The Perfect Community

“The Perfect Community”

While we have very little information to go on (just 13 verses), Luke 2:40-52 give us a good insight into the communal life of Jesus Christ. One can only imagine that the earthly life of an adolescent Jesus was not only lived in perfect harmony with what would someday be referred to as “the Bible”, but was also as common as any other Jewish boy of his age.  It’s hard to imagine the two lifestyles being fashioned into one… but Jesus did it.

The early verses of our story help us greatly to see what kind of childhood that Jesus had. Let’s read together verse 40-44.

Verse 40 is key to understanding the kind of child Jesus was. It could also give us a glimpse into the kind of community He grew up in.  The kind of community that produces healthy, spiritual, intelligent and gracious kids.  What tools are necessary to have this kind of community?

It Takes a Village

Perhaps the greatest tool required to produce this kind of child is a community of the same.  A child will most always adapt to his surroundings… being creatures of habit and example.  Having such a community aided greatly Mary and Joseph as they raised Jesus.

Let’s read verses 41 and 44 together, stopping at each verse to find key words/phrases that stand out as suggestive ideas for such a community.

·         Vs. 41 ___________________________________________________

·         Vs. 44 ___________________________________________________

Ideally…

A key principle in discipleship is, if anything is ideal, it is ideal to keep it that way.  In-other-words, if at all possible, it is always best to follow manufacturer’s instructions.  The manufacturer of “church” (God) gives us the ideal format for the leadership/authority structure in the church.

(1) God/Jesus

(2 )Apostles/Bishops (leadership) (Elders)

(3 )Men (husbands/fathers)

(4) Women/children

The idea church community is arranged in this fashion.

The Wrath of God and The Wrath of Man

“The Wrath of God and the wrath of man”

Without a doubt, God’s divine attribute of wrath is an unexpected character of God.  We expect him to be holy, sovereign, omniscient and omnipotent… but “wrathful”?  It’s not how we choose to view a loving God. 

It’s funny, really- how much of the world has always loved the dark, violent side of sin… in fact, we have come to expect it from lost humanity.  It seems that the world would love the wrathful side of God… (“It” seems rebellious and vengeful) but instead, the world uses this divine character to reject Him instead of embrace Him.

For the Christian, however, it makes since.  True believers want so much to be like God and the Christ of the Bible- and yet we are taught to avoid wrath and pursue peace.  Turn to James 1:19.

Romans 12:18 says, “If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.”

This clear scripture seems to give some leeway to activity that is contrasting to peace; “If it be possible…”  What may be some typical scenarios that would cause a Christian to choose between peace and… not-so-peaceful?

Our chief objective

Our chief objective is live glorified lives- harmonious with the scriptures.  This is only possible when justified Christians seek continually to live sanctified (set apart) lives.  Being set apart from the world causes us to see the lost in a different light.  When our objective is to live a glorified life, anything less than glorious is easily noticed. However, when we live too worldly, the line between us and them becomes very blurry.  These blurry-eyed Christians find wrath a more convenient pattern of life.

Wrath is ours… but not ours

Wrath is God’s attribute, not ours.  Due to our sin nature, wrath is our first choice… but it shouldn’t be. Now, having been washed, ours is to release vengeance to our God.

The scriptures are clear that God delights in the protection of God’s people:

Duet 32:43  “Rejoice, O ye nations, [with] his people: for he will avenge the blood of his servants, and will render vengeance to his adversaries, and will be merciful unto his land, [and] to his people.”

Psalm 94:1  “O LORD God, to whom vengeance belongeth; O God, to whom vengeance belongeth, shew thyself.”

Romans 12:19 “Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but [rather] give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance [is] mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.”

Matt. 18:6 “But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and [that] he were drowned in the depth of the sea.”

It’s clear that God longs to be Lord of our life… even over our adversaries.  One final scripture should seal the deal… Matt. 5:44, “But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.”

The Love of God

The Love of God – Matt. 22:36-40

Throughout the Bible God’s children are instructed to love one another.  In fact, this seems to be the repeated theme throughout the new testament- to love God first and your neighbor as yourself.  According to the text, this is the foundation and the sum of every commandment.  And yet, it seems to be the least obeyed in all the Bible. 

In “air war” we were given 3 “loving facts” as an introduction to our morning sermon. Let’s examine these 3 facts more in depth.

1. Love Is the Nature of God

In this we mean that the heart of God flows naturally through the emotion of love.  This is not so with man.  Someone turn quickly to Jer. 17:9. If love flows naturally from the heart of God, according to the text, what flows from the heart of man?

We must not leave this point without making clear that the “nature” of God and the “essence” of God are different.  Does anyone know what attribute of God would be considered the “essence” of God? (Hint: it is the foundation by which all other things flow).

Why is this important? When we realize that man is not holy, we can begin to realize why we cannot love as God commands us to love, except we rely on our new nature.

2. Love is the Response of Man

This is not to suggest that man naturally responds to anything in love or that he ever looks for things to respond to with the heart of love. This is only to suggest that we only show love to God as a response, and never without provoking. (1John 4:19)

It seems that the only way to combat this carnal nature of man is to deny ourselves and fully consider God in all things. 

3. Love Has a Measuring Stick

John 14:15 says, “If you love me, keep my commandments.”

Wouldn’t it be nice if everything and everyone in life had but one standard of love? With man, our standards change with every new television show.  But with God, the measuring stick of our love to God has always been the same- obedience.  This is in fact how we are to gage our love for God.  If we are obeying Him at all times.

Turn to Matt. 5:17. 

What we see is that the death and resurrection of Christ makes it possible for evil-hearted man to love God. Without the Gospel no man would be fit to glorify a holy God. Praise His name!

The God of Patience

The God of Patience  16b

Patience is a testimony to our trust in God.  Anything other than patience is our proclamation of doubt.  John Piper wrote, “Impatience is a form of unbelief.”  We read Romans 8:28 which says, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to [his] purpose.”  A more modern version of this same verse might read, “And we doubt that all things…”

In fact, ever moment of distraction from our planned agenda, should be a reminder of God’s sovereignty over our lives.

Tiffany Turner said, “Without having patience (courage in trying circumstances, the quality of bearing burdens w/o complaint) you cannot have mercy (forgiveness, tenderness, mildness) for someone and vice versa.”                                       

Incompetence

Paul wrote a warm greeting to the church at Colossae.  In that greeting he encouraged them to deal with people in patience.  Turn and read Col. 1:10-11.

Frustration due to the incompetence of others generally leads to the exposure of our inner weakness.  These trying situations should be viewed as opportunities to express our faith in God’s plan for our lives.  Keeping our cool shows both our faith and inner strength.  Does this mean that we are to never express our displeasure to the incompetence of others?  What are ways that Christians should express their displeasure toward others?

Good has already considered that…

Nothing that we could ever endure is out of the sight of our God. The knowing thumb of God is constantly on the unknowing pulse of His people.  Though we may not know the next moment, He knows the end from the beginning. (Is. 46:10 and Acts 15:18)

The story of Joseph is a perfect example of this Biblical truth. Genesis 37-50 tell the story of a truly patient man.  The end result of his patience was the opportunity to see the glory of God revealed.  This would have been forfeited had Joseph expressed his displeasure out of due season.  Someone read Gen. 45:7-8 and 50:20.

Job… enough said!

4 Natures of Man and God

4 Natures

“God will always be faithful to Himself”

1Cor. 15:45-48

Essentially, there are 4 natures:  Human nature, Sin nature, Divine nature and New nature.

1) Human Nature – Every person who has ever breathed had/has a human nature, including Adam and Jesus.  It’s our human nature that dictates our:

·         Personality

·         Desires/interests

·         Likes/dislikes

*It’s our human nature that requires us to grow, learn, think and imagine.  Even Jesus possessed this human nature (Luke 5:52). 

*Human nature is susceptible to temptation but isn’t in bondage to it. (remember, temptation is not a sin)

2) Sin Nature – Every person who was/is born of the seed of man has a sin nature (Rom. 5:12). This verse also helps us to understand why Adam obtained a sin nature after he fail in the garden.

Note: We are not sinners because we sin, but rather, we sin because we are sinners (John 3:18)

*This explains the need for a virgin born Savior.

*Jesus did not have a sin nature, thus, never needed to be saved.

3) Divine Nature – Jesus was the only man to ever walk the earth with a divine nature (Num. 23:19). The strength of Jesus was His divine nature.  In-other-words, though He possessed a human nature which made Him susceptible to temptation, Christ drew His power against temptation from His Divine nature (Heb. 4:15).

*This is why Jesus is referred to as the “Word” (John 1:14)  The Bible is God’s Word, divinely given to man. It becomes our weapon to fight against sin. “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.” (Psalm 119:11)

4) New Nature – It is at rebirth that we are given a new nature. Every true Christian has a new nature.  It is this new nature that makes 1John 3:9 a possibility. “Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.”

*As Christ drew His strength against temptation from His Divine nature, the Christian draws his power against temptation from his new nature.  Read James 1:12-15

1^st Adam verses. 2^nd Adam

Now we know why it is necessary to trust Christ as Savior.  By nature, every human places his trust in the 1^st Adam for salvation.  However, the 1^st Adam fell to temptation and passed sin nature to every man.  Jesus, the 2^nd Adam, won the victory over sin by leaning wholly on His Divine nature.  It is in trusting in the work of the 2^nd Adam that secures our standing in Christ.  “Therefore if any man [be] in Christ, [he is] a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” 2Cor. 5:17

The Shepherd of My Sanctification

The Life of Jesus Christ 10b

“The Shepherd of My Sanctification”

John 6:37-40  and  John 17:1-26

Question: If given a choice between free 1^st quality clothing and free 2^nd/3^rd quality clothing (and which would you choose?  Unfortunately, many Christians today choose to live 2^nd/3^rd quality lives.  To not live a 1^st quality life is an insult to the cross of Christ… for, in dying, He paid to give us “abundant” life. John 10:10.  Turn and read.

In the morning sermon I mentioned that the greater theme of the Bible is “for God’s people to be a separated, sanctified people for His glory.”  It’s interesting how we gladly receive His salvation, rest in His security…. but run from sanctification. Can someone please explain why we, as God’s people, hesitate (if not completely abandon) sanctification.

Sanctification Defined

Justified: the legal term used to describe the spiritual standing of every true Christian.  Justification takes place the moment we come into a saved relationship with God through His Son.

Sanctified: the life long process of cleansing from the world/sin.

Adam was given a choice between celebrating life or mourning death, and… he chose death. From that day forward, God has been setting apart His people from the world.

Will someone please turn and read 1John 2:15? 

Another equal theme of the Bible might be “separating the good from the bad.”  Once again we are led to the thought “good” being a word of comparison.

·         Jacob/Esau

·         Sheep/Goats

·         Wheat/Tares

·         Holiness/Evil

Worldliness is Idolatry

When the Corinthian church was entertaining the thought of idol worship, Paul reminded them of the Lord’s words… “Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean [thing]; and I will receive you.”

In it but not of it

John 15:19-20

John 17:14-16

John 18:36

Eph. 5:22-33

The Purpose of the Gospel

The Purpose of the Gospel

Challenge: Has the Gospel ever posed a problem in your daily life?

John 8:28—36

One purpose of the Gospel is to _________  ____  _______  ________  ___  ______ in the lives of delivered men and women.

Isaiah 8:13-14

The Gospel of Christ will always ___________ the truth from lies; the real from the phony.  In-other-words, the “good news” of Jesus is not good news to them that believe not.

We are to never be ashamed of the Gospel that has made us free unto salvation.

Romans 1:16 says, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.”

Romans 9:33

The word “ashamed” in this verse gives thought to the word “___________”.  While those who are saved should never be ashamed to tell others of the good news, we should also not feel guilty when others fail to know the truth.  Many will die and live eternally in hell; however, we are not to feel guilty because we have the inheritance of Heaven and not hell.

Matt. 10:32-36

The Gospel of Christ will always make us feel uncomfortable in the presence of sin. And yet, when the Gospel is exposed, it will either _______  _______  ____  __________ or separate men to eternity in hell.