 8 and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

Paul lays a contrast before us- People lead by the Holy Spirit living in the Spirit and those living in just the flesh.

The unregenerated flesh – sinful nature – cannot comprehend the truth of God and finds it repulsive.

Unregenerate MIND IS HOSTILE TO GOD – IT IS AT WAR WITH GOD’S WILL, WE HAVE TO REMEMBER THIS WHEN WE ENCOUNTER THOSE THAT MAY BE LOST – THEY DON’T GET IT SOMETIMES BECAUSE THEIR MIND IS HOSTILE TO GOD’S WORD.

So how do we tie this back in with the power of God’s word to pierce deep into the soul?

OSWALD CHAMBERS SAID:
Conscience is the internal perception of God’s Moral Law

Chambers got this idea from the Bible - The Conscience is something that all men have programmed into them that attests to God’s Natural Moral Law.

The word Conscience means WITH KNOWLEDGE

Romans 2: 14-15
14 For when Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves, 15 in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them,

The Word of God is powerful and can prick the conscience of man. We can memorize all kinds of apologetic material and try to argue people into faith but the one ally that we never use is God’s Word.

The Scripture is the very power station that convicts sinners and builds faith.

We have to understand that the human mind is many times hostile to God and our ally in evangelism is the CONSCIENCE.

God ‘s Word is powerful and is the vehicle through which the Holy Spirit convicts man of sin.

Consider what happens when a person that is dead in their sins hears the word of God and then has their conscience convicted of that sin. It is the work of the God Breathed Scripture and the Holy Spirit that brings this about.

It seems that we are living in a time when people are forgetting the basics. It is not complicated but is very basic in how we can be effective in our call as Christians.

A story may illustrate the basic nature of this dilemma.

I once read a great illustration from Kirk Cameron that gives the current state of the world today as far as Christianity is concerned. It goes as follows:
You have two people on an airplane, and the first person is told to put on a parachute because it would improve his flight.
The guy is thinking, That's a little nuts. How is that going to improve my flight? But I will give it a try. So he puts on the parachute and figures out that the thing is awkward, it is heavy, and he can't sit straight up.
People start laughing at him because he has a parachute on. He decides that it is a lie. It didn't improve his flight; in fact, it made it more difficult.
He rips it off his back and throws it on the floor, deciding he is never going to put one of those things on his back again.
The second guy is given a parachute, but he is told to put it on because he is going to have to jump 25,000 feet out of a plane.
So he puts it on. He is grateful for it, he doesn't notice that it is uncomfortable, and he doesn't care that people are laughing at him because all he can think about is how thankful he is he is going to be saved from sure death.
Those are the two methods of evangelism today.
Modern evangelism says, 'Put on the Lord Jesus Christ. He will improve your flight, and He will give you love, joy, peace, happiness, and fulfillment.' People try Christianity, and they figure out that people start to laugh at me, it makes my life harder. Jesus even promised you will suffer and experience persecution and trials because you are a Christian, so then they say, 'Man, I am walking away from this Christianity thing. It is not all it is cracked up to be. It makes things harder. My problems didn't go away.' Then they become one of these bitter backsliders.
However, if we explain to people that they are going to have to jump through the door of death, and on the Day of Judgment, they will be found violating all of God's moral laws, and when they collide with eternal justice, they are going to perish, but if they put on the Lord Jesus Christ, they will be saved. If they come through repentance and faith, they will be found righteous on the Day of Judgment because Jesus paid the price for them on the Cross. Now they are grateful for salvation. You couldn't rip Jesus off of their back because they are clinging to Him for dear life. It is a completely different motive for putting on the Savior, who is, in essence, the parachute.
This is serious business and it boils down to life and death issues.

When we neglect this very book that can inform us on how to have eternal life we are playing with fire.

How many of us if you were told you had a dreaded disease and you had on month to live. What would happen if I gave you a book that had all the answers to get you a cure? Would you read it cover to cover?

We need to see this fight with sin that we are in today as something much more serious than any disease that we might have. This disease of sin could kill our soul. It could send us to Hell for eternity. The Scripture has the answers on how to live your life in Christ. Why not read this book cover to cover? Why not devour all the teaching we can get?

When I think of the perfect model for a group of Believers today I think of the Bereans.

Acts 17: 10-11

10 The brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. 11 Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.

This passage exemplifies what it means to be a follower of Christ. These people are compared to the people of Thessalonica in that they examined the Scripture daily.

The Bereans were Noble because they accepted the teachings of Paul but just didn’t do so blindly. They searched the Bible and made sure Paul’s doctrine was right.

This is the model for all of us.
We live in a time when the Bible is so accessible, we have no excuse.
In the ancient world it was hard to get copies of the Scripture.

It costs thousands of dollars to get your hands on a manuscript of the Bible in the ancient world. Many of them had to memorize the Scripture or just copy down parts.

Now we have our leather bound Bibles with 2000 years worth of Christian wisdom in commentaries and study helps for the Scripture, we are without excuse when it comes to study of the Bible.

Here, then, is the real problem of our negligence. We fail in our duty to study God's Word not so much because it is difficult to understand, not so much because it is dull and boring, but because it is work. Our problem is not a lack of intelligence or a lack of passion. Our problem is that we are lazy. --R. C. Sproul (modern day Bible scholar)
We have at our disposal the very words of God. I read an inspirational story about a man that was hurt in an accident. He was a new Christian.

The victim’s face was badly disfigured, and he lost his eyesight as well as both hands. He was just a new Christian, and one of his greatest disappointments was that he could no longer read the Bible. Then he heard about a lady in England who read Braille with her lips. Hoping to do the same, he sent for some books of the Bible in Braille. Much to his dismay, however, he discovered that the nerve endings in his lips had been destroyed by the explosion. One day, as he brought one of the Braille pages to his lips, his tongue happened to touch a few of the raised characters and he could feel them. Like a flash he thought, I can read the Bible using my tongue. At the time Robert Sumner wrote his book, the man had “read” through the entire Bible four times.

Conclusion:
Let us be inspired to get plugged back into the source book.
The very same life giving power that breathed the breath of life into Adam has breathed His life into this Scripture.
I want to challenge all of us to get back into the Scripture and totally change our perspective about the urgency of getting into the Word of God.
The Bible has the very words that will help shape our eternal destiny.

The Way of the Lord AM Sermon 10/08/10

THE WAY -

John 14: 1-4
1 "Do not let your heart be troubled ; believe in God, believe also in Me. 2 "In My Father's house are many dwelling places ; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. 3 "If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also. 4 "And you know the way where I am going." 5 Thomas said to Him, "Lord, we do not know where You are going, how do we know the way ?" 6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life ; no one comes to the Father but through Me.

The Lord is telling His followers that He has a way to follow.
In Mark’s gospel one reads and sees that all through that gospel Jesus in ON THE WAY to Jerusalem to be crucified. This is the way of Jesus- the way that will open up life to all of us.
One of the most common words used for the Church in the book of Acts is not Christians but it is the WAY. What do you think that tells us about how the Church viewed itself?
Sometimes the book of Acts just calls the Church – THE WAY, it is called THE WAY SEVEN TIMES IN ACTS.

Acts also calls is the Way of Salvation
The Way of God
The Way of the Lord

Why do you think they would call themselves the way?

We look at a world that turned upside down with pain, death, injustice and we long to be with Christ. We long to be with Him. We long just to know the WAY to Go.
I would like to propose this morning that this theme of the THE WAY extends all the way back to the OT and the expectations of the Jews as it lead up to Jesus the Messiah.

ESSENES:
Some 150 years before Jesus was born a group of people escaped into the wilderness to flee what they saw as corruption in Judaism at that time and they are called the Essenes.
Their main argument was about the Priesthood. There is an episode in Israel’s history that we sometimes overlook because it is not found in our Bibles but it is very important to understanding the NT.

This episode is the Jewish Maccabean revolt that happened 160 years before Jesus was born.
The Jews revolted against the Greeks and won their independence. They developed a ruling class known as the Hasmoneans. The Hasmoneans were a group of Kings that eventually took over the priesthood in Jerusalem.
In other words these kings took on the role of the High Priest.
They were of the Aaron line of priests but they were not from Zadok.
If you remember from the OT we learn that the house of Eli would have the high priesthood taken from them because of their disobedience.
Eventually this priesthood would go to the house of Zadok instead of Eli. This is found in the book of Ezekiel.
So a true Priest of Israel would have to be from the house of Zadok. This new ruling class in Israel some 150 years before Jesus took over the Temple and they were not Zadokites.
There were a group of priest at that time that were Zadokites and they were kicked out of the Temple high priesthood.
They saw this as a great corruption to Judaism and packed up and got out of town. These Zadokite priests went into the Judean Wilderness to a place called Qumran and set up a community.
This group of people came to be known as the Essenes. The Essenes went into the wilderness to escape the corruption and await the coming of the Messiah.
They would purify themselves and live by a very strict code. Just to get into the community you had to memorize the entire OT and you had to take a vow of celibacy. They would practice a level of ritual purity that would boggle your mind. These people were still around during the time of Jesus and gave us the Dead Sea Scrolls.
They wanted to remain separate and pure and not scandalize themselves with the corruption of the Temple in Jerusalem. They saw the Temple as illegitimate and were waiting for the Messiah to purify and cleanse the Temple.

ESSENES AND THE WAY

They called their movement a few different things but one of the most common things they called themselves is THE WAY.

THEY LATCHED ONTO A PROPHECY IN ISAIAH.

You have to set the stage to understand why this theme of the way is so important. Jesus will be born into a time when people want to KNOW the WAY that God is going to vindicate Israel. What will God do and what will be the role of the Messiah?

THIS IDEA OF THE WAY TOTALLY SHAPED ISRAELITE HOPES AND DREAMS

Think back to some 500 years before Christ and the state of the people of God. They had been taken into Babylonian captivity.
Ezekiel paints a picture that they were so distraught that they didn’t want to sing anymore or give praise to God. They didn’t know what was going to happen. They were in agony and wanted to go home. Their worship and way of life had been destroyed.
Imagine if someone came into our community and took away from us everything we cared about and then took us off to some strange land to live in. Imagine if you couldn’t enjoy the sports you once enjoyed, recreations that you enjoyed and you could not worship anymore.
This was the state of Israel and a great hope started to arise. There was a great hope that God would act decisively and deliver the Israelites. Many thought the Messiah would show up in Babylon and take them home.
They believed that the Prophet Elijah would return as a forerunner to the Messiah and would make the paths straight.
One passage that figured big in their expectation was Isaiah 40

Isaiah 40: 1-5
1 "Comfort, O comfort My people," says your God. 2 "Speak kindly to Jerusalem ; And call out to her, that her warfare has ended, That her iniquity has been removed, That she has received of the LORD'S hand Double for all her sins." 3 A voice is calling, "Clear the way for the LORD in the wilderness ; Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God. 4 "Let every valley be lifted up, And every mountain and hill be made low ; And let the rough ground become a plain, And the rugged terrain a broad valley ; 5 Then the glory of the LORD will be revealed, And all flesh will see it together ; For the mouth of the LORD has spoken."

Isaiah is giving comforting words to Israel and that comfort is that God will one day clear a desert way and make a smooth path for Israel to follow.

THE ISRAELITES IN JESUS TIME WERE FACED WITH A QUANDRY.
THE VERY EXISTENCE OF THE ESSENES IS EVIDENCE OF THIS.

God had allowed Israel to return from Exile because the Persians allowed them to come home but it was nothing like what they thought would happen.
They return home to their land and they are oppressed by the Greeks. They get their freedom from the Greeks just to see their own countrymen become corrupt.
And to make matters worse the Hasmoneans that won the freedom of Israel from the Greeks invite the Romans to come into the land and give them PROTECTION
ROMAN PROTECTION CAME AT A COST AND BEFORE LONG THE ROMANS WERE RULING PALESTINE.
What was a good Jew to think? God had brought them back to the land but now they were being oppressed and basically in Exile in their own home land.
Herod was the King and he was a Hasmonean King. The Hasmoneans had become corrupt and in collusion with pagan Rome.
Herod cared more about Roman opinion than what was right for the Jewish people.
So you have this setup in the Gospels, this response to the situation.

1) The Essenes – get out of town – purify the priesthood- await for God to come in and kill the pagans and purify the priesthood.

Live separate and wait for God – HOLY HUDDLE – US FOUR AND NO MORE

2) The Hasmoneans like Herod the king – just give in – the Romans are so strong so lets cash in and get rich

Lets live a life of compromise with Rome and just go for a life of luxury. Compromise with the world – who cares – still have the Temple but a life of obedience is not that important.

Chase the Roman dream of wealth and prosperity and recreation that is the life of Herod and the Hasmoneans.
The Hasmoneans have a term used for them that you find in the NT and they are called the Lost Sheep of Israel.

Jesus specifically tells us that one of his main missions was to this group of people of the Lost Sheep of the House of Israel – these compromisers, the Hasmoneans, what were called the Herodians during the time of Jesus- Jesus came to preach to them.

So as we go back to the original theme that I laid out from the start-

THE WAY- WHAT DOES THE WAY HAVE TO DO WITH THESE TWO GROUPS
THE ESSENES AND THE HASMONEANS OR HERODIANS

What would THIS Way that is prophesied about and that Jesus talks about look like on the ground in real life.

First set the stage:
The world at the time right before Jesus was in a mess- 150 years before Jesus things were bad. The world was in bad shape and paganism was rampant.
Evil – sacrifice of children, homosexuality, no respect for human life or traditional family values of a husband and wife were respected.
The world was flying upside down and one had to respond to this in some way.
The Essenes responded to this situation by fleeing from the problem – lets go in the wilderness and wait for God to kill them all.
Hasmoneans – live the life – Compromise – act like there is no problem, turn a blind eye- just live your life and forget about it.
But what about this WAY that Scripture talks about – Something in Christ is changing and transforming the way we look at this problem.
JOHN THE BAPTIST
There is one man that I want to zero in on as a case for how this WAY will operate – This man that doesn’t get the press he deserves is John the Baptist.
In John’s life we are going to see this theme of the WAY come out in vivid focus.
Remember the Essenes looked at Isaiah 40’s prophecy of preparing the way for the Lord. They felt that is exactly what they were doing, they had gone into the wilderness to prepare the way of the Lord.
The method to bring about this WAY was to separate and wait for God to blast the pagans to smithereens while the Hasmoneans could care less about the WAY of God – they were too busy just going through the motions of life.
On the world stage breaks John the Baptist- He says one of my favorite things that I have ever heard in the Bible – of Jesus he says:
HE MUST INCREASE AND I MUST DECREASE – IN OTHER WORDS JESUS IS PREIMENENT TO WHAT I WANT – HIS WILL BE DONE
This idea of the WAY of God is found all through John’s life – it is found even before He is born and when the angel announces to his father that he will be born.

Luke 1: 5-13
5 In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah ; and he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6 They were both righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and requirements of the Lord. 7 But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both advanced in years. 8 Now it happened that while he was performing his priestly service before God in the appointed order of his division, 9 according to the custom of the priestly office, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10 And the whole multitude of the people were in prayer outside at the hour of the incense offering. 11 And an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the altar of incense. 12 Zacharias was troubled when he saw the angel, and fear gripped him. 13 But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your petition has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will give him the name John.


Zacharias was a priest that served in the Temple and this was a rare opportunity – Some priests never got to do this – offer the incense.
The INCENSE IN THE TEMPLE REPRESENTED THE PRAYERS OF THE SAINTS GOING UP BEFORE THE THRONE OF GOD.
This was an awesome once in a lifetime opportunity for Zacharias. What is more fascinating is the prayer that the priests would pray at the altar of incense.
The prayer was from Isaiah 40 – and they would pray to God to

PREPARE THE WAY OF THE LORD AND MAKE THE PATHS STRAIGHT
Now think about what Zacharias is praying in the Temple and their and angel appears and tells him that his prayer has been answered. Their may be two things going on in this text.
Zacharias and Elizabeth have obviously prayed for a child and have not had one but now he is also praying the prayer of Israel that God would prepare the Way for the Messiah
The Angel tells him that YES – Yes the way is being prepared and guess what? – It will be your son that will prepare the way. Zacharias will have a son named John that will be the forerunner to the Messiah that would make the paths straight and prepare Israel for His coming.
John the Baptist will be the one that initiates Jesus public ministry by baptizing him in the Jordan River.
The Way of God will begin with John’s ministry. – unbelievable when you think about what is going on in this passage in Luke 1.
When John the Baptist starts his teaching he refers to this passage in Isaiah 40 as what his ministry is all about – He is the forerunner – He is the one making the path in the wilderness.
We see what this WAY is all about and it is defined in the Baptism of Jesus. You may think that is a strange place to find out what this WAY is all about but I think it will all make perfect sense when we look at this passage.
Matthew 3 tells us a little about John the Baptist’s preaching and leads us right into the account of Jesus baptism by John in the Jordan.

Matthew 3: 16-17
16 After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water ; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him, 17 and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased."

There are some key components in this passage that tell us how this way will be opened.
1st of all we notice that Jesus is baptized – Baptism had a history before the church and John the Baptist. It was common in Judaism and it was very significant. Water represented Chaos and Death to Jews. They were not sea-faring people. They saw water as signifying the watery chaos found in Genesis 1 and the chaos of the Great flood.
To go into water and to come back up would signify dying and rising to something new. It would show that you had been rescued from chaos.
Go back to Genesis 1 and you will see something significant. The Spirit of God is hovering over the waters and chaos and it is from this chaos God brings Creation.
In Jesus baptism we see Jesus come out of the watery chaos and that same Spirit descends like a dove.- Message- God is bringing about a new work – A new creation – a reclaiming of Creation in the Work of Jesus.
Also it is significant to see that the Heavens are opened in verse 16 – The heavens are ripped apart is the Greek –
SCHIZO means to literally to tear open. The Heavens are torn apart and for a moment Heaven and Earth unite in the Baptism of Jesus.
This is a foreshadowing of what is to happen at the cross.

Matthew 27: 50-52
50 And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. 51 And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom ; and the earth shook and the rocks were split. 52 The tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised ;

This same word we find SCHIZO for the tearing open of the Heavens in Jesus baptism finds its ultimate fulfillment in this passage.
The Veil in the Temple is torn from top to bottom when Jesus dies.
The Veil in the Temple was literally known as the SEPARATION - It separated the rest of the Temple from the Holy of Holies. The presence of God was hidden from the People.
The way to God was blocked – they were Separate from God because of their sin. Jesus opened up the WAY – The WAY To God – heaven has been torn open and the door to the throne room of God has flung open never to be closed to man again.
The WAY is the WAY to fellowship with God again. That is why the Early Church was called the WAY.

All bets are off things are different now, our response must be different. Things are different, the power of God through His Spirit has been opened up to bring change to this world.
God’s Spirit will now make each Christian a Temple or dwelling of God – This is what the WAY is all about.
Jesus has opened up the way.
The Hebrew writer makes this clear in Hebrews chapters 9 and 10 when he tells us in vivid detail how Christ has entered the holy place through HIS Blood that Jesus entered the HOLY Place of Heaven – We have access to the Father through HIS body – the Veil of Jesus flesh.
Now in our baptism the way is open. Just as Israel crossed the Red Sea and as Paul puts it were baptized into Moses – we are baptized in water and the way is open to Jesus. We are united with Christ, we go into the watery chaos to show that life is on the other side. Baptism points forward to our mortal death.
When we are baptized it acknowledges two things our own mortal death and Jesus death on the cross and also our own bodily resurrection because Jesus was resurrected.
The way of Jesus has opened, just as Christ was baptized in the Jordan and his way of the cross began it is the same for us. We come out of the water to be followers of the way of the cross. We now bear our own cross and put our own selfish ambitions on the cross- we are crucified with Christ.

RESPONSE:
I said earlier the world was upside down some 150 years before Christ – crazy stuff was happening. Reponses –
Today things are flying upside down. Abortion on Demand – Case where a doctor botched an abortion and allowed the baby to be born and allowed it to die. He lost his medical license and was prosecuted for allowing this to happen. Just moments before it was okay to kill the child in the birth canal as a partial birth abortion but then it was a crime if the baby came through the birth canal. How Crazy is that?
Homosexuality is flaunted on us where on 2 percent of the population is actually homosexual but you would never know it by Hollywood.
Most Americans oppose abortion on demand and support marriage as between a man and a woman- we are the majority on this issue but our government is pushing an agenda that is the opposite of what Americans want.
Our schools are becoming more corrupt by the day and the TV shows and music our kids listen and watch are terrible even by pagan standards.
Why is this so?
Isnt the Bible clear that something dramatic changed when Jesus died on the cross and was raised from the dead?
What has happened? Just what happened before. The two groups that I introduced you to tell us something about our current situation.
The Essenes went and hid and waited, the Hasmoneans just compromised and acted like there was no problem to busy with recreation and life to do anything.
What would happen if we recaptured the idea of the WAY?
Do you think people would call Christianity the WAY today when they look at modern Christians. Why doesn’t the government not care about your values?
Why does Hollywood keep turning out trash? Because they are counting on these two responses. They feel that Christians don’t care enough to do anything. Either we will run for the hills and disengage or we will just pursue the American dream and act like there is no problem.
What if we came in the spirit of John the Baptist. He understood what it was all about. John the Baptist challenged the establishment. He didn’t hide in the wilderness but spoke the truth. He called the religious establishment a brood of vipers to their face.
He called out Herod for his adulterous relationship and it got him killed. He didn’t mind wading into the fire.
He knew something that we forget – THE WAY has been initiated.
As we close we need to decide where we stand.
Do we buy into this WAY so much so that it shapes every aspect of our lives. Do we have the same attitude of John that Jesus comes first before our wants and needs.
Will we seek the kingdom with such a vigor that people will once again start calling Christianity the way.
It is just like the Apostle Paul says, to awaken O sleeper, it is high time to wake up to the dawn of a new world in Christ.

Who are you and why are you here? AM Sermon 10/03/10

Who are you, and why are you here?
There was a famous Jewish teacher that lived in the 1st century close to the time of Jesus named Akiba.
Akiba lived in Capernaum, the same city that Jesus used as His base of ministry, and it was from this city that he one time took a walk.
Akiba would go into the surrounding countryside, much like Jesus, to go up on a mountain to pray. One time Akiba stayed too long and it was getting dark. He started home and realized that it was getting dark.
Akiba took a wrong turn and got lost. He didn’t even realize that he was lost because he was deep in prayer and Scripture recitation.
Akiba didn’t realize that he was approaching a Roman Army Fort and as he approached he heard a voice thunder from the darkness. It was the voice of the Roman Soldier guarding the fort..
The Soldier’s voice boomed out of the darkness, “Who are YOU? And Why are you here?”
This was the question posed by this soldier to Akiba, WHO ARE YOU AND WHY ARE YOU HERE?
Akiba thought for a moment and like any good Jewish teacher, he answered a question by asking his own question, “How much do they pay you for guarding this fort?”
The soldier was caught of guard by Akiba’s question and replied “I get paid 5 denarii a day” Akiba replied back to him, “I will pay you 6 denarii a day to come to my house every morning and ask me that same question.
Akiba saw this question as God’s way of getting his attention.
Have we considered that question, Who are we, and why are we here?
What is your ultimate purpose in life?
Does your life have a purpose?
Do you believe that it is important? Do you align your life based on that purpose.
Deuteronomy 6: 10-15
10 "Then it shall come about when the LORD your God brings you into the land which He swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you, great and splendid cities which you did not build, 11 and houses full of all good things which you did not fill, and hewn cisterns which you did not dig, vineyards and olive trees which you did not plant, and you eat and are satisfied, 12 then watch yourself, that you do not forget the LORD who brought you from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 13 "You shall fear only the LORD your God ; and you shall worship Him and swear by His name. 14 "You shall not follow other gods, any of the gods of the peoples who surround you, 15 for the LORD your God in the midst of you is a jealous God ; otherwise the anger of the LORD your God will be kindled against you, and He will wipe you off the face of the earth

God reminds them that one day the Israelites will leave the desert wanderings. In the desert they depended wholly upon God to survive. Manna from God sustained them and water from the rock. Now they are entering the land and will move into cities that were already built and inherit orchards and groves that they did not plant. It will be easy to forget God, it will be easy to forget who they are and why they are in the Land.
God had a purpose for them.
Like last week, we learned that they were to be a light to the nations, a beacon of holiness in a profane world.
God had planted them in the Land, a place where millions of people will travel, they will walk the King’s Highway, the Via Maria the way of the Sea will run right through Israel.
Cultures will converge in Israel and will come in contact with them but they cannot forget their purpose and why God put them there.
Isaiah the prophet reminds Israel of their call in Isaiah 51
Isaiah 51: 1-2
"Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness, Who seek the LORD : Look to the rock from which you were hewn And to the quarry from which you were dug. 2 "Look to Abraham your father And to Sarah who gave birth to you in pain ; When he was but one I called him, Then I blessed him and multiplied him."
Once again the point is made, remember WHO you are, where you came from.
They owe their very existence to God, Abraham was just one man, very old, and God took him and multiplied his offspring.
They are to wake up everyday and remember that they are the people of promise that God brought out of slavery and nurtured. If they can remember who they are and where they came from they will be a blessing to all. If they ever forget their identity then they will become a curse instead of a blessing.
Today I want to focus in on one part of Israel’s geography that will be very important in the stories of the OT. It is the coastal plain and this is the most fertile part of the country.
This will also be the area of the King’s Highway that runs through Israel. This is a green area that runs from the Meditteranean to a few miles inland.
Today in modern day Israel this is where 70% of the population lives where you experience beautiful sandy beaches, green plains, and a moderate Meditteranean climate.
This area is known as areas such as the plain of Sharon, the plain of Judea, and the Plains of Zebulon in our Bibles.
In our Bibles this is known in Hebrew as the Shephelah or the literally translated as the foothills.
In this area of the Shephelah Israel will come in contact with a group of people that would shape much of our OT narrative.
We see way back during the conquest of Canaan during the time of Joshua that the area of this coastal plain was given to the tribe of Dan. In reading the book of Joshua you find out that Dan never conquered the pagans living in the coastal plain.
This would be a fatal mistake that will haunt Israel for hundreds of years because it will be on this coastal plain that one of the strongest of these pagan people will influence, oppress and bring war to Israel.
That group of people is known as the Philistines. The Philistines are an enigmatic group that seemed to be very advanced in technology in comparison to the Israelites.
They are probably Phoenician people that migrated to Israel from the sea. The Phoenicians were a sea people that many think came from ancient Greece.
Egyptian hieroglyphics tell the story that the Philistines tried to conquer Egypt a long time ago but could not so they settled in on the coastal plains of Palestine.
Exodus 23 calls the Mediterranean sea the sea of the Philistines. To the Israelites the Philistines pretty much controlled the access to the Mediterranean Sea.
You could trace the Philistine people right back to ancient Greece and places like Tyre. These are folks that are very advanced in military strength.
The Philistines were an advanced civilization that was involved in world trade from this area of Palestine.
One city of the Philistines, Ekron, produced 500 tons of olive oil per year.
Egypt could not produce olive oil and many world empires would depend on Philistine olive oil. In Ekron archaeologists have unearthed over 120 houses with olive presses. This was such a large part of a technologically advanced society.
Olive oil at that time was the main fuel of lamps and was a staple of the ancient diet. Philistine olive oil would feed and literally light up much of the ancient world.
The Philistine Ashkelon was famous for production of world renowned wine and the city was a beautiful city during this time on the coast.
Philistine Ashdod was the world capital for fine clay pottery. Pottery has been found all over the world from the Philistine city of Ashdod.
These are people that are very religious and extremely pagan.
One of their main gods was the god Dagon. They also worshipped Baal and Asherah as the fertility gods.
It seems that Dagon was the most popular god of all for the Egyptians. It is Dagon that comes into direct conflict with Jehovah God in the story found in 1 Samuel 5. If you remember the Philistines take the Israelite Ark of the Covenant from Israel and take it to Ashdod to Dagon’s temple.
When they came in the morning to the Temple of Dagon they would find the idol of Dagon lying face down with only his torso left intact.
Soon after that God sent a plague of rats and hemorrhoids on the Philistines.
The Philistines relented and sent the Ark of the Covenant back to Israel. I guess you couldn’t think of much worse than being plagued by rats and hemorrhoids.
The Philistines were extremely devoted to Dagon and would even give up their first born children to be burned in the fire of their gods when asked to by their high priest.
The philistine religion was very sensual and to R rated to talk about in the Church house.
Recent excavations in the Philistine cities has found that every home had a four horned altar to Dagon and Baal. These were very devoted pagan people.
This group would be hard to resist because of their seemingly advanced culture, military strength, and geographical proximity to the Israelites.
Imagine the influence that they had upon God’s people.
The Israelites will come in contact with these people many times over the years.
Imagine the quandary of the Israelites having to live side by side with this very pagan and advanced society.
From the stories of Samson all the way to King David we will see the Philistines vex the Israelites.
The book of Judges constantly reads something to the effect that Israel worshipped the gods of the Philistines and God gave them over to the Philistines and then a judge would be raised up to deliver Israel from the Philistines.


For much of Israel’s history after the conquest of the land they were held under the vassalage and rule of the Philistines.
I Samuel 13 tells us that the Philistines would not allow a blacksmith in Israel. The Israelites were not allowed to have weapons and would have to go to the Philistines to get their plows sharpened and any iron implements repaired. The Israelites could have farm equipment but they could not have weapons.
The shephalah was the interaction zone of God’s people with these pagan people.
This cycle of disobedience and deliverance would many times involve this people of the Shephalah or Coastal Plain and mostly the Philistines.
This area of the Shephalah is a place that was always in constant conflict. War and conflict was a way of life. Many of these wars was with the Philistines.
From the Shephalah was four routes that would lead to the inland parts of Israel. These four routes were places of much conflict because armies would march up the King’s Highway and then would take on of these four routes to Israel.
It would be on these routes that we would find some of Israel’s greatest fortresses to help defend the land. Places like Gezer and Beth Shemesh would be fortified cities to protect these routes.
There was one such place that lead to the inner parts of Israel called the Valley of Elah. The valley of Elah ran through the Shephalah and into the inner parts of Israel.
It would be in this valley an epic Bible story would take place. The civilization of the Philistines would collide with God’s people.
The two armies of the Philistines and the Israelites camped on two hills on opposite sides of this valley. Control of this valley would be critical for Israel.
The Philistines were already greatly oppressing the Israelite people.
During this battle Israel had a king named Saul. Saul was terrified of the Philistines and the Philistines had a champion named Goliath.
This morning I want you to read anew this story of David and Goliath but read it in the context of the time with all this background info in mind.
1 Samuel 17
The story is found in 1 Samuel 17- Please turn to this chapter in your Bibles.
We pick up with verse 3 of this chapter
3 The Philistines stood on the mountain on one side while Israel stood on the mountain on the other side, with the valley between them. 4 Then a champion came out from the armies of the Philistines named Goliath, from Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span. 5 He had a bronze helmet on his head, and he was clothed with scale-armor which weighed five thousand shekels of bronze. 6 He also had bronze greaves on his legs and a bronze javelin slung between his shoulders. 7 The shaft of his spear was like a weaver's beam, and the head of his spear weighed six hundred shekels of iron ; his shield-carrier also walked before him.
The valley is the valley of Elah, and both armies are camped on each side.
Gath was a city dedicated to Dagon- Goliath is a representative of this pagan god- this evil religion that is now challenging Jehovah and His people here on the Shephalah.
He was six cubits tall, his scale armor 5000 shekels but Rabbinic evidence and finds of better Hebrew manuscripts tell us that it should read 6000 shekels (that change will be coming with the new Hebrew –Oxford eclectic text) and his head on his spear weighed 6000 shekels.
The Hebrew scholars during Jesus time saw this passage as representing Satan, Goliath is assigned three sixes or 666.
This is not the only time that 666 would be used in the OT but is used in 1 Kings 10 for the amount of tax revenue that Solomon brought in.
This number represented EVIL- that is the message-
He has scales of ARMOR – SCALES- The Serpent of Genesis 3
Goliath represents paganism and Satan and he will meet God’s representative.

We pick back up with the passage in verse 8
8 He stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel and said to them, "Why do you come out to draw up in battle array? Am I not the Philistine and you servants of Saul ? Choose a man for yourselves and let him come down to me.
Imagine this valley and see it in your mind’s eye. Scholars tell us that the Israelites were camped up on a hill that had a cliff. Goliath’s voice would echo up this hill and they would hear him loud and clear.
He was challenging Israel and God’s people and Saul and his men were afraid.
If you remember the story, David shows up because his three older brothers are fighting and his dad sent him with supplies.
Saul, who would have had the only armor in Israel, tries to give David his armor but David could not wear the armor.
With that we pick back up in the story. Starting back at verse 40
40 He took his stick in his hand and chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in the shepherd's bag which he had, even in his pouch, and his sling was in his hand ; and he approached the Philistine. 41 Then the Philistine came on and approached David, with the shield-bearer in front of him. 42 When the Philistine looked and saw David, he disdained him; for he was but a youth, and ruddy, with a handsome appearance. 43 The Philistine said to David, "Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks ?" And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 44 The Philistine also said to David, "Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the sky and the beasts of the field." 45 Then David said to the Philistine, "You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have taunted.

46 "This day the LORD will deliver you up into my hands, and I will strike you down and remove your head from you. And I will give the dead bodies of the army of the Philistines this day to the birds of the sky and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, 47 and that all this assembly may know that the LORD does not deliver by sword or by spear ; for the battle is the LORD'S and He will give you into our hands." 48 Then it happened when the Philistine rose and came and drew near to meet David, that David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine. 49 And David put his hand into his bag and took from it a stone and slung it, and struck the Philistine on his forehead. And the stone sank into his forehead, so that he fell on his face to the ground. 50 Thus David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, and he struck the Philistine and killed him; but there was no sword in David's hand. 51 Then David ran and stood over the Philistine and took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him, and cut off his head with it. When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled. 52 The men of Israel and Judah arose and shouted and pursued the Philistines as far as the valley, and to the gates of Ekron. And the slain Philistines lay along the way to Shaaraim, even to Gath and Ekron

David goes right into the valley and picks up 5 smooth stones. Why does he get 5 stones? Probably because Goliath has 4 brothers and he might need them for the family.
But consider this. There was only one brook in the valley of Elah and Goliath would have been in this valley. David did not go out back or in the backwoods to get his stones. He does it right in front of Goliath.
Talk about guts and determination. Why stones?
Shepherds used stones to guide their sheep. A shepherd with a sling could hurl rocks to turn their flock with great accuracy.
David was just doing what he was used to doing everyday. He could probably throw the stone in his sleep.
David frames this victory as a battle of the Lord. David will show the world that Jehovah is God and these pagan gods are nothing.
David says that his victory will be one that the entire Earth will know.
Why will the entire world know of Israel’s victory? They are going to fight this battle right near the Via Maria or the King’s Highway. The news will spread far and wide that this backwoods, backwards group has defeated this cultured powerful nation. News of Jehovah will spread far and wide.
What we take from this is very interesting-
God chooses the weak and doesn’t care about the outward appearance.
To the world Goliath is all that and a bag of chips. He is the man, he is HE MAN and this little boy will come and kill him.
This is the God that we serve. A God that doesn’t care about outward appearances.
IN 1 Samuel 16- When Samuel the prophet anoints David as King, we learn that God cares about the heart. God saw David’s heart as one that He could use.
Just look at David’s confidence.
1) He has confidence in the Lord – He understands that the battle is the Lord’s
God is the God that will take our everyday talents and use them to His glory.
David throws stones as a shepherd everyday. This little boy cooley, confidently strides into this valley and kills the pagan champion. God uses what David can do and nothing more and humbles the proud.
The apostle Paul tells us,
1 Corinthians 1:27-29
but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, 28 and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, 29 so that no man may boast before God.
God choose David because David knew His purpose, David Knew where he stood before God.
That is what God saw in David’s heart.
We go back to our original comments at the beginning of the lesson. Just as the soldier asked the Jewish teacher,
Who are you and why are you here?
David knew exactly who he was and why he was on this earth.
David knew it was about God’s glory and God’s purpose.
Now that applies directly to us- David and Israelites lived on the Shepalah the coastal plain, the area where Israel came in contact with the nations.
In David’s case the world will know that the Lord of Israel is the God of the entire world.
We now are sent into the world, coming in contact with the nations, with non-believers.
Will our actions show that we know exactly who we are and why we are here.
Our challenge is to live everyday with a deep sense of purpose. We have to be ready to embody the call of Christ.
The gospel must be proclaimed in our lives.