Coeburn Presbyterian Church Sermons - Pastor James Ensley

Introduction: Recap ESTABLISHED power, authority, and his message, here Jesus faces opposition as his identity and authority are joined together as God incarnate, proclaiming forgiveness and reconciliation through Jesus himself.Illustration: Forgiveness is a tricky thing? Kids “I’m sorry” “I forgive you.” …Not feeling it. Adults, “I forgive you…But I’m still mad at you, the friendship is over…” “or really and truly, I forgive you, come and eat, join me, let’s talk as we once did…no barriers, reconciliation.” But then the Forgiven, you may doubt…have they really? If only we could see the FORGIVER’S heart….We cannot. Jesus can see our hearts, he reveals his heart, and he is able to show that yes indeed, God forgives our sins through the authority and work of the Son of Man. God is reconciled to you in Christ Jesus and he gives us the demonstration of healing this paralytic even as he gives us the seal of the resurrection.Our passage today has numerous proofs as to Jesus’ identity. It is also our first “Conflict passage” if you don’t count Peter’s (where are you everyone’s looking for you.” The scribes act as the foil. So you might ask: what makes Chapter 2 the next chapter: Conflict, one key is to ask Exactly what did Jesus do or say? Why did others object to it? How did Jesus respond to the objections or criticism?We also return to Capernaum today and the popularity of Jesus once more has people crowding this little home. He is found PREACHING and, once again, is pressed into Healing, but in this case he speaks favorably of the faith of those seeking healing.Read: Mark 2:1–12 [1] And when he returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home. [2] And many were gathered together, so that there was no more room, not even at the door. And he was preaching the word to them. [3] And they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men. [4] And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him, and when they had made an opening, they let down the bed on which the paralytic lay. [5] And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” [6] Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, [7] “Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” [8] And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, “Why do you question these things in your hearts? [9] Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, take up your bed and walk’? [10] But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the paralytic—[11] “I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home.” [12] And he rose and immediately picked up his bed and went out before them all, so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!” (ESV)Prayer of Illumination#1 The Drama of Faithful Friends v. 1-5#2 The Dilemma of Identity v.6-8#3 The Demonstration of Jesus: Proving the Invisible with the Visible v. 8-12#4 Jesus Statement: Every Word Matters (v.9)#5 Glorify God! (v. 12)#1 The Drama of Faithful Friends v. 1-5[Telling the story]A) [Back to Capernaum….popularity…..what will he do this time. Why did he leave? The healing ministry had supplanted his ability to preach the kingdom of God that God was drawing near to dwell with his people] and to deal with sin that if we return to the Lord that he is faithful and will forgives us, gather, sustain, and restore us, reconciliation between God and Man and man and man.B) Jesus must constantly balance his ability to preach with his compassion and pity to heal. And today he reaffirms both his compassion. And his priorities, that he has eternal priorities that cannot fade over a limb that though made whole for decades would one day decay again.C) Jesus so far is preaching: they are spilling out the door, maybe 50 people can crowd in? And R. Kent Hughes points out who we know is there…their first appearance in Mark and of course, the beginning of CONFLICT. This section begins a series of conflicts and they are seated there. Verse 6: Some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their heart… So one group arms crossed, waiting for the first toe out of line. The other group was amazed at the authority of preaching but not converted in heart.· J.C. Ryle says of The crowd “they were amazed, they were astonished, they were filled with wonder at his mighty works but they were unconverted…” Ryle, 21. This may seem a harsh indictment but in Matthew 11 this is Jesus’ assessment. Unbelief at his preaching.But what may be true of the world, and the overall crowds, is not the case for all…Four friends filled with a belief in Jesus, in him doing for their friend what he cannot do for himself. These four friends bring him to Jesus. Maybe Jesus is preaching the content of the sermon on the mount, “blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of God,” and the roof begins to shake and dirt and sticks are dug and pried up until a man is lowered down by his friends. Paralyzed in bed…His need is apparent. We have come for Jesus the healer and Jesus sees the need. With keen insight of heart and mind, He sees the love of the friends, the faith and trust in him. We have brought him to you and to the clearly paralyzed man, Child, Son, your sins are Forgiven.And immediately we say, Sin? He is paralyzed, what about his life-quality, his mental health, he is suffering, and you are talking Sin?And commentators wonder, maybe the faith of the friends and this man recognize this. What sins, what thoughts, what guilt and shame has this man wrestled with as he has laid there?We, the world, we are often offended when the spiritual, sin, eternity, and souls are addressed with the physical and immediate crying out for need in front of us. We need Jesus, we need the word of God to correct our priorities and to understand both our sin and the misery.One commentator said, “Put differently, our greatest need is hidden from the human eye; it cannot be seen, except by God!”ILL: John Newton was a man who was a slave trader, he was a healthy, powerful, and influential man…But he said he was a blind wretch, sinning against God and Man. And he was blind, but now he sees even as he gave up his wealth, power, and went blind in his old age! His inner self was renewed, his outer self-wasted away. Would he have preferred both? Certainly, but which one did he sing about about, what thrilled his heart?Let’s continue, What is the problem?Try to restrain how much you know about Jeuss for a minute: Pretend all you know is Mark 1 and your Old Testament for a bit: Not only do we now know: Jesus can heal the sick, sure he can preach a message, but can he actually forgive sins and make a sinful and wretched soul forgiven and whole?The scribes are scribbling furiously; they are doing the theological calculations. Prophets may do miracles in God’s power, a prophet can preach God’s word, but he cannot forgive sins; God alone forgives sins. Look with me in v. 6-7.#2 The Dilemma of Identity v.6-7[6] Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, [7] “Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” [8] And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, “Why do you question these things in your hearts?· Two premises: First, Man looks on the outward appearance but God looks on the heart (1 Sam. 16:7& Second, only God can forgive sins.o The Scribes are limited to looking on appearances§ Is. 53 specifically says, Jesus has no form that we may admire him. (transfiguration was a unique moment)§ So the scribes see a mere man, they think they see a mere created being not their creator, all the while we see Jesus perceives the hearts of man.§ Jesus as the Son of God, as divine pierces the hearts of man.§ But they don’t know that…pretend we don’t know that…Just this sudden inward insight so far.· Second: Only God can forgive sins.o Is. 43:25 [God speaking] “I, I am He who blots out your transgressions for my own sake and I will not remember your sins.o Ps. 103:3, 12 [2] Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, [3] who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, [12] as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.o A+ Absolutely, the scribes are correct. Only God can forgive sins. Only God knows, judges hearts, and is the ultimate party sinned against.o David in Ps. 51 says, Against you and you only have I sinned, oh Lord.§ Remember, forgiving sins is costly to the offended Party. God is always ultimately the only one who grants full forgiveness of sins.§ Christ forgiving sin, proves He is God, HE IS the offended party.§ He is the Son of Man, the Ancient of Days of Daniel 7.o All of this is about what goes on invisibly in our hearts. All this is about what happens in our hearts in the quiet moments.o Where is all this happening? Invisibly in their hearts.· Jesus perceives all this, they believe he is a blasphemer, a megalomaniac, eventually needing to say his miracles are from Satan.· So we are at an impasse as time slows down and all these things happen in the invisible realm of hearts, and Jesus moves the conversation forward by posing a solution…#3 The Demonstration of Jesus: Making the Invisible Healing Visible v. 8-12[8] And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, “Why do you question these things in your hearts? [9] Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, take up your bed and walk’? [10] But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the paralytic—[11] “I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home.”[12] And he rose and immediately picked up his bed and went out before them all, so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!” (ESV)* Jesus is saying, “I am not just saying things.” Its easy to say things, man those 200 pushups were difficult this morning…No words are cheap: Jesus is creating a priority and a proof. What MUST happen is forgiveness of sins, the salvation of this man’s eternal soul is knowingly or unknowingly what these friends brought him here for. And in order to externally and visibly prove my words. I will give you a sign. Arise, pick up your bed, and walk. Go home!”The man is immediately healed, he is not the baby deer with shaky legs. He is healed. And he is sent home. He doesn’t parade him through the people. He is not a grandstander, he isn’t about popularity, and glorying in the spectacle. He is sent home. Healed and Home.Once again the implication…The priority was the first statement. Your sins are forgiven. That is the priority of grace. The priority of the HEART. The SOUL. Our relationship with God being restored so that no sin separates it is the immediate priority of every man, women, and child. Until that is restored, all else is secondary. We know this from the paralytic, and we know this from the thief on the cross (Saved!..Still on a Cross.) Repeatedly, Jesus prioritizes our hearts, the cross, the sending of the Holy Spirit, the word being preached over all else.Furthermore, the man was obedient, unlike the Leper, he has prompt and immediate obedience to Jesus.*As I studied this account this week, I was struck that the Evangelical priority of the gospel is biblical. Right, it gets asked, “did evangelicals get it wrong? Is the social, ethical, progressive gospel right?No. Salvation by grace through faith, the gospel is the priority; Jesus clearly orders the priority here, while we also know salvation brings with it social implications of a saved, transformed people. A Loving—Charitable—People.The gospel is the foundation for Christian love and charity to flow out of, downstream of, a restored relationship with God, to then go and love others. Never reverse the priority. Because such a priority is the faith that brings your friend to Jesus, do you bring others to Christ, do you move heaven and earth in order to invite, love, and point others to a need to be brought to Jesus?The scribes would never have embarrassed themselves like these four friends. A Gospel driven zeal for the Lord is believing Jesus is the Son of God who can truly forgive sins is worth moving heaven and earth until you have resolved it in your heart.Fight to get to Christ. TO Have Christ. Go to Jesus he knows your heart.#4 Jesus Statement: Every Word Matters (v.9) v. 9 Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, take up your bed and walk’?I want to draw our attention to each word of Jesus here. Because Jesus’ is saying, the miracle confirms his words.First, YOUR sins: Jesus doesn’t come to deal with sin abstractly; he looks at this man and says YOUR sins are forgiven.You have a need, I know your heart, YOU are set against God and neighbor, YOU need forgiveness. Sin is always relational, and faith is always personal: Against Christ and IN Jesus Christ.Jesus doesn’t set up a new system of religion that the scribes can count and quantify, counting sins, counting righteous deeds on an abstract counter. It is personal, Son, YOU!Have YOU personally dealt with Jesus and your sins? No one else can. It may be only in praying and crying out to Christ in need.Second, your SINS: You have sins, they do separate, and it’s not just again, counting the number of sins, Jesus sees our hearts, we are Eph. 2 “dead in our trespasses and sins.” Jeremiah say, Jeremiah 17:9“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” Not the scribes and pharisees. Genesis 6:5“Every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”So from Jesus’ perspective he sees people’s hearts; he looks at this paralyzed man and what shocks him is not (merely) the condition of his legs but the condition of his heart! A desperately sin-sick heart, that sins because of the corruption of his whole nature: thinking, loves, will, desires, reactions, emotions, the entire inner self the seat of self is in every facet darkened by the paralyzing grip of SIN…Such that God says we need a new heart, renewed heart, heart surgery to change our relationship to our sins, to free us from them.Each heart’s own sins, in particular, are addressed only by the Son of Man who knows your sins and is the debt holder of those sins.HE can forgive because Jesus is the God-Man and the proper representative on the Cross. He will die for this paralytic by name with full awareness of what he is really dying for.Your SINS, yes, those sins, if the Spirit has called and you are trusting in Christ, then Jesus knows them; he died for them. And so believe in Jesus, boldly confess particular sins, particularly.Last word, your particular sins, particularly Are FORGIVEN (The language and grammer means: Done once for all with abiding effect. Perfect.It is a Passive verb meaning done to you and for you: dismissed, done away with, the guilt, the debt is forgiven, the debt is removed, the relationship barrier is dismissed.o Remember God says in Is. 43:25 “I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins.o Ps. 103:3, 12 [2] Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, [3] who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, [12] as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.o Mark 10:45 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (ESV)To forgive is to dismiss, release, ransom, and cover the debt. The moment Jesus said those words was tied to the future reality of the cross and resurrection of Jesus. Every human being who has been declared Just! Justified by Faith alone, as a declaration, experiences it in a moment of pronouncement from Heaven. This man received it face to face with Jesus. And I want you to think of your sins this way, So when Satan accuses you, you have the same reality of Jesus by name looking at you and saying Forgiven. And this is by sheer grace.#5 Glorify God! v. 12 They were amazed and glorified GodWe owe God all glory and honor and thanksgiving for forgiving us. The man springs up, obeys Christ, and returns home. His friends have much to praise the Lord for.They were amazed, This is no blasphemer, the man walks. God is at work! Bless the LORD O my soul, and forget not all his benefits! Do not forget the blessings, the benefits, the gift of the Lord to your life!I wonder how many days before the man took walking for granted? I wonder how many days of our lives we take being Sons and Daughters bound for heaven and glory for granted?Despite the perpetual reminder of our remaining sins…This is why when we read confessions of sin, scripture about our sins, it is not to perpetually weigh us down…No, that is Satan’s goals of accusations…Instead, our goal is the goal of HEART work, SOUL work. To be Amazed again, and again at new morning mercies and to BLESS the Lord, who is glorious, who is wondrous, who anchors our lives. He is the glorious center. He holds the throne. And every time you confess sin and read in the word, or hear pronounced, the answer “YOUR SINS ARE FORGIVEN.” Then it should re-anchor Jesus on that thrown and cast sin, your fleshes desires, and all competing idols off as worthless.May we not be as the scribes who weigh the externals. May we by the Spirit meditate in our hearts on the reality of Salvation by Faith in Christ Alone. That the beleivers life is one of faith and repentance. Sons and Daughter. Prayer | Benediction This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jamesensley.substack.com

Introduction: Turn to Mark 1, for the final time… Context, baptism, repent & believe, wilderness (#1 of 2?), Synagogue “unclean” in demonic sense; healings…Jesus’ statement to move on to preserve his preaching ministry…Next we have a situation not of demonic possession but of the misery of the fall, our inability to restore ourselves to the how things are meant to be…And a firm conclusion Christ has Pity on our Sin & Misery. This passage powerfully resonates with us today, Jesus healing the leper. There are just two cases of it in the gospels. But they stand out because in it we see mirrored in the physical condition of this man—our spiritual relationship to our sinful hearts—Will Christ make us whole? Does Christ pity us? Will we be made clean? Will we obey Christ once cleansed?Read: Mark 1:40–45[40] And a leper came to him, imploring him, and kneeling said to him, “If you will, you can make me clean.” [41] Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him and said to him, “I will; be clean.” [42] And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. [43] And Jesus sternly charged him and sent him away at once, [44] and said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, for a proof to them.” [45] But he went out and began to talk freely about it, and to spread the news, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter a town, but was out in desolate places, and people were coming to him from every quarter.Prayer of Illumination#1 A Miserable Condition#2 A Compassionate Savior#3 A Complete Cleansing#4 A Call to Silence#1 A Miserable Condition “if you will, you can” v.40And a leper came to him, imploring him, and kneeling said to him, “If you will, you can make me clean.”What is The Problem?a. The fall brought mankind into an estate of sin and…misery…The misery of the leperi. Various skin diseasesii. Incurable certainly not immediately like Jesus does hereiii. Causes separation from1. Family, community, Synagogue, and Temple2. “shouting unclean, unclean”iv. It is an effect of the fall…and more importantly it is a visible objective misery….So Jesus is showing his visible, verifiable, and objective power over what—the curse of the fall.1. The fall brought us into an estate of sin and misery2. Our spiritual condition meansa. This world is not how it ought to beb. Death is not how things ought to be…disease either…c. And in Israel they were set apart as a Holy Priesthood. IN fellowship with the Holy, Holy, Holy God and Israel in essence anticipated God present with his people on earth…it anticipates the New Heavens and the New Earth and in the new heavens and new earth where and when sin and the affects of the fall cannot dwell there.d. The ceremonial clean and unclean laws taught Israel— 1) they were unable to cleanse themselves from their own sins… 2) They needed a priest to cleanse them and to declare them clean, and 3) that sin separates us from God and Man.v. Sin separates…we cannot cleanse ourselves…we cannot save ourselves.1. Prayers, Fastings, religious ceremonies, giving to charity, hrs of meditations, and working on yourself, improving your mental health, education, wealth, whatever you can name, will never penetrate to the depths of the need for a new heart, soul, mind, and complete restoration…Only the Holy Spirit causes us to be born again, a new creation, clean, forgiven, and restored as we already saw at Jesus’ baptism, and his cleansing the man with the unclean spirit.b. The leper goes to Jesus because he sees that Jesus is ABLE. He knows he casts out unclean spirits and heals people of their disease…he falls down in reverence before him.c. But note the worry: “If you will, you can make me clean.”i. He is certain of the “can” Jesus is able!ii. But there is the question—Am I so miserable that Christ will not heal me?d. Two things here, once again the ability of Jesus reveals that he is the sinless savior, who is holy, clean, and righteous the God-Man.i. Jesus is a fitting priest, and a pure sacrifice.ii. He is able but is he willing?1. We recoil from sin and misery, our instinct may be to leave people in their misery2. …Sometimes because we have no solution,a. And we don’t need to take on a savior complex. We recognize we are often not able…3. But second…able but unwilling? sometimes because we are simply unwilling to bear the suffering or sacrifice necessary to fix it…the risk…either cross contamination of their situationIllustration: This question is he willing goes to our greatest fear. I am unlovable, I know what I have down, I know how ugly my sin is…I deserve not only not to be loved by Jesus but pushed away, punished, to pay for the ugliness of my sin…We may fear others discovering the depths of our sins ugliness…and we know Jesus knows. Our Father knows, the Holy Spirit would never want to dwell in my heart.i. Illustration: [“Edmund” … “Eustace” sin is lonely, people may put up with me, but no one wants me…I was beastly to people, I am a beast, I can always and only remain a pitiable unclean dragon.ii. Eustace goes to clean himself up but he needed a Savior to do it for him…iii. You can read the books for yourself.He is able but is he willing?We are like the husband or wife who has a long term illness…cancer, why would they stay with me? I am no longer beautiful, desirable, able bodied, and even my mind causes me to be miserable company…And we know sometimes in these situations the spouse stays sometimes they go….But what lies behind it—An oath, a covenant, a vow!“I, take you, my beloved // to be my wedded wife // and I do promise and covenant // before God and these witnesses // to be your loving and faithful husband // for rich or for poor // in sickness and in health // in plenty and in want // in joy and in sorrow // as long as we both shall live.Jesus is a compassionate savior because he has sworn a covenant vow motivated by love to come and rescue his bride the church. Jesus came to save sinners, to redeem us from our sin…So #1 Our Miserable condition but #2 A Compassionate Savior#2 A Compassionate Savior: “Jesus is moved with pity, compassion” “he touched him” read v. 41 again Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him and said to him, “I will; be clean.”· Jesus is the husband still willing to grasp the hand of his bedridden wife.· Remember Jesus is holy and clean in his incarnation as our priest AND he is divinely God. He is not in danger of being unclean…This is the incredible part Jesus is going to lay down his life as the spotless lamb but his perfect righteousness enables him to have compassion on sinners…to dine with, to meet with the woman at the well, a sinful woman, to talk to tax-collectors, and yes to reach down with pity and touch a leper. And to say, Yes, I am willing. Jesus came into the world to break the curse of the fall both in sin and one day yes to destroy all the effects of the fall not just sin and death, but in fact, the entire creation will be restored by his hands.· This moment is echoed in Revelation 1, where John sees the glorious vision of Jesus [expand]. He falls to his knees, and Jesus compassionately lays his hands on John.· So with the leper, is he willing, is he able?o Yes, he is willing he is full of compassion. And God’s word assures us of this over and over again. Jesus has compassion for sinners. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit each person of the Trinity shows compassion to sinners, to the unclean, to the miserable, to the outcast.§ Eph. 1 tells us we have forgiveness, that before the foundation of the world, he loved us, that from eternity the plan was to send Christ forth, that what is unholy may be made holy and what is unclean may be made clean, united to Christ Jesus and indwelt with the Holy Spirit.§ God demonstrated his love for us while we were still sinners…because of his great love for us, when we were dead in transgressions he saved us. It was of kindness and love, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy….a merciful and faithful high priest who lays his hands on use…who sympathizes with our weaknesses. Yet is without sin. He is holy and clean. (Rom. 5:8; Eph. 2:4-5; Ti. 3:4-5; Heb. 2:17, Heb. 4:15).o So consider this, Jesus is willing because from Eternity he has made a covenant to in love redeem out of sinful humanity a bride for himself. He had compassion. Loved by the Lord when we were unlovable but betrothed to Christ that we might be his holy bride.· Mark 1:41’s compassion is not a one-off emotion; it flows from the same eternal heart of love and pity that chose to show mercy to sinners in Christ before the world began.o What do you feel in your heart would prevent Jesus from loving you? [pause] Know that he has loved you from eternityo What do you feel makes you so unclean he would never be willing to lay his hands on your shoulder and say, “I will, be clean!” And indeed, you would be clean.o It would be no legal fiction. It would be no get out of jail free card.o You would be clean. You would be immediately and entirely clean.§ J.C. Ryle says, “the morning sun rose upon [the leper], a miserable being, more dead than alive, his whole frame a mass of sores and corruption, his very existence a burden. Then the evening sun saw him full of hope and joy, free from pain, and fit for the society of his fellow men. Surely, the change must have been like life from the dead.” (Ryle, 19).§ Dead to alive. Condemned to Forgiven. Enemy to Son & Daughter.§ Belonging to the kingdom of Satan, to fully belonging to the bride, the Church of Christ.So, #3 A Complete & Certified Cleansing vv. 42-44[42] And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. [43] And Jesus sternly charged him and sent him away at once, [44] and said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, for a proof to them.”I will. Be clean.How should this reality change you?First, it means you trust in Christ alone for salvation and cleansing. Not to religious rituals and ceremonies. Christ, his Cross, the Holy Spirit does these things and is received by faith alone, by grace alone, in Christ alone.Jesus sends the man to the Priests to “confirm” to be a witness to the truths of these matters.Two things here the Proof and the Difference1. The proof is that over the coming years, these priests will have themselves certified the healing of this Leper. Jesus is amassing witnesses to his POWER. To his ability to touch this leper and him be cleansed and Jesus to be the true and spotless lamb, the true messiah.So Jesus is creating a legal testimony against the priests because of this certified cleansing of this leper.As I’ve said in previous sermons, never were the actual miracles of Jesus able to be truly opposed, but only the identity of Jesus. The source of power behind the miracles was questioned. Not the miracles themselves. So First proof/2. And second, the difference. How does Jesus differ from the priests? They proclaim clean or unclean; Jesus makes clean! The priests are only certifying what Jesus accomplished. They have no power to cleanse in themselves. All the ceremonial law points to is what Jesus accomplishes. The ceremonial law always pointed beyond itself to the reality. Lepers were walking pictures of the reality of sin. And the priesthood and sacrificial system were pictures of what Jesus does.Just as Water Baptism is God’s promise and pronouncement the reality is the Regenerating and cleansing work of the Holy Spirit.I am not a priest, I do not absolve sin. I read you a scriptural assurance of pardon….All it does it state what already is….Your sin is nailed to the Cross it is done. If you are trusting in Christ you are forgiven. What you are doing is growing in your confirmation of this reality.· A receipt at a restaurant does not pay for the meal; it is just a record that the debt has been paid.· A doctor does the surgery to remove the disease; the follow-up scans only certify the results.This brings us to our final point.#4 A Call to silence, Jesus “sternly” charged the leper to be silent. VV. 43-45And Jesus sternly charged him and sent him away at once, and said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, for a proof to them.” …But he went out and began to talk freely about it, and to spread the news….But…He talked freely, everywhere! Why? Why would he do this?Why? People wanted the miracles, the healing, they did not want Christ they did not want the message of repentance and believing on God to enter the kingdom of God.This stern charge of Jesus is a charge to not only receive cleansing. But to be transformed in all your life, the man has his family, his community, his ability to worship restored. It ought to produce a transformation that makes him a disciple who loves Jesus enough to obey Him. Jesus says, if you love me, you will keep my commandments.To be a disciple means to submit to the whole council of God. Jesus in the great commission says, Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (ESV)That word observe is variously translated: “keep” (Matthew 19:17) “kept in custody” (Acts 24:23) “observe” (Matthew 23:3) “reserved” (2 Peter 2:17) “guarding” (Acts 12:6) “held” (Acts 25:21) “keeping watch over” (Matthew 27:54) “maintain” (Ephesians 4:3) “protects” (1 John 5:18) “refrain” (2 Corinthians 11:9) “stay within” (Jude 6)He was clean. He had a command from Christ. He ought to have observed the teaching of Christ. And we laugh and say, it’s so simple just go to the priest and be quiet….Well how many times have we read an epistle, Ephesians, Colossians, and 1 Peter, or any passage of scripture read it, understood what a transformed life of following Jesus would mean, and go away and immediately forget the command, not obey it, and even do the opposite.The principle is this—yes we often want forgiveness of sins—acceptance, the removal of guilt, the removal of shame—but we so often want his things—the improved circumstances—to be clean, but we do not want to be transformed, growing, and maturing disciples; Diligent to out of gratitude and love to obey all that Christ commands us.I don’t want to start listing sin lists or holiness lists of commands of Jesus and the apostles. But I do want the principle…cleansed and restored sinners are called to listen to the voice of the savior. If you love me you will keep my commandments.What’s the damage? What’s the result of this disobedience? It doesn’t say the Leper gets cursed and loses his salvation…It’s sad, but what happens isn’t fire zapping him…but it harms the church. It harms the ministry of Jesus to proclaim salvation and to grow mature disciples. [it’s ironic because it really is a matter of timing. 3 years from then, this leper is doing the right thing.]The man had an excitement, a zeal, and did in his own eyes what his emotions for being healed called for. He was to be anachronistic: an emotions-driven Christian before he was a Word-driven Christian.There is a zeal without knowledge but equally we do not desire knowledge without zeal. Knowledge free courage or courageless knowledge both can be damaging.How should we be warned by this account?1. So excited by the improvement of his life was the Leper that he did not fully submit his heart to every word of Jesus nor did he obey how Jesus would have him respond.2. Verse 45 But he went out and began to talk freely about it, and to spread the news, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter a town3. How many times in church history and in our lives does God give us an instruction we may not fully understand, but it is for the good of others?a. Jesus desired to preach in the synagogues and the towns, but he was hindered by no longer being able to openly minister there…instead, he was driven to the desolate places.4. ILLUSTRATION, This reminds me of the effects of the Second Great Awakening or what I like to call the “not so-great awakening,” for you see in the First Great Awakening the gospel was powerfully preached by men like George Whitfield and John Wesley, and Jonathan Edwards. AND Edwards wrote a book called “religious affections” where he seeks to ask, what is true conversion?, and in it he says, yes, it may produce great emotion and excitement, but true revival has lasting repentance and faith. It bears the fruit of obedience in people’s lives. Transformed lives. So, this is a true Revival that brings about Reformation of Life in the individual and a Reformed Church: And many in the first great awakening, were enfolded into the church for a lifetime of growth, the first great awakening made the churches healthier they were saved from dead orthodoxy and also ultimately being made immature and compromisers, downgraders of biblical doctrine, worship, and church life.a. But the second great awakening in its desires for numbers and excitements switched to entertainment more and more, to not just revival, but revivalism, the anxious bench, emotionalism, the preacher put pressure on the will and emotions of men and used music and the cadence of the preacher as a manipulative to drive people to be caught up more with the human movement itself rather thanwith the supernatural work of God in Christ, by the Gospel, and “making disciples” in gathering people into the bride of Christ the Church.b. And so, the regions of the country that men like Charles Finney served in became known as the burned-over regions…The Congregationalist churches are now Unitarians who deny the trinity, even that Christ is God, the bible is inerrant, and they have turned the supernatural gospel into the social gospel.c. The thrill of the spectacle drives Christ and Christ’s church to desolation. To ignorance of the word of God, the Christian life lived in community. The empty sensationalism lead To fragility between the generations.d. Just as Mark chapter 1 shows the hunger was for the miracle-working of Christ over his preaching, so too the second great awakening led to this.5. And here is what we can say about it, Christ is compassionate, indeed, in the 2nd great awakening many were saved. God sometimes blesses despite the ignoring of his chosen means. The leper was healed, he was restored, despite his ignoring Jesus’ directions in this area….But he still acted in Disobedience. God can salvage souls through disobedience of his methodology.a. In this case, Christ has compassion, he heals, but he directs how to respond.b. Jesus has a consistent mission in Mark chapter 1. Whenever people go for the spectacle and the spectacular over what Jesus says he responds consistently, v. 38 “Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out.”c. What did he come to preach? Mark 1:15 “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”d. This will be reinforced by the flow of Mark’s gospel in chapter 2, as he heals the paralytic but pronounces before healing him “Your Sins are forgiven.”e. The wages of death or removed, the wrath of God covered, and your relationship with your Heavenly Father and the Lord Jesus is reconciled—Son and Daughter of the Creator—In Christ Jesus the King of Kings.f. TO the spiritual Leper, who says “will he cleanse even me? Surely, no my heart is to ugly”i. you can be forgiven, cleansed, and restored to Fellowship with God and God’s people.ii. Go to Christ in prayer, sayin “Lord, have mercy on me a sinner…” Christ loves; He has compassion on sinners.g. And then hear the voice of Christ: live as a follower of Jesus who says, “If you love me you will keep my commandments…” Abide in me and I in you….Be careful: He does not say, “if you want me to love you, you will keep enough rules.” No, He has loved you now in grateful response, as a redeemed sinner respond in loving obedience.i. Do not get swept up with the world and the world’s methods and prioritiesii. Loyally listen to Jesus’ voice.PrayerBenediction This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jamesensley.substack.com

This morning we’re going to talk about a Christian Perspective on Art & Beauty. This is a school so I will accept the fact that you can wrestle with difficult concept.Ecclesiastes 3:11 [God] has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. (ESV)As you can see from Eccl. 3:11, we are thinking about Beauty, Eternity, the human heart, and God’s Creation. And maybe we have limits? We are finite… maybe we need to think a bit more about what Beauty is? And what this means for what we usually call beautiful – Artwork and creativity.Intro: Art, Beauty, and A Christian WorldviewYou probably encounter hundreds of types of creativity & artwork every week. You probably encounter hundreds of things everyday you find beautiful or ugly. But is this just preferences?.. like you like some music and your friends like others, you think a movie was really good, but your friend didn’t like it? How should you as a Christian enjoy creativity, beauty, and art.To answer this we are going to ask, What IS Beauty? What is the Standard of Beauty? And from there say--how should a Christian think about Art. To Answer this I will frequently cite Paul Munson’s Chapters in Art & Music A Student’s Guide.First, What is Beauty? Munson says that “the beauty of any object is its capacity to proclaim truth and to realize goodness.” [2x] (Munson, 28)But What is Art? Throughout this talk when I say “Art” I mean a fitting or appropriate form in order to convey Beauty. – And this can be music, painting, sculpture, it can be a child’s painting that is fitting and good for the context, it can be a master painter’s painting which serves a different fitting good. Art can be, Poetry, Novels… Architecture, the way an athlete plays a sport, even. Art can be pop art, folk art, Fine Art, each has strengths and weaknesses depending on the goal. But the goal is to convey goodness, truth, and beauty in a fitting and appropriate way.As a Christian I am going to argue that: Art and creativity are good. Because we are made in the image of God. We are, by definition, creative beings. Art can magnify and display in beautiful and fitting ways a message, a worldview. However, art can display not just the Christian worldview, but any worldview, so it can also be a magnifying glass to display falsehood and ugliness in a fallen and broken world. Therefore, we must seek God as the standard of the good, the true, and the beautiful to inform our use and consumption of Art.#1 What is Beauty?· Who has heard the phrase, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder?”· Do we believe that as Christians? As with many things, the answer is No in some ways but also “yes” in some ways. But really there is an important “No” here.o Is something beautiful because that is what it IS? Or is something beautiful because you find it beautiful?§ Is there some external standard for beauty and judging art or is it not really in the art or the beautiful thing but only in your eyes seeing it and finding enjoyment in it.§ Well this is actually a really hard question to answer. – Munson helps us think through these questions in his book called Art & Music. He argues· On the one hand you have Classical Greek artwork and Modernists, people who value Objectivity. Let’s think about modernism for a second: They Desire to find mathematical rules and order and forms for what makes beautiful music or statues or the perfect building.o And right away part of us say, yes, good music does have order to it.o There is such a thing as Color Theory. Complementary colors, split complementaries, analogous colors... There is real math behind musical chords and harmonies…to rhythm.o There are rules for perspective and balance, compositions, and symmetry can look beautiful.o But symmetry and balance and order while often beautiful doesn’t account for all beauty. Impersonal rules are not a complete picture. Jazz music, impressionistic paintings, and sometimes quirky architecture can be beautiful and accomplish good things.o There is much good here but it is not a complete view of Beauty. This next view also fails.· Post-modernists, that is those who embrace a more subjective individualist view of truth and reject a transcendant, external, and objective standard of beauty they tend to to think beauty is all a matter of taste and preference.· They might say, You are just culturally conditioned to like some things and not others.· This can make us susceptible to others pressuring us to conform to their tastes and preferences or…. everything is always about whether you are a conformist (conformist BAD!) or a rebel (Rebel GOOD!) in post-modernism you are defined by your response to your given culture’s beauty preferences. Beauty is only in the eye of the beholder.o This leaves us chaotic, and open to absurd and foolish things being called artwork. It means not celebrating someone’s art as good is no longer judging the artwork but is felt to be a judgement against the person.o If beauty is ONLY in the eye of the beholder then we can no longer objectively ask is this Art Good? Is it True? Is it Beautiful in itself…No its two people’s Wills…two people’s opinions locked in battle.· The Post-modern view fails…And is especially dangerous as many people’s worldview is not just non-Christian but anti-christian.o Some people find drug use appealing and even beautiful.o But objectively. IN Reality. it is destructive to the mind, the heart, the body, and does damage to the dignity of human beings made, what? made in the image of God.o A True Standard for beauty, allows us to call an appetite for a bad thing wrong-headed.§ Paul Munson Says, “It’s precisely because we are so prone to deceive ourselves about pleasure that we need the concept of beauty. It enables us to think critically about pleasure, which, by the way, is why postmoderns hate beauty so much and want to conflate it with preference. They don’t want to have to think critically about pleasure. They don’t want any reminders that their joys aren’t solid, that their treasures won’t last. (Munson, 25-6)· SO you don’t want to be arrogant and call your preferences for some art over others objectively good, but you also want to be serious about the fact that some creativity and artwork just plain stinks. And is even harmful.· You need a standard for why some things really are Beautiful in themselves. Not just the eye of the beholder. For example.· In Mark Chapter 14 Jesus is eating in a home and a woman he had shown some grace and mercy to enters the house during dinner and anoints Jesus with perfumes and oils and uses her tears to wipe his feet.. Some were indignant (and maybe we find this a little odd and yucky) but Jesus defends her as having done what?? Havin done something beautiful. “leave her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a beautiful thing to me.”· Why was it good and beautiful? Jesus says, “she has anointed my body beforehand for burial.”o She through a fitting symbol of burial perfumes was driving home to people’s hearts that Jesus was going to die!§ Jesus has said this several times. I will die. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He has said it plainly. He has given word pictures saying he is the shepherd who dies, but she does it in a way people could see and smell, and with the same smells, they had memories of from the many funeral they had attended.· It was beautiful because it was the truth displayed in an understandable and fitting way using fitting means, oil and tears people would understand.· The performance was artistically just the right vehicle to display Goodness & Truth about Jesus’ sacrificial death to save us.o Ok this is where “Beauty” and “Art” come back together for us. Paul Munson says quite plainly “Form matters to God.”§ Creation is beautiful according Eccl. 3:11 “God has made everything beautiful in its time”§ Form Matters to God.· God did not have to make hummingbirds, humans with different eye colors. God didn’t have to make us able to sing beautiful hymns of praise. Have you ever watched the beauty of a sunrise. But he did make all these things.· Guys you know the beauty of a campfire watching the light flicker, the flames dance and how much better it makes our conversations.· God’s creation is beautiful. Because it creatively reflects his Beauty and Majesty. This brings us to our second Point. God is the Standard of Beauty.[#2 The Bible teaches that for Beauty and Art: God is the Standard]Psalm 8[1] O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!You have set your glory above the heavens.[3] When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,[4] what is man that you are mindful of him,and the son of man that you care for him?[5] Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beingsand crowned him with glory and honor.[6] You have given him dominion over the works of your hands;you have put all things under his feet,Romans 1:19–20 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made.All creation, shows the majesty of God. His goodness is the standard that overflows and ought to satisfy of our hearts. All goodness and beauty we find in our creation is by definition good and true NOT because it meets our fallen human preferences or gives enjoyment, but because it is a witness a sign pointing to the standard God himself. Because you have a mind, a heart, and a soul that is designed to enjoy God and his beautiful creation. Your heart longs for the transcendant majestic God creation points to. You look at the art but the artist is what your soul was meant to truly find satisfaction in.· From these Passages Paul Munson says, creation is beautiful in order to “reflect [God’s] own beauty. And if God is beautiful, and if his creation is beautiful, then there is an objective measure for beauty, and we can think critically about it.”· In other words we shouldn’t just consume artwork and assume everything you desire and like is beautiful. You need to compare it to the standard. And for the Christian and the non-Christian [even if they deny it] the standard is the same. The Universal Creator, the Architect and designer of the entirety of Creation.· Beauty is “the forms through which we recognize the nature and ways of God.”o So Art isn’t very beautiful just if it tells the Truth. We can tell the truth in blunt and clumsy ways.o Art isn’t beautiful if its just good. We have a lot of good things in our lives that aren’t particularly beautiful. I am thankful for Toothbrushes and toothpaste but it aint art.o Art uses a fitting form to reflect the nature and ways of God. So that some aspect of HIM is revealed. Something about the goodness of Creation is Told. Something about Salvation and Redemption is told. Something about Light defeating dark. This is why we love stories and music that reflect God’s greater story and reflect the great themes of the bible and salvation.§ This means yes, art can be beautiful in conveying to us difficult truths about sin and shame and suffering. But Christian art doesn’t glory and dwell on the darkness it uses that truth to show us that darkness loses that the nature of God is indignant against the darkness and knows of its defeat.o So beauty makes goodness and truth visible and compelling it is the magnifying glass for a worldview that has a right understanding of God and his creation.Point #3 We as the Image of God get to reflect that standard and so enjoy and create beauty and art.In Genesis The Holy Spirit is the life-giver and seems especially to give us spiritual life and even creativity. We see this throughout the bible he gives gifts and makes kings kings and prophets prophets and priests priests. But did you know he makes Artists Artists?The Holy Spirit working in us gives gifts and skill to do work. In Fact the very Tabernacle which is a wonderful work of Art is commissioned and approved by God to teach Israel how to worship him is the work of the Holy Spirit through Craftsman & Artists. We see this in newly rescued Israel in Exodus 31.Exodus 31:1–11 Bezalel[1] The LORD said to Moses, [2] “See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, [3] and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship, [4] to devise artistic designs, to work in gold, silver, and bronze, [5] in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, to work in every craft. [6] And behold, I have appointed with him Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. And I have given to all able men ability, that they may make all that I have commanded you: [7] the tent of meeting, and the ark of the testimony, and the mercy seat that is on it, and all the furnishings of the tent, [8] the table and its utensils, and the pure lampstand with all its utensils, and the altar of incense, [9] and the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and the basin and its stand, [10] and the finely worked garments, the holy garments for Aaron the priest and the garments of his sons, for their service as priests, [11] and the anointing oil and the fragrant incense for the Holy Place. According to all that I have commanded you, they shall do.” (ESV)· God commissioned and approved not just what the priests would say, but how they would look [as a kid I stared all the time in my bible atlas at the intricate details of the tabernacle, beautiful full color illustrations…the bible is filled with beauty], God cared how the tabernacle would look. With beauty. It looked like a garden filled with carved pomegranates and trees, and gold, and lampstands to remind us that God is present…just as he was in the Garden of Eden, but we live in a fallen world removed from EDEN, but even redemption can be beautiful… beautiful basins where the priests washed, the Tabernacle becomes a picture of God’s presence, salvation, and cleansing from sin as well as his holiness and separateness. The veil that separate the Holy of Holies and the various sections.o The Artists acted to make the Tabernacle a Magnifying glass highlighting truths about God who he was, how he saves us in ways that are Beautiful and Creative.o [Transition] The Holy Spirit also is still at work giving life and beauty. The Holy Spirit is an artist working in hearts and souls to direct our gaze to Christ.· The Holy Spirit Is the one who causes us to be born again, one who gives new birth and new life to hearts that are dead in sin. The Apostle Paul uses the beautiful metaphor of Our hearts as pottery on the wheel of the Holy Spirit. He renews and shapes us after the image of God and in that renewal our personal relationship with God restored.· Not just individually but as a Beautiful bride the Church. We are united to The True One. We are United to the Good one. We are united to the gloriously and unfadingly Beautiful one the Savior of our souls, Jesus.This should compel us to live a thankful life. To live a Beautiful Life not an ugly & foolish life… Why should our language and imaginations be shaped by the ugliest and most evil entertainment and images our culture offers us? It should not be.This brings us to our Final Point.#4. ART is a Magnifying Glass· As Christians, we recognize the goodness of creation. We recognize God is the standard of the good, true, and beautiful. So we love art and creativity.· But we also always remember that, due to remaining sin in our hearts that we still struggle to hate sin as ugly and to love what God defines as beautiful.§ So we may be attracted to and fascinated by DARKNESS. By LIES and DECEPTION.o The Means there exists false and deceiving artwork.o Some Art tells the truth. Some Art tells lies. And we want the art we use and consume to be for Good. Truth. And True Beauty.o This doesn’t mean all our artwork has to be happy.o You may use your artwork to expose darkness.§ Paul Munson again says, “in a movie about the Holocaust—if the ugliness and the evil are depicted accurately. If we learn from it anew how vile sin is, how real judgement is, and how near grace is, then a depiction of ugliness can be very beautiful indeed. And only the Christian view of beauty can account for this.§ Art is a magnifying glass for reinforcing a worldview’s persuasiveness of what is good and true and beautiful, but more than just worldview it magnifies your moral imagination. What I mean by that your moral imagination includes your worldview, but also things like your loves your affections what you reflect on and reflexively respond to as compellingly good or instinctively wrong or evil in someway§ It takes a fitting medium, like musical instruments, the human voice, clay, paint, architecture, a film to tell a message over and over again to everyone who looks at it.· This can be as simple as a painting of a loaf of bread on a table – that refreshes your heart to love the simple things in life. This could be complicated like The Lord of The Rings, which teaches us that light must fight and defeat darkness and the good wins in the end and evil loses through friendship, courage, and beautiful cinematography…And one or two good speeches from Samwise Gamgee.· This can be as complex as Handel’s Messiah directly worshipping Jesus. Or a Child’s simple drawing of his mom.· Truly Good art magnifies our sensitivity to the sinfulness of sin. Our understanding that darkness loses to the light. That we can enjoy God’s simple creation and beauty and also have a future hope of heaven, that this life isn’t all there is.· SO you can ask yourself before you consume art: what does this TV Show, Singer, or any kind of artist want me to believe about God? Creation? Myself? Sin & Darkness? What do they want me to believe about My Family? Work? The Church?· This means there are times where you will look at, listen to, or interact with art based on an ungodly worldview.§ Munson - “The ugliness of any object is the sum of all the ways in which it obscures truth and impedes goodness, which means that everything in this cursed [fallen] world is both beautiful and ugly.”§ Ungodly art is ugly. But it can hide itself as beautiful if we are not wise.· What does magnifying this worldview do?o If we consume or use or passively conform ourselves to any art we find pleasing or entertaining or desirable inevitably we are consuming artistic endeavors that magnify a false-worldview. Magnify Idols.o This will shape and desensitize us to true spirituality, and increases and magnifies our love for sin.o Our love of simple Christian living, of being the sweet aroma of Christ will be diminished. We will instead grow tastes and preferences that find sin and false spirituality desirable and mistakenly say this IDOL is good and true and beautiful. When in fact it is evil, false, and ugly,Three Takeaways:#1 Enjoy with an active mind any art that succeeds in displaying beauty, goodness, and truth as defined by God in his Word—the bible!#2 Remember—Beware – Sin is deceitful and our hearts are deceptive, ugly & false things can be dressed up by music, TV Shows, and seek to make us call evil good and good evil. The ugly beautiful and the beautiful ugly. …On this point trust and listen to wise people in your church and family when they warn you about something as inappropriate it is probably because of wise discernment.#3 Most of All: Praise be to God: In a fallen world, He is renewing our hearts and minds after the image of Christ Jesus so that we once more can have our moral imagination be a Holy imagination. There is great joy in enjoying truly beautiful things. Ultimately, the standard of this is encountered in Christ Jesus, loving us while we were enemies and bringing us into the family of God. God is Good. God is Truth. God is Beautiful. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jamesensley.substack.com

Introduction: What will hold the center of our lives? Something will be and must be the center. We may be self-centered and the center is us, our strength, our abilities…Maybe you think it would be more selfless to live for another person: a spouse, a politician, a celebrity, or even a group of people, to live your life for a social or political movement.But we often find that as we pursue self-sufficiency or human sufficiency, creaturely sufficiency, we discover that we are insufficient. Mired in Sin, sickness, and broken relationships…Our insufficiency, our lack of self-sufficiency, is because we have no life in ourselves; we have no solution in ourselves.In a fallen world, Christ must supply. God must be the center, the supply, fountain that then allows us to serve others. Otherwise, our service depends on ours or others strength. We make ourselves idols. Little relationship-gods. Little world-changing-gods. Little deciders and arbiters of right vs. wrong, little-insufficient-fixers.In our passage today, Jesus continues his ministry, but now on a more intensive scale. We see after he has preached in the synagogue that very same day he heals Simon Peter’s mother-in-law…She, with renewed strength, shows life-giving hospitality to the disciples, & and through her Christ-strengthened hospitality she supports and enables Jesus’ intensive ministry.Lastly, We see when Jesus has physically exhausted himself, He still turns to the Lord for strength & communion in Prayer.The gospel is good news because even though we are insufficient to take on godlike roles, we are water-less foundation—God himself, supplies us by his by Christ’s life-giving role. Being united to Christ Jesus’ death, sufferings, life, and resurrection changes our service from self—to Supernatural Service.Read: Mark 1:29–39Prayer of Illumination#1 Restored to Serve vv. 29-31#2 Sickness & Satan Cast Out vv. 32-34#3 Prayer the Fuel of Ministry that stays Focused vv. 35-39#1 Restored in Order to Serve[29] And immediately he left the synagogue and entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. [30] Now Simon’s mother-in-law lay ill with a fever, and immediately they told him about her. [31] And he came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and the fever left her, and she began to serve them.· Verse 29 shows we are following Jesus straight from the synagogue…· They Come back from spiritual food. Hearing authoritative teaching.· That Jesus can make us holy. Forgiven. And Defeat the world and all spiritually forces arrayed against our soul…So exhausted from the morning, they return to Peter’s house for physical rest…for food.· Enter Simon & Andrew’s House with the other two James & John· Simon Peter’s Mother-in-law is very sick with a fever.o She us Unable to serve…Things are not the way they ought to be in creation where we are Healthy and strong· Jesus compassionately takes her by the hand and lifts her up, and She is healed, and she is instantly strengthened to service.· Jesus does no half measures with people.o I’ve been battling being sick, and even as I got better. I felt weak.· When Peter’s mother-in-law’s restored, she is restored to service which does seem to flow into the ability of Jesus and the disciples to carry on their ministry work (vv. 32-39).· She was not restored in order to serve herself to go to Greece and have a Mamma Mia moment…o that would’ve harmed the ability of Jesus and the disciples to persevere in ministry, both Jesus’ preaching ministry and the miraculous ministry of Jesus.· So the principle found here is that Christ heals, he restores in order that we might in love and gratitude, serve our savior & serve others.o This is a foundational principle for all believers. In whatever calling God has placed on our lives.o Mark 9:35 And he sat down and called the twelve. And he said to them, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.” (ESV)§ The 12 apostles…though leaders of the church…are called in order to serve others, in their calling as apostles.o Mark 10:45 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (ESV)§ Christ’s death, is a humble service as he left heaven and give up his life for us.· Jesus is able to return home, be refreshed after his morning preaching, and be served because of the ministry of this godly woman.· However, ironically, his healing means he now has the whole town coming to him for healing and for demons to be cast out.o But at least he is now once again active after having received hospitality from this godly mother-in-law.#2 Ministry at a Grand Scale[32] That evening at sundown they brought to him all who were sick or oppressed by demons. [33] And the whole city was gathered together at the door. [34] And he healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons. And he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.· After Sundown, in other words when the sabbath was over. And every is allowed to travel about again.· Note the phrasing carefully all who were Sick OR Oppresseed by demons.o Mark clearly Distinguished demonic activity from illness.o He heals the sick. He casts out demons.o Demons are not just mental illness, and sickness is not just demon-possessed people. (Right, you can’t just say, Satan made me sick…) But the good news is being sick isn’t just because of Sin or Satan.o All these things are brought about because of the Fall into Sin the curse of a fallen world. What the catechism calls the “misery” of the fall.o Jesus’ ministry shows that if he can reverse the effects of the fall, demonic activity, and physical sickness, then he can address the weighty eternal problem of sin sick hearts and souls separated from God and each other.o If he can give a foretaste of heaven in his first coming he can bring the fullness of heaven in his second coming. Physical healing points to spiritual removal of sin: Isaiah 53:5 But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. (ESV)· This is not a guarantee of physical healing here on earth today…Instead Jesus’ healing ministry shows he would be able to deal with sin by his death on the Cross.· And Jesus today would have us not go to faith healers but look forward to heaven, where there will be no more sickness or sin in our glorification.· A couple more observationso The “whole city” at this little home…Is a reminder of The great depths and extensiveness of the miseries of the fallo And the fact that he is in the Holy Land of Israel and having to Cast out MANY demons shows how terribly wrong things are with God’s covenant people in the holy Land. But God is on the Move. The Day of the Lord is there and Jesus was beginning to bring the about the binding of satan that he could deceive the nations no more. Satan’s activity is weaker now…Not gone, not inactive, but weaker…unable to stop the advance of the gospel around the world, unable to stop God from restoring people to service to the Kingdom of God. “Look at the end of v. 34 again, And he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.· This is called the Messianic Secret: Jesus early in his ministry did not desire these crowds, the title of Messiah too early on. The demons would stir up Misdirected adoration…think of the example of every time a celebrity of some stripe says, “they are now a Christian” or support “X” political cause. Everyone goes crazy in support OR opposition, but often they don’t allow time for the person to develop or to set actual expectations…so you impute all your thoughts and opinions onto that person…The messiah has connotations of throwing off political powers, not nearly enough Spiritual Freedom and not the Humble death upon a Cross he is actually headed towards.· …To stir up a celebrity craze and ownership of Jesus as the messiah now would be to cause confusion… Confusing the kingdom of God with the throwing off of the Roman Empire. Political Rule.· Note this from William Lane: “The people come to Jesus, not because they recognized his dignity and function but because it is rumored that a miracle worker has come in their midst. Jesus had come to preach repentance and the nearness of the kingdom but the people think only of relief from pain and affliction. They fail to perceive the significance of Jesus’ conflict with demonic power.· In compassion and grace Jesus extends to them authentic healing, but it is not primarily for this purpose that he has come. In the morning he withdraws from the village and the clamoring crowds. (Lane, 80).Look in verse 35…#3 Early Morning Prayer and Avoiding Mission Drift in the face of demonic opposition..[35] And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed. [36] And Simon and those who were with him searched for him, [37] and they found him and said to him, “Everyone is looking for you.”· Very early, while its still dark, Jesus goes, Up on the Hillside overlooking Galilee, a barren place…either he is intentionally isolated,o Departed, away, intentionally isolated, reminding of his victory over satan’s temptations,o Heb. 5:7 In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears.”o Unpack the trinity and incarnation and prayer.· The reproach, comes from Peter, “everyone is looking for you”§ They need you! While certainly God uses people to tell us to wake up and do our duty. Peter misunderstands jesus’ mission. And is attempting to pull Jesus’ mission in a direction he does not intent.§ The world wants us reactive to the next need. So we stop looking at the big picture.§ Satan can use this. How?· Jesus, everyone wants you to heal their sickness and cast out the oppressive effects of their sin.· But as William Lane says, “[Jesus’] purpose is not to heal as many people as possible…but to confront men with the demand for decision in the perspective of God’s absolute claim upon their person.”· Do you recognize God’s absolute claim on you?· Or will you allow the world to have a claim on you? Your flesh? Your sin to claim you? Or even just doing a lot of nice polite things? What claims your heart & time?· Jesus is about to say, faithfulness to his calling means leaving a healing ministry in Capernaum in order to go on a preaching ministry.· It cannot be about popularity, protecting appearances….Can you imagine the The newspaper “Jesus local healer abandons town to sickness and societal problems like demons…In order to talk religion. In order to speak about hell and sin and salvation.”· Jesus—in his incarnation—his earthly ministry models for us Faith—by praying, seeking, strength to resist abandoning ultimate things for important things.· Look in verse 38 again, and Jesus said to them, “Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out.” [39] And he went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons.· First, Jesus prays, for strength to stay on mission and fulfill the will of God.o His isolation allows him to Say, God what would you have me do? So too stay in scripture believer, pray over the WORD, “God, how would you have me live?”· If Jesus needs to pray for strength so do we…o You too, cry out to the Lord both alone and throughout your day, Lord help me: to not be anxious, help me to do the right thing, help me in my next conversation, help me as I walk in the door to see my family.o Jesus here needs help. Help to not be overwhelmed with the volume of needs brought about by sin. He could have become trapped for three years being a Healer. A Miracle worker who was beloved and acclaimed as he dealt with all the problems downstream.o The temptation for us is to be like a person downstream of a dump to pick trash out of the river…But Jesus and we know we must venture up stream to the source. And the heart of the Issue—the mission! Proclaiming the Kingdom of God is here, that He is the messiah, and he will gather DISCIPLES, train DISCIPLES, who will follow him, and after he accomplishes salvation on the cross and is raised again that will not Fear but Stay on Mission and do the work of WORD & PRAYER in a fellowshipping, worshipping community.· The ministry of Word and Prayer book ends Mark Hereo Acts 6 [restate]o Acts 6:2 And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables.o Acts 6:7 And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith. (ESV)Prays, we need to move on so I can preach· Yes he will heal and cast out demons as a sign wherever he goes· But his mission…What he is calling people to is the gospel, to a humble, serving kingdom.o One of repentance, trust in salvation being found in Christ, being found in God’s kingdom, drawing near spiritually in our hearts in Jesus.o Jesus is calling us to a kingdom of Forgiveness, reconciliation of relationships between God and man, service, humble service towards others, and the defeat of darkness of Satan.o And Jesus plans to do this with the Scripture preached: The Scriptures are a living and active spiritual sword that when they break through, they sever sins powerful cords over a person’s mind and heart.o The Spirit breaks the bonds of deception, of Pride, of living for yourself, and forever raises you to new strength to serveo Sin makes us servants of sin. Sin makes us servants of our flesh’s next desire. This destroys our love for one another.§ But He saves us so that The First shall be last and the last shall be first.· Do you wish to be made strong in service to Christ, who has loved you and given his life for you?o Pray and ask the Lord to use you in service to the Kingdom, your family, community, wherever he calls.o Whenever I think of being strengthened and restored, refocused to serve the Lord I think of Joshua, “be strong and courageous.”o Joshua 1:6–9 Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them. [7] Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go. [8] This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. [9] Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”o How has God strengthened you to serve? What does your freedom from sin? Free you to do? What does your ability to know Truth, right from wrong, and the ability to love sacrificially, even enemies do for your Classmates, your co-workers, your relationship to your siblings, the way you approach dating and marriage, and the way you serve within your marriage?J.C. Ryle makes these remarks though I’ve switched his “They” to “you”, “[do you] fear that [you] shall not be able to persevere, and shall bring discredit on [your] profession…fear no longer…know that Jesus is an almighty Saviour, who never forsakes those who once commit themselves to him. Once raised by his mighty hand from the death of sin, and washed in his precious blood, [you] shall go on ‘ministering to him’ to [your] life’s end. [You] shall have power to overcome the world, and crucify the flesh, and resist the devil. Only…begin, and [you] shall go on. Jesus knows nothing of half-cured cases and half-finished work…trust in Jesus and go forward. The pardoned soul shall always be enabled to serve Christ. - Ryle, 12· Let us go back to the beginning: Without Christ you are weak and bedridden—when Christ comes by the Holy Spirit and raises you to new strength, what is he calling you to do?· Faith does not look within, does not find strength, identity, purpose, belonging, and a life mission from within or from social media, but from Christ Jesus!o Then yes your heart healed and built up by the H.S. will become a partnership as your encourage your soul, your meditations, you begin to bleed gospel, bible, and the mind of Christ. But never confuse the source of this life and strength this identity and purpose.o Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.o Remember the words of the Heidelberg Catechism question 1, I am not my own, but belong with body and soul, both in life and in death, 2 to my faithful Saviour Jesus Christ. 3 He has fully paid for all my sins with his precious blood, 4 and has set me free from all the power of the devil. He also preserves me in such a way that without the will of my heavenly Father not a hair can fall from my head; indeed, all things must work together for my salvation. 8 Therefore, by his Holy Spirit he also assures me of eternal life and makes me heartily willing and ready from now on to live for him.PrayerBenediction This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jamesensley.substack.com

Introduction: He is Risen!That is the foundation of our joy and faith this Sunday morning, the first day of the week, the Lord’s Day. That Jesus is Alive. That he has Ascended to the right hand of the Father and that he builds his church through the call of the Word and Spirit. This morning, if you could turn to Luke 24:13-25, vv. 25-27 is our focus but 13-25 gives us the whole story.This Account is an Easter teaching by Jesus himself on Easter, or Resurrection Sunday if you will, to two disciples after his resurrection that same day.Read Luke 24:13-35 That very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, [14] and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened. [15] While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. [16] But their eyes were kept from recognizing him. [17] And he said to them, “What is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk?” And they stood still, looking sad. [18] Then one of them, named Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?” [19] And he said to them, “What things?” And they said to him, “Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, [20] and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him. [21] But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened. [22] Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning, [23] and when they did not find his body, they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive. [24] Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see.” [25] And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! [26] Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” [27] And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. [28] So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He acted as if he were going farther, [29] but they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent.” So he went in to stay with them. [30] When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. [31] And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight. [32] They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?” [33] And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem. And they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, [34] saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!” [35] Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread. (ESV)Prayer of IlluminationOur Focus is v. 25-27 And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! [26] Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” [27] And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted [he expounded] to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.· Were you there? We are not yet even for these disciples they were slow to believe? Believe what? Their eyes? No, the scripture. We too can be slow to believe “all that the prophets have spoken!” That is to say Faith comes by hearing….· When Jesus encounters, after his resurrection, two disciples who were sorrowful, who did not yet know that they were living that glorious first Resurrection Sunday, that first Lord’s Day, they did not yet know that they have the Hope of a Living Savior.· Yet, Jesus does not immediately turn to signs and wonders….No what does he say?· “You are being slow of heart to believe what? What the Prophets have spoken? Which prophets…. “And Jesus beginning with moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to the the things concerning himself.”a. Were you there, Jesus himself says, So what? Let me open for you The written word of God.b. He interpreted. He expounded. He taught them what was really there, he showed them that the things concerning himself.Three things briefly this morning#1 First, Believing on Jesus comes from hearing the word of God (v. 25 & 27)#2 Second, The The Necessity of his death: The necessity of The Sufferings of Christ#3 Third, The Significance of the Resurrection: The subsequent glories#1 First, Believing on Jesus comes from hearing the word of God (v. 25 & 27)· And so Jesus who has this great good news. Jesus who was physically before these disciples has this good news and what does he do?· He gives them the worlds best bible study. The most amazing of bible studies, interestingly an Old Testament only bible study about the Messiah, the Cross, the resurrection of Christ, the Gospel message. I am so thankful that since we were not THERE. That he Still prepares us for the FAITH that comes from HEARING.Romans 10:8–10 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); [9] because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. [10] For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. (ESV)Romans 10:14–15 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? [15] And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” (ESV)Romans 10:17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. (ESV)· Jesus gives us supreme confidence in the Whole bible being the very word of God.· And Christ gives his word; From Genesis-Revelation this is the very word of Christ that he gives them to understand the gospel…· And you must remember the new testament is not finished. And while the apostles are still coming to grips with the resurrection what does Jesus say? Be live what is written of me in the scriptures.Remember this: Jesus is alive, he has the seal and approval of the heavenly Father on his life, ministry, sufferings, and sinlessness, because He is alive. He is proven accepted as the unique son of God. And he, repeatedly endorsed the scriptures.Down to the last jot and tittle, the little iota, the ‘I’. Once He argued the resurrection from the dead must be true based on the verb tense God says, I AM the God of Abraham not I WAS. I AM. If Jesus is alive, and he is, then we must take his view of the Word that it is all true, and that ultimately it teaches us to trust in Jesus!As the disciples responded: v. 32 “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?”#2 Second, The Necessity of his death: The necessity of the Sufferings of Christv. 26 Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things… or KJV is there not an Oughtness, ought not Christ to have suffered these things?Jesus accomplishing our salvation in his sufferings and glory is the center and focal point of the bible. He is the center of history. And he will be the center of eternity seated on the throne.· This is what Peter is saying in 1 Peter 1:10-12, saying that the Holy Spirit was indicating and “signifying” Christ to us. – Breaking news! Salvation will come by suffering and not glory! Except Peter didn’t break that news according to Jesus, the disciples on the road to Emmaus just needed a bible study.· Jesus could have gone numerous places in the Psalms and Prophets but in particular Isaiah 53 helps us...· Isaiah 53 says, “Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him.o In other words, the Messiah is coming but it may be in a manger…to a poor carpenter…not in a palace! He will be opposed by the scribes and pharisees, suffer opposition, slander, betrayal, and death on a cross. In our place the humble atoning lamb,· Isaiah 53:4–6 Surely, he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. (ESV)· Christ’s righteous soul, his sinless life, his perfect righteousness, of infinite value as both God and Man atones for, covers, ransoms, redeems us from the just condemnation of sin. And Jesus left HEAVEN down, down, down in humility in order to accomplish what we could not when we were dead in our trespasses and sins.· But in this wonderful bible study to Emmaus, if our Lord did take our disciples to Isaiah 53, he would get to Isaiah 53 verse 10, saying when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. [11] Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. (ESV)o Jesus by his death causes, makes many to be accounted, reckons many RIGHTEOUS. JUSTIFIED. FORGIVEN. RENEWED. NOT GUILTY!o Instead of us paying the wages of sin death, Jesus clothes us in his righteous robeso Christ has cast off darkness, death is defeated, the penalty of sin is paid and the power of sin is broken, and he clothes us by the spirit poured out in our hearts new hearts, new robes of light, and holiness.o Because Jesus did not stay dead, the Father places his seal of approval on the work of Christ on the cross and raises him to life.Look in verse at the end of v. 26 again, “and enter into his glory?”o That is Christ is risen, He is gloried, He has resurrection life in himself that is poured out, through the Holy Spirit.o The Word of Christ goes forth, in Power by the Holy Spirit, to gloriously bring us from the kingdom of Darkness into the Kingdom of Light…o That is the subsequent glory that is begun on that easter day, as it continues on the Sunday morning, some 40 days later when the Spirit fall upon the Church.o SO let us close by just reflecting on some of these subsequent glories of our risen savior the implications of it.#3 Third, The Significance of the Resurrection: The subsequent gloriesCredit to Pastor O Palmer Robertson’s reflection here, he says,1. “The Resurrection of Christ is as significant as the Creation of the world.”a. You can see this that the entire work-rest week has shifted from working Sunday-Friday and resting on Saturday to Resting on Sunday because Christ finished his work and sat down at the right hand of the father and to out of that rest we receive on Sunday, The Lord’s Day to work Monday-Saturday.b. Remember what day Luke 24 is, Jesus appears to the disciples in Luke 24 on the first day of the week.c. V. 1 On the first day of the week, at early dawn, they [. Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James]went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared...An empty tomb, on a that first Lord’s Day that Sunday morning with spices for a dead man’s burial who was alive…V. 13, That very day two of them were going to a village named Emmausi. We could consider Rev. 1:10 the Apostle John, the Lord’s Day, Jesus’ breakfast by the sea where he restores Peter, ON the Lord’s Day.d. Jesus resurrection is a Re-creation that shifts the entire 7 days week into a new era.e. Creation is recreated spiritually in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, resurrecting us to newness of life in Christ Jesus.f. He is Alive! Today is His Day 52 weeks a year.i. For the next few Sundays, you can begin worship with “He is Risen! He is Risen Indeed! Because that is the reality that gathers and enables us to worship.2. The resurrection of Jesus is Glorious because it is: the defeat of deatha. Death could not hold him.b. It is the glory Job saw long before Christ when he says, “I know that My Redeemer lives, Glory, Hallelujah!c. The Messiah is the conquering king who does not conquer with the Sword but by the Spirit.d. When you trust in the risen Savior, it is because Resurrection life is being worked in you by the Holy Spirit poured out by Christ.e. BY the Holy Spirit, we are united to a risen Savior; He has conquered death. Jesus says, I Am the Resurrection and the Life, though you die, yet you will live….Though we still live in a fallen world death does not have power over us. We have a soul that will last forever and though our bodyi. 2 Corinthians 4:8–11 We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; [9] persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; [10] always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our bodies. [11] For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. (ESV)ii. 2 Corinthians 4:16–18 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. [17] For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, [18] as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. (ESV)f. He is Risen, so we will Rise on that last dayThis morning I would invite you to either, remember and worship God for the forgiveness of sins and the joy you have in the resurrection of Jesus.Or for the first time say, “I am perishing in sin, Lord Jesus, you are alive on the Throne in Heaven, forgive me my sins, clothe me in your righteousness, take the throne of my heart, and grant me Resurrection life here and now. Then as one trusting in Christ by faith, Your life is freed from the guilt and power of sin, and one day you will have a heavenly life free from sorrow, tears, and the presence of sin forever. That is our certain hope this morning | Prayer This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jamesensley.substack.com

Intro: It is our habit to preach through books of the bible, and to once a quarter preach the topic of a chapter of the confession, the Insert you have is a copy of the WCF and we won’t be able to to address everything. Marriage is a complex topic and the bible has a lot to say, for the sake of brevity, you have the insert and scriptures there. If you want more frank discussions, let’s talk, but I am seeking to be prudent in a large group setting…Marriage is a theme that runs throughout the entire bible. It is created by God to ultimately teach us about Christ and the church.This is very similar two Calvin’s two knowledge, knowledge of God, and knowledge of Man [expand]And so as we understand Christ and the Church we understand marriage better, and as we know marriage better, we understand Christ and the Church. Similarly as we understand the gospel, the problem of sin and the renewal of grace and forgiveness in Christ we understand how much has both gone wrong in human relationships while maintaining hope for restoration in our relationships…Read: Revelation 19:6-9[6] Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out,“Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. [7] Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; [8] it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure”— for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.[9] And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.”Prayer of Illumination#1 Marriage: The Picture becomes the Reality in Jesus#2 Marriage as Created, Broken, Restored#3 Marriage, Divorce, and the Westminster Confession#4 Marriage Displayed Richly in Protestant Weddings#1 Revelation vividly shows the fulfillment of what Marriage was created to be: A picture of Christ and his redeemed, his restored bride, the Church.· God in creation ordains marriage for our joy, for our good, but it has an aim, a final purpose: Glorifying God, for Christ being the Bridegroom, who lays down his very life in order to redeem us to himself to be his bride. Christ, the bridegroom who left heaven to reclaim us when we were wandering…· Revelation 19 is the culmination of the theme of Hosea where we are faithless we were unworthy but Jesus pursues us, he loves us, he brings us back, and restores us.· He makes us ready by the work of the Holy Spirit symbolized in baptism in renewing and cleansing us as we have been hearing about in Mark. And in Heaven Jesus says, we neither marry nor are given in marriage instead the type the shadow of marriage gives way to a glorious and joyful reality that Jesus has made us whole again, he has removed the stains, the falling short of sin, and HE has made his Bride—Holy, clothed in bright , fine, and pure linens when She once was not.· He has by his grace justified, sanctified, made her ready to indeed have done well, been the excellent bride with righteous deeds…But this is not always the case, this is by grace, by restoration.Today I will speak plainly and fairly rapidly on the nature of marriage, how it goes wrong, but in your life if you have fallen short as we all do in many ways, remember Revelation 19. The end of the story about marriage: Christ and the Church, ruined sinners reclaimed, and made whole.So, the end of history is a wedding feast. What about the beginning?#2 Marriage as Created: God’s Creational Order & Good Design for Marriage - Gen. 1:26-28, 2:19, and 2:21-24, Heb. 13:4, and some Eph. 5.Genesis 1 Teaches Our Unique value as humans beings made in God’s imageVerse 27 says, God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.There is [slowly] a singular humankind with two sexes: male and female. And God blesses them with the creation mandate verse 28 - We are created with dominion over creation with stewardship and care overthe creatures, not equal ontologically to them. We were created for fellowship with God, a thinking, moral reasoning, and purposeful relationship of our bodies, mind, heart, soul, loves to be in harmony with our God creation as the image of God male and female.And God created marriage uniquely for God imaging human beings he created male and female.Further, Gen. 2:18, “It is not good that the man should be alone; God will make him a helper fit for him.”So God creates Eve from Adam – bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh.a. Adam and Eve were fitting complements, counterparts, and matches both physically and spiritually.b. They are the same as humans and wonderfully different as male and female. This is the first marriage – Whose design is blessed by our Lord Jesus. In Matt. 19 v. 24.Verse 24 says, Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast, hold fast[clinging, both by oaths and forming a new and distinct household] and so hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.Hebrews 13:4 Let marriage be held in honor among all!Chad Van Dixhoorn Helpfully reminds us that “Marriage is not invented by culture; it is established by creation…Marriage is a lifelong commitment… Marriage is for one man and one woman... Marriage should be public with Oaths.What is the goal of marriage? [2x] The goal of something helps us know when something has happened that harms the definition and goal, Chad VanDixhoorn again helpfully says, Marriage is for mutual support, companionship, reproduction of the human race, church growth, and the promotion of sexual purity.· Our culture understands mutual support and companionship (perhaps childishly “in sickness & in health for rich and for poor]· But our culture challenges the third…Reproduction of the Human Race, marriage is not just for Disney romance & friendship – marriage is to form a growing family unit. 28And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth …” TO Adam & Eve, to Noah as well. We can both say this is good…· …While recognizing we live in a fallen world and biblical stories such as Abraham and Sarah, Rachel, Hannah, and others shows the Lord still loves & cares for us when the fall impacts us here.· And yet Mal. 2:15 says marriage is for Godly offspring, both physical descendants, and by God’s grace, in the church as a covenant community, we have spiritual offspring, extended family. The passing on of the faith ordinarily happens through Mothers & Fathers raising their children in the covenant community, where we have spiritual Mothers & Fathers.· Last Marriage is for the Promotion of Purity– Christians have a very high view of the goodness of marriage and a sober view of the body & heart temptations of singleness for most people.· But Some are gifted in this area for greater labor to the Lord with a lifelong calling to singleness. Some only a season of singleness.One additional reason for marriage is relational safety· Marriage is like a fence, that when leapt over or removed, makes men, women, and children more vulnerable in their homes and society.· Do not leap the fence and ignore biblical wisdom, the warning signs, when you don’t know why they are there. A Christian society knows marriage protects men, women, and children from the effects of the fall.· And has greatly promoted women’s and children’s safety compared to pagan societies and our post-sexual revolution society.· With Marriage defined and these goals stated, we can more easily see how sinful choices distort marriage.I am going to use the word “disordered” to mean NOT “according to God’s good creational design and order” against God’s designs and goals for marriage.1) First, a Disordered Time – that is 1 man and 1 woman, but prior to public oaths of commitment and fidelity, without the necessary safeguards for the husband and wife and the possibly resulting children.a. It is unwise, not how God intended us to create a new home or household because it is without the vows that would guard that new home, that new family unit.b. God’s design is for a new couple, a new home, and a new family to all follow after the security of the marriage covenant, after these vows have been taken in the presence of the community.c. We’ll hear those vows later2) Second, A Disordered Number – such as in polygamy, simply does not match Genesis or Jesus’ statements for God’s design.3) Third, A Disordered Samenessa. That is failure to find a God-designed complementary pair, male and femaleb. This unnaturally rejects the possibility of being fruitful and multiplying, of being a fit helper, rejects God’s good design, and is inherently physically harmful.4) Fourth, a disordered faitha. The bible is quite clear that believers should only marry in the Lord, 1 Cor. 7:39, and 2 Cor. 6:14 Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers for what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness or what fellowship has light with darkness….Romance can exist with an unbeliever…But living, walking, and raising children for 30 years in a healthy community is destroyed by mismatched marriages…b. Do not sacrifice for the sake of infatuation, a crush, a cute boy or girl, 30 years of a partner who will walk with you through joy and hardship, with the help of Jesus, Holy Spirit, and the Church community. Marriage is hard enough—Marry a churchman or churchwoman. Christ’s bride is the church, your spouse should love Christ’s bride.Let us with Jesus and the entire witness of scripture commit ourselves to God’s good creational design that “marriage is a lifelong, exclusive, publicly recognized, and [intimate] bond between a man and a woman.” And. As a society resist any departure whether small or large, from this design.Let us do this knowing that God can redeem our lives and situations when are relationships are broken and fallen. That is the promise of the gospel.Remember Rev. 19, ultimately, marriage points to our savior Jesus who came for his bride the church, while we were enemies trapped in sin and darkness, the church is redeemed by Christ not…in a beautiful white dress….but tattered garments, that he exchanges for his righteous garments “he lays down his life for his bride the church” and clothes her, makes her holy, and brings her to a heavenly Home.#3 Marriage, Divorce, and the Westminster ConfessionThe bible and our confession upholds a high view of the sacredness of marriage.You’ll notice we have already covered paragraphs 1-3, paragraph 5 was for a day when breaking off an engagement was a more serious, even legal matter…And further gives permission for remarriage of the innocent party if there are biblical grounds for divorce which paragraph 6 defines as: adultery or willful desertion quote, “as can no way be remedied by the church, or civil magistrate, is cause sufficient of dissolving the bond of marriage: wherein, a public and orderly course of proceeding is to be observed; and the persons concerned in it not left to their own wills, and discretion, in their own case.”Why? The beginning of paragraph 6 warns that we are good at coming up with excuses. Especially in a no-fault divorce society.· There are many caveats that can be made here, if you are ever in danger, in physical danger the police and the officers of the church are meant to be protectors of the abused.· In non-abusive situations, but still struggling marriages counseling, and attempts to restore the health of a marriage need to be pursued…· And the church is what? A place of shame for past failures? No! The place of sewing on the scarlet A, scarlet D. By No Means! The Church is a hospital for sinners.There may be earthly consequences there may be ramifications for our past. But for those who name their sins, repent of their sins, there is restoration and freedom from the power of guilt and shame.Revelation 19:6 again, says “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. [7] Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure”— for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.No matter our past, we know our future!…These things being true, we should cherish, guard, and apply every form of biblical wisdom, to guard, support, and sustain healthy marriages in our churches. But we are in need of Christ to do this.One way for this is quite simply for marriage to be celebrated as a wondrous and beautiful thing for our families and us. [rejecting poor statistics…]So we are going to remember….Together by seeing the beauty of the traditional protestant church wedding ceremony.So This Is my abbreviated wedding ceremony.#4 Marriage Displayed Richly in Protestant WeddingsIn a traditional confessional protestant wedding after the guests have arrived, we frame it with prayer, we call upon witnesses, we ask about the intention of the couple, we are instructed by scripture, the couple is charged with what they are doing, and vows are exchanged… Here is an abbreviated version of a wedding service…it teaches so much about marriage…no volunteers from the congregation to pretend to be the couple getting married….Unless we are doing a spontaneous wedding this morning?Weddings are done in the presence of God it is why gathering in the church is so good, we thank God as our Heavenly Father our creator who is the most holy, most wise architect of the universe and indeed of holy matrimony, we ask him in Christ’s name as a Christian wedding to bless of our worship and the covenant vows made before witnesses.Christian weddings are between believers; they are trinitarian in their prayer.The Purpose should be clear to all the witnesses, not just “guests” “witnesses”: Dearly beloved, we are assembled here in the presence of God, to join this man and this woman in holy marriage, which is instituted of God, regulated by His commandments, blessed by our Lord Jesus Christ, and to be held in honor among all men. Let us therefore reverently remember that God has established and sanctified marriage for the welfare and happiness of mankind… these vows ultimately are made here today in the sight of our creator God, who instituted marriage from the very beginning.Our Saviour has declared that a man shall forsake his father and mother and cleave unto his wife. By his apostles, He has instructed those who enter into this relation to cherish a mutual esteem and love; to bear with each other’s infirmities and weaknesses; to comfort each other in sickness, trouble, and sorrow; in honesty and industry to provide for each other and for their household in temporal things; to pray for and encourage each other in the things which pertain to God; and to live together as heirs of the grace of life.[Weddings next have a question of intention] The question of intent before we get to vows we need to be clear what we are doing. Do you understand To be married is to live with her after God’s commandments in the holy estate of marriage? And do you promise to love her, honour and cherish her, so long as you both shall live?The same asked of the bride but to love, cherish, and obey him, so long as you both shall live?Traditionally there is The Giving Away of the Bride.Who gives this woman to be married to this man?(generally “her mother and I”) …This is fitting, and appropriate to the family order, even if there are exceptions certainly.We won’t redo all of 1 Peter’s teaching on Husbands and Wives, but I recommend the two books one on dating and one on marriage in the table in the back for just wisdom and advice for how to date and do marriage well. With clear expectations.Next there is a wedding homily. This can be on many texts but very fitting is Ephesians 5, the section that tells us the picture of Husbands in marriage that corresponds to the Church…Here is part of what I say…skipping the wives part. You have Eph. 5 in your bulletin…Ephesians 5:22-33. is God’s universal and for all ages beautiful explanation of husbands and wives duties to each other and how it fulfills marriage as created, overcomes marriage as fallen, and gets us to a restored and consummated picture of Christ and the Church in Revelation 19.Eph. 5:22-3325 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for herAnd verse 32 This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. 33 However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.Husbands, you are called to Love your beloved, as Christ loved the Church. How? By giving himself up for her. This is not merely Hollywood romantic love, this is Biblical, Resolute love that seeks her good. That is, it is an unconditional love.This means, As you wake up each day, your decision to love has already been steadfastly fixed and declared in your marriage vows, and they ought to be daily renewed in acts of love that flow from a steadfast foundation of freely- entered commitments. How wonderful that your love given in marriage is NOT conditioned on performance. Instead, Christ’s love for his bride the Church is freely given and shown in dying for you – dying for you when you were a spiritually impoverished, poor, and needy sinner. Therefore their will never be a day when Christ decides that you are no longer worthy of his love.i. …And I unpack that some more…Further, This is the mystery that marriage signified from creation itself: Husbands leave and forsake all and are physically united and given only to their bride, even as Christ spiritually unites us to himself and to none other.May it be said that the different households and extended families of our church are a refuge of life & love in this world….I do have instructions for the bride….But I close with these words for the witnesses of a wedding– in verse 32 Paul says he speaks concerning Christ and the church2. Attending a wedding Witnessing s marriage is a wonderful reminder of what Christ has done for his bride, the Church:3. He left heaven on a mission to a people dead in sin, enslaved in the kingdom of darkness. – And apart from faith in Jesus – That is, all of us.4. But while each of us was unlovely, unlovable, enemies, in love with sin and darkness, He died in order to redeem us.5. He brought us into the family of God and made us clean in Him, we have a seat reserved for us the great wedding feast of the Lamb where God’s people as a whole are the bride and Christ the Husband.6. Praise God that every marriage is a reflection of the gospel’s good news; Even if that image is held up for us in fallen and fallible human beings. That is why weddings are fittingly a worship service. While we rejoice with the bride and groom for their marriage, we rejoice most of all that their marriage gets to reflect, in small shadow, – Christ and the Church.And the very wedding vows we take the traditional ones, not the modern ones whose promises don’t follow the meaning and weight of marriage.these vows fit the definition and gravity of marriage. Vows that last through the storms and doldrums of life.Here is what I say as we approach the Exchange of Marriage Vows.Marriage is a covenant, and thus it involves public vows, promises before God and these witnesses. Vows are not to be entered into lightly, but with gravity and dependence on the Lord in the fulfillment of them.The Husband promises: I, take you, my beloved // to be my wedded wife // and I do promise and covenant // before God and these witnesses // to be your loving and faithful husband // for rich or for poor // in sickness and in health // in plenty and in want // in joy and in sorrow // as long as we both shall live.And the bride exchanges the same vow,Because the vows are before God we go straight to God in prayer asking for his blessing upon the marriage.It is fitting that a minister of the gospel pronounces the marriage…the new husband and wife are publicly pronounced that is definitely and distinctly and publicly marked out. And before all it is declared: “Whom, therefore, God hath joined together, let no man put asunder.”And they are presented as a new family unit. And even some of the silly things like the kiss are not so silly, as it is a token of God’s blessing of the goodness of the joys of marriage a celebration of it. As the husband is invited to kiss his bride,And that brings us back to what all this represents, the bride and bridegroom at their the wedding party, the wedding feast….Which our closing hymn speaks ofThe church’s one foundation is Jesus Christ, her Lord; she is his new creation by water and the Word: from heav’n he came and sought her to be his holy bride; with his own blood he bought her, and for her life he died.PrayerBenediction This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jamesensley.substack.com

Recap: Temptations were a defeat of Satan,So continues to proclaim, gather, and demonstrate his authority and power..Today: Jesus demonstrates his authoritative teaching and we see the first example of his defeat of spiritual forces publicly, having conquered Satan in his temptations as victorious in the way that Israel never was he now demonstrates it to the people.Read Mark 1:21-28 And they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath he entered the synagogue and was teaching. [22] And they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes. [23] And immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit. And he cried out, [24] “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God.” [25] But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” [26] And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying out with a loud voice, came out of him. [27] And they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.” [28] And at once his fame spread everywhere throughout all the surrounding region of Galilee. (ESV)Prayer of IlluminationA. As we move into the main body more and more of Mark, let’s pause and remember an important reading principle.One things to do is ask, are there repeat key words helping me see the main idea? In OT Hebrew narrative and in the gospels you do get new sections signalled with a who, what , and when. (your bibles do most the heavy lifting with paragraphing and paragraph titles. If you took all that out you would use new pleace, time marker, and whosecond you get Repeat words: What did you notice as we read: probably the word Immediately (this is action-packed and signals that this all fits together. Because Mark uses Action to teach not so many words you need to compare what comes before and what comes after, which we said were temptations, the summary first teaching ‘preaching the gospel, and the call FOLLOW me, leave all behind the authoritative call.” AND then IMMEDIATELY next, Mark expands on that this week with these key words: authority/command, teaching/taught, unclean, unclean, unclean; Unclean spiritual opposition, and you get a couple contrasts: silence vs. loud voice.You get Jesus’ first opposition which will happen repeatedly: Jesus vs. the Scribes. He is NOT like them but how?So we start to see Jesus’ Teachings + Power over evil, against the unclean, is more powerful and effective than the Scribes (and eventually the Pharisees). Whereas one has external ceremonialism, Jesus is directly authoritative and able to make holy and clean what the flesh, the law, and the land of Israel, the temple has been unable to truly do.#1 Christ is our Authoritative Teacher vv. 21-22#2 The Unclean Challenge to the Word vv. 23-26#3 Be Astonished at your Freedom! Vv. 27-28First, (v.21-22– Christ is our authoritative, Sovereign Teacher (Prophet, T – truth); Not derivative, This authority to teach will slowly extend to show the authority to forgive sins…21 And they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath he entered the synagogue and was teaching. [22] And they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes.B. Jesus is on the northwest shore of the sea of galilee in the north of Israel. Remember that as we move all around the sea of galilee up on to mountain tops around the sea.C. Mark keeps things moving “they” “immediately” …temptation, proclaim the gospel, gather four disciples, they go into Capernaum in the north by the sea of Galilee.a. When? On the Sabbath day, Saturday into a Synagogue and Jesus was teaching.i. There would have been the singing of psalms, various prayers, and depending on who you ask two to three lengthy scripture readings and Jesus gets up and begins to teach on Isaiah, or Ezekiel….ii. So first, there is a normal Synagogue service that in many ways Jesus blesses (and protestants emulate mores so than the temple), Paul & Peter do as they continue to participate in synagogue worship well into the book of Acts….But then things get different. Verse 22: they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes.D. This is Authoritative teaching vs. man-made Traditiona. We encounter this contrast in the sermon on the mount “you have heard it said” you have your collection of rabbinical quotes and you don’t ever speak or take a stance for yourself you appeal to secondary human authority [my “quote heavy papers].b. Jesus is Different: Truly truly, I Jesus Christ the Son of God, the word may Flesh “say unto you.” - ever notice this…He is a prophet who does say all the time “thus sayeth the Lord” quiet often simply truly, truly I say unto you…that is what his listeners are starting to notice…c. Jesus both in who he is as the Son of God and Jesus anointed as messiah in the flesh indwelt by the Holy Spirit speaks differently.i. It is like this the Synagogue was like a Spiritual hospital that had lost its to be anachronistic, belief in “sola scriptura.”ii. I think they simultaneously saw Jesus’ mastery of scripture, his proclamation of the word as a good prophet does…But then the hints past it this teacher is himself the Word of God. HE speaks of the kingdom, or repentance & faith, HE gives the assurances of the promises of God because he speaks on behalf of God.iii. [In God’s providence this was today,] Q. 24. How doth Christ execute the office of a prophet? A. Christ executes the office of a prophet, in revealing to us, by his word and Spirit, the will of God for our salvation.1. He is not speculating, he is not quoting as the scribes do theories, he speaks and it is true.iv. If this man says – though you are a sinner, you are forgiven, then it is true.v. If this man says God is like the Father in the prodigal son, it is true.vi. When Jesus says from Isaiah 61:1-3, The Messiah is anointed “to bring good news to the poor... to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives... to comfort all who mourn; to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit.”vii. It. Is. True.Imagine the opposite what this synagogue had been sitting under for so long…d. [Illustration] If you go to the hospital and the doctor says, well I took some x-rays and I looked it up and one doctor says it may be severe cancer, another doctor says, its benign and don’t bother them with any more tests, another says that X-rays themselves are unreliable…And I sent a picture of it to a buddy who reads x-rays well he’s not a doctor, but he says we should start treatment….i. That is not an assuring and authoritative doctor.ii. I enjoy quoting, John Calvin, Matthew Henry, and people like J.C. Ryle. Douglad O’Donnell for this series, But I hope that what I’m really quoting is them when they particularly capture the strength, vitality, and authority of the WORD of God and Christ himself FOR US….Not the dead letter and certainly not they themselves as the source of wisdom…iii. We need the certainty of the word of God when comes to matters of life and death; right and wrong; paradise & hell; knowing God as our Father and our spiritual joys and benefits, our assurance as his people…iv. We mustn’t depend on quoting spiritual gurus, but the very words of God are sufficient, authoritative, and clear for life & godliness…Jesus had that and what is more Jesus IS that. [Pause………..]The content of Jesus’ teaching was already summarized for us in verses 14-15: Jesus said, 1) the Kingdom of God IS here, 2) you must repent & believe in me, and (for his disciples he is going to increasingly say, 3) I AM going to the cross to deal with sin so you may be forgiven sons and daughters of God. That is the plan, Follow me.E. The second problem, Israel is in spiritual trouble. The land of Israel under covenant blessings is supposed to be the holy dwelling place of God, God dwells in the Holy temple; he lives with his Holy & ritually clean people.F. Question –Are unclean things, particularly wicked demons, supposed to be able to walk into a Holy Service in Israel?a. And if they do, is their spiritual authority to deal with the problem when they do?Transition: Jesus teaching disturbs the people, shakes them from spiritual apathy, and what is more his presence provokes Satan to—like goliath shout at the Israelites; Jesus is now being called out by Satan’s forces—look in v.23-26#2 (v.23-26) The Unclean Challenge to the WordVerse 23, IMMEDIATELY: Key word, right remember this keeps the action going, and it also means “immediately after we have learned and been impressed with the authority of Jesus’ teaching, his word, his voice….G. Immediately, there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit. And he cried out, [another voice].· [Tell the story of being called out “say my name one more time and I’ll punch you---unpleasantries---your face.]o Well, I froze for a second, my pastor said…Keep reading…And by the power of former SWAT officer deacons the conversation was moved to the Lobby and the Police…How that story ends is for another day.· Well, it was awkward, everyone froze, there were tears…· Why? In the midst of worship—an unclean man has cried out in challenge …—verse 24—“What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God.”· Note, This is a man. Likely an Israelite.o He is unclean because he is possessed by an unclean spirit, a demono Consider this the opposite of the Holy Spirit….consider this the opposite of the symbolism of baptism which represents what? Cleansing? Cleansing from sin and placing the Holy Name of God on his people.§ Every Israelite ought to be Holy & Clean, bearing the name of YHWH on them as a covenant people who have the word of God.§ Psalm 19:8–9 Say, the precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes; [9] the fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the LORD are true, and righteous altogether. (ESV)§ And yet here is someone influenced not by the Spirit of God and the Word of God, but the throne of his heart is captive by an impure Spirit.o Jesus’ words provokes this man, provokes the unclean spirit IN a way the scribes and pharisees hadn’t but they ought to have…§ Some interpreters even take the man to at least feel HE is speaking for the congregation. The synagogue. Everyone is “astonished” by Jesus’ authoritative call to repent, to believe, and the need for cleansing. And so this main whose heart is dominated by darkness and uncleanness cries out the challenge§ Look in your bible at verse 24, You have come to destroy me—No—US us who? All the synagogue? Or Satan and his demons?· Jesus is most certainly dangerous to Evil, to spiritual darkness frequently causes discomfort in people trapped in their sin & shame…· And also yes, Jesus is a discomforting challenge to all those around this man. Who marched into the synagogue? Or who had been allowed to be there the whole time, undisturbed until Jesus was threatening a complete defeat of sin, darkness, and and everything unclean…A. This man needs Jesus. He needs the Spirit of God to expel the unclean spirit, by the pure Word of God spoken by Christ to Him. Verse 24 saying, I know who you are—the Holy One of God.” The divine Son of God.B. The demons have a superior knowledge in the gospels. Jesus is the Holy one of God, and later in mark, the Son of God, and the Son of the Most High God….C. The demon knew this, there is no redemption for him only a challenge that is FEARFUL. “Have you come to destroy me.”D. A couple things herea. First the demon cannot be redeemed…But the man can he is a Man with an unclean Spirit and for this man…b. It is not enough for him to merely Know WHO Jesus is, he knew who Jesus was….c. It is not enough for him to understand that he was unclean…We feel our uncleanness all the time, we feel our sin and misery, even as believers, we so often feel our sin. We are sorrowful for it…· The bad news is necessary but it is not enough…· Every week in our service we try to include both a reading of the law, or provide a scriptural confession of sin, or a prayer that confesses sin…But that is insufficient if you think it is the scripture or part of the service where we just feel bad and guilty for sin…· We must remember WHO we are confessing to Our Father in Heaven, In the name of Christ Jesus…· We confess knowing we have an assurance of Pardon. That is the good news the authoritative word of Jesus – forgiven – cleansed – justified.David in Psalm 51 says, Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spiritwithin me….Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.How will a heart be made clean, by Christ1 John 1:7, the blood of Jesus, cleanses us from all sin. (ESV)This man is unclean in his heart…Before Jesus heals any physical ailments, any disease, he first establishes that he has the power to deal with the Spiritual, the heart, because he is Divine.And Jesus rebukes the man for crying out, and tells the Spirit to come out! Look in verse 25E. Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” [26] And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying out with a loud voice, came out of him.Jesus commands, and it is done.· But note the Fear, have you come to destroy me?· To understand this let us remember our spiritual rock paper, scissors the OT ceremonial law teaches about clean vs. unclean, holy vs. profane.· The old testament rituals and laws were meant to make a spiritual reality visible. Physical reminders of spiritual realities.Gordon Wenham in his book on Leviticus summarizes helpfully what is going on with this Unclean Spriit encountering the Holy one of Israel with the cry are you going to destroy me. Now? Pulled from Keith Mathison’s article on Ligonier Ministries[1]“The terms “holy,” “clean,” “unclean,” and related words are very common throughout the book. He provides a very helpful summary of the meaning and relationship between these terms in Leviticus:Everything that is not holy is common. Common things divide into two groups, the clean and the unclean. Clean things become holy, when they are sanctified. But unclean objects cannot be sanctified. Clean things can be made unclean, if they are polluted. Finally, holy items may be defiled and become common, even polluted, and therefore unclean. . . . cleanness is a state intermediate between holiness and uncleanness. Cleanness is the normal condition of most things and persons. Sanctification can elevate the clean into the holy, while pollution degrades the clean into the unclean. The unclean and the holy are two states which must never come in contact with each other (pp. 19-20).”· This is an unclean (an evil spirit) what happens? Would Christ be made unclean and profane by contact with him?· Maybe if he was simply a human priest who was made ceremonially clean, ceremonially holy by the blood of some animals….· But Jesus is not ceremonially clean he is in his ESSENCE, his BEING the thrice Holy God, impeccable, unable to sin, unable to be defiled, he already went three rounds with Satan in the wilderness and defeated him.· He already as a HOLY Lord, identified himself as the clean and Holy Priest in the waters of baptism, and he announces the Kingdom of God is here, and the FIRE of the Holy Spirit will be poured out in his people.Do you believe this is your relationship to sin?Satan flees before Christ? He 1 Peter sees he flees before you when you resist him with the authoritative promises of God. Forgiven. Cleansed. Holy.· Do you view yourself as merely ceremonially and performatively clean, like its all an act…· If you think you are merely ceremonially (religiously) clean… You have to stay clean, apart from a Holy Savior you will always live in fear that you will become polluted and unworthy….· But are you merely ceremonially clean? OR are you both Objectively Sanctified, “Holified”- and being sanctified, being increasingly holified by the Holy Spirit himself poured out by Christ the Holy one of God…. In which case, you are holy, you have the righteousness of Christ, the believer shall not live in fear of the unclean and profane, nor be afraid to approach our Holy God.· We are summoned every week into the holy presence of God as those who are united to Christ, who has conquered death, defilement, and unclean, wicked, spiritual darkness for you.· The coming kingdom of God is being inaugurated by the Holy Priest, the Prophet who speaks authoritatively, and Christ will on the other side of the Cross receive his crown and having crushed sin and death sin.· And now it is simply by a WORD by the WORD of our savior that He defeats this demon, it is loud & decisive.Christ has defeated Evil and as the Holy Anointed Messiah – he can by his speech make Clean & Holy what is Unclean & Unholy, profane. – He declares clean by an “authoritive word” “come out”Let us close with this question: How will you respond to Jesus?Verse 27 And they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.” [28] And at once his fame spread everywhere throughout all the surrounding region of Galilee. (ESV)Briefly #3 (v. 27-28) How do we respond?Are you astonished with Christ? [It’s hard sometimes because we are so familiar.]· Do you still hear the word as authoritative, living & active?· Do you believe there is a spiritual reality, true spiritual light, and true spiritual darkness. That you are children of the day, and that Satan truly does desire to trap people in the bondage of sin and darkness?o We can recognize that Jesus’ life probably represented a “surge” of satan’s activity…See the screwtape letters for the fact that Satan is perfectly willing to sit back and let materialism and human sin do the job for him.o Its not that everything must be blamed on Demons. There is your own sinful flesh, “the devil made me do it” cannot be an excuse…But certainly we must affirm all three options: This fallen world, our sinfulness, and Satan’s activity· Do you must have a savior who is good, true, beautiful and HOLY able to cleanse and forgive you?· Do you believe Jesus has conquered evil, sin, and death? That he has in fact in a very real way “destroyed satan” “bound satan”o This should lead you to pray for those people most hopeless and seemingly out of reach of salvation. Even if you feel that person is you this morning.· Do you believe you are not just forgiven, but unashamed, clean, and Holy…o We are no longer named by being unclean, we are no longer under the guilt & power of sin, we are no longer named but it…the lepers, the ritually unclean in the OT had to cry out “unclean, unclean” and bear that mark…But not us, we are Sons & Daughters of Christo 1 Corinthians 6:11 says, you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.· This is where we live in the tension: We are objectively clean, Holy, and forgiven in Christ….yet this side of heaven we are still waging war against sin, the flesh, and the devil, increasingly putting sin to death and putting on the mind of Christ, being renewed after the image of Christ.Let us close with this great hope as we leave Mark’s gospel with the fame of Christ spreading everywhere…His day is over…J.C. Ryle says, “Let us not only know Christ but love him, from a sense of actual benefit received from him. Let us not only believe that he is the Son of God and the Saviour of the world, but rejoice in him, and cleave to him with purpose of heart…the blessed Saviour not only gives mercy and forgiveness—he gives renewing grace besides…He cleanses [us] by his Spirit, when he washed them in his precious blood.”PrayerBenediction[1] https://learn.ligonier.org/articles/the-book-of-leviticus This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jamesensley.substack.com

Recap: Tell me if this sounds familiar…1 Cor. 101 Corinthians 10:1–5 [1] For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, [2] and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, [3] and all ate the same spiritual food, [4] and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ. [5] Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness.Israel was baptized in the red sea and immediately were in the wilderness…Where they received manna (bread), depended on the word of God, and encountered spiritual training to resist, grumbling against God, against the authority of God’s word & Moses as God’s mediator…They then go to Mount Sinai to receive the 10 Commandments the moral law of God to show them how to live as God’s people, how a redeemed people are to live, ultimately this needed to be written on their hearts…Rescue from Sin & Death, Baptism through the red sea, trials & temptations in the wilderness, and a call to live as righteous lives as a kingdom of priests who follow & Worship God…. Israel however, with bellies full of God’s gracious provision, fails over and over again…What about our savior?READ: Mark 1:12-20Prayer of Illumination#1 Jesus overcomes the Trials (12-13)#2 The Gospel Preached is Primary (14-15)#3 Leave all behind & Follow Jesus (16-20)#1 Jesus overcomes the trials…temptations on our behalf.#1 [12] The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. [13] And he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. And he was with the wild animals, and the angels were ministering to him.a. Temptations as Sufferings/humility & Theological significance of his temptations is that he is doing it as our representative true Adam & true Israel. He is like the two generals saying, instead our armies clashing, let us do 1v1 combat to decide the battle.b. See my sermon for his use of SCRIPTURE against Satan.c. And here for Jesus’ triumph over all that satan could throw at him.d. Notice how brief it is compared to Matthew? So I will be brief compared to matthew.e. Spirit – Peace with God Douglas O’Donnell leads to a “shove” from the Spirit. God initiates this wilderness testing as he did with Israel & permitted with Adam & Eve.f. Two Events in the bible should come to minda. Adam & Evei. Result? Failureb. Israel & Wilderness wanderingsi. 40 Days. 40 years? But Failure.g. Tempted by Satan – answered in humility, WORD dependenth. The Wild Animals (Garden or Beasts of the Wild) & Angels (we wrestle not against flesh & blood but against spiritual forces.).Conclusion: Christ has overcome! so take comfort, when Satan accuses and tempts you, assailing your trust & reliance on your Faither Know that you have a Savior not like Adam. He fell not like Israel that grumble wilderness, but who stood fast, strong, courageous, abiding by every word that is written as he himself is the word so take heart Christ has sent his Spirit. Christ has overcome for you, and he is calling us as one who has conquered Satan, sin, and death to follow him as he preaches his first sermon, which is a call to repent and believe in him, and so enter into the kingdom of God.#2 The Gospel says, Repent & Believe (14-15)#2 [14] Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, [15] and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”a. John’s Preparation ministry is done. John is arrested, there he will die…Jesus starts not with John parading him around to the crowds to give him a ministry boost, but with 40 days of wilderness, and soon after John is arrested and leading to death…a. The time is fulfilled in the fullness of time God sent forth his son….born of woman made under the law….Retracing the humble spiritual steps of Israel in our place.b. So how should he start his ministry, Somewhere that doesn’t even appear on Google maps, Galilee, A humble beginnings that slowly marches and spirals into Jerusalem and the cross with every passing year.b. Jesus begins a – proclaiming ministry – the gospel is a declaration of Good news that God kingdom has arrived in Christ Jesus. As we work through the gospel of Mark, we will see that it is a proclamation of good news of what Jesus would do in his life, death, resurrection, and in his ascension to heaven pour out the Spirit on the church.a. This helps us because it clarifies what Jesus was about, his miracles were proof of his identity, his healings were compassionate, driven by love, but ultimately they are designed to show EXTERNAL power and healing that reveals the ultimate INTERNAL need for forgiveness of sin, the need to repent and believe the good news of Jesus as our savior.(1) OC externalized the reality of sin so we could “see it” It is a PICTURE book for children…NC is simplerb. So the good news proclaimed is primary, it is central, it is what we do week in and week out we point to Jesus.c. And we point to full forgiveness of sins….the joy of life and freedom and forgiveness in Jesus. Did you stumble and fell this week? Are you aware of your sin and your need? Remember, if you are looking to Jesus, you are a member of the Kingdom of Jesus – your king has forgiven you because he is the lamb slain, the priest sprinkling cleansing blood on your heart, your conscience, and life, if you have repented and believed the good news of Jesus you are free from the guilt, shame, penalty, and power of sin. Look away from that sin and look to Christ.d. V. 15 again, Repent & Trust –(1) The gospel is not about 5 steps to a better life. It is about a savior who forgives sinners all of their sins, declares us just is if a never sinned before the Lord, and transformed to daily put off the old self on put on the new.(2) Remember the Pharisee & the Tax Collector, God have mercy on me a sinner.(3) The Christian life is one of daily repentance, and renewal in Christ. [PAUSE](4) Who can belong to the kingdom of God? A Certain language, people, kind of person. No EVERYONE from every tribe tongue & nation who bows the knee, I am lost, I am perishing. Save me.e. Remembering that Jesus always keeps proclamation central, “repent & believe is central” what errors does this help us reject???(1) The error that the gospel is activism1. Do not confuse the many good things produced by Jesus, as “The gospel” instead remember it may be the fruit of the gospel or sanctification. OR it may be an error. Be careful if someone call something a “gospel issue” you are allowed to ask, Is it though?(2) The gospel is primarily about miracles & healings, displays of power.1. Signs the spirit always pointed to Christ and what he was going to do. [Road Signs are not the destination](3) Jesus is about doing, not dogmatics1. No every word “man shall not live by bread alone but by every word which proceeds from the mouth of God.2. Jesus lived by the Word, the Truth, the teaching & doctrine of every word of the Father entrusted to him3. His miracles authenticate his compassion for lost and dying sinners but the solution is the gospel. They are the seal of his Prophetic Preaching.[transition] Now What Jesus begins to do is gather the 12 followers who will accompany him for the next 3yrs.#3 We leave all behind and Follow Jesus. (16-20) (This is the main point).[16] Passing alongside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. [17] And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” [18] And immediately they left their nets and followed him. [19] And going on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee [my namesake] and John, his brother, who were in their boat mending the nets. [20] And immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and followed him.Some Thoughts on Following JesusA. The Disciples in the gospel of Marko The Story§ Along the sea of galilee two brothers are fishing, Simon-Peter & Andrew…The less famous brother.· [Flesh out the humanity of them. Fisherman. Sons. Multi-generational homes. Mending nets. Devout]§ Is this the all-star CEO board? They’ll get dinged over and over again as Galileens, ruffians, uneducated, unqualified, but every country in the empire all the way to India credits the 12 apostles with bringing the gospel to them…§ Jesus could just as well has called shepherds, or carpenters, or any number of ordinary men.B. Jesus Speaks – “Follow, me and I will make you fishers of men.”o What does it mean to follow Jesus?o What does it mean to become fishers of men? [take in reverse order]§ Snatching out of the waters, dragging out from the nets of their preaching, rescued from perishing, saving from judgement waters. A complete change of life and location. Being born again. From Darkness to light.§ They did not become TED talkers or life coaches. They swept people from dead spiritual lives, to follow Jesus as they did.o What was their response?o IMMEDIATELY. IMMEDIATELY.§ [Authoritative Call] No fence sitting with Jesus.§ What did the for men immediately leave in order to follow: The four men Left: Jobs, Family, and Left Community.[repeat[oo When Jesus calls priorities changeC. What can we learn about discipleship for ourselves?o You follow Jesus [Jesus is your Savior & God]. He issues a sovereign and kingly call to follow. Follow. Believe. Trust.o If you are trusting in Jesus, what would you do if your family members stopped following Jesus? Stopped worshipping?§ They declared to you a drastic and unbiblical change in morality?§ They pressed you with a job that you know would hinder your relationship with Jesus, your ability to worship and fellowship with God’s people?D. Now I think there aren’t really any hints here that the disciples families are upset at them for following who may be the Messiah….We do,however, hear how Jesus’ family at one point try to bring him back home, to hit pause on his whole ministry… Not because they have left the faith, but they just don’t understand what Jesus is doing.E. The bible is pro family, the commandment to honor your father & mother remains…But v. 16-20 shows that if Man’s Chief End is to glorify & Enjoy God, then when the incarnate son of God says, arise, take up your cross and follow me, then your chief your primary, your highest calling, is to die to self be willing to leave all behind and follow him, to worship him, to learn from him above the world.o Jesus will become their teacher over the next three years.§ The Word of God’s Word his teaching, Over the World and its wisdom.§ [Trump Cards, in card games.]o They are now, disciples, followers…What difficulties do they and we encounter if we stand by Jesus & every word of the bible?o DO you think the disciples were tempted to when the scribes, the pharisees were questioning and attacking Jesus to say, well, well, well…Jesus says, the bible says, this, but the pharisees….they did a study and actually did God really say?…§ Think of that Jesus is going to face opposition…there is a turning point of the disciples dedication ‘you are the Christ in Chapter 8’ …But Jesus was opposed by Religious & Civil authorities during this time…· Should the disciples listen to Jesus? Or should they listen the religious & civil authorities of their day? We are raised to mistrust the pharisees but they were influential they were Hollywood, the New York Times, Harvard, and the Cultural authority of their day.· Jesus or the entire society I grew up in?· Jesus or being cancelled? Jesus or being called not a real Patriot if Twitter is having a weird day…o So when other voices say, follow ME not Jesus.§ We are bound by the voice of Jesus, the voice of Jesus for you is by the Spirit working in his word—Jesus is our shepherd--Follow---and know a disciple follows the whole teaching & counsel of their teacher….In this case Jesus is the Word made flesh he has ultimate calling authority.· To pick and choose some philosophy, morality, or spirituality combined with Jesus is to make a new God. Is Jesus God or not? He is either your chief end or an idol? There is not acceptable in between. That is why jesus immediately teaches us we must be willing to leave job, family, and community for him. [pause].§ So note anytime someone seeks to—stop or shame you for--you being a disciple of Jesus.§ And this can be done a sneaky way, many seek to carve up Jesus’ teaching into “red letter Christianity” they isolate Jesus from the rest of scripture, they twist part of Jesus’ words against himself.o No, the disciples as well as we are bound to not just the Sermon on the Mount, not just Jesus’ summarizing teachings throughout the gospels but to his view of scripture – “it is written” man shall not live by bread alone but by every word of God.§ We follow Jesus as he speaks to us from Genesis to Revelation.§ We follow his teaching in every single facet of our life. Discipleship is not just a narrow Sunday morning thing…they left behind jobs, family, community, and sat at the feet of their savior.o Remember the temptations and Jesus’ view of scripture? We allow the word of God to shape us, our loves, our habits, our beliefs, our priorities for our marriages, families, work, human sexuality according to God’s good creation & nature, God’s word demands our generosity, time, our tongues to be wise, the very words & language we use, God’s word decides the people we forgive not your emotions or therapist…F. Jesus decides, The enemies we pray for, turning the other cheek,G. Not just the examples of Jesus that match the vibes and virtue of the dayH. But the whole word of God, the teachings of Jesus that will get your called whatever thought terminating insult of the day is out there.o You, if you are trusting Jesus, for forgiveness of sins, for new life, if you have died to self then you cannot in fear cling to your life’s autonomy apart from Christ.You are now attached to the name of Jesus is by faith he is your savior. The world hated Christ you must be willing for it to denigrate and hate you. Here are some of the name these new disciples will hear Jesus and Jesus’ followers called.I. The Pharisees said Jesus had a demon, that he was a drunkard, that he: This was the Pharisees’ direct response to Jesus casting out demons and healing the blind/mute. It dismissed His power as satanic rather than divine. Matthew 9:34J. They called him A drunkard and a glutton friend of tax collectors and sinners) (Matthew 11:19)K. They called him A blasphemer , triggered especially when He forgave sins or claimed divine authority, and showed mercy on the sabbath (moments where Jesus said, “I and the Father are one”).Or Mark 2:7 (“Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”) A deceiver or impostor / one who leads people astray A Samaritan and demon-possessed This is a double whammy A racial slur religious condemnation of “demonic”They failed to interact with hisclaims and his miracles and his authority, they gave the insult. They NEVER contested the miracles or that his teachings were strangely full of authority and power. That he was a Prophet. They refused to deal with the weightiest of matters. Jesus was proclaimed the messiah, the Father’s voice from heaven, the OT prophesies attested to him…But Jesus doesn’t play for partial followers. He acted as the authoritative Son of God who came to save sinners.You cannot be a partial follower of Jesus if you only talk half of him…Arise take up your cross & Follow him!For follower of Jesus, you are baptized into his name, you have the sign of being set apart as holy and clean.You have a savior who suffered temptation, and humiliation in this world broken by sin and misery, you have the holy spirit, the renewing of your mind, the word of God which is living-active and able to discern the thoughts and intentions of your heart. So, you, from a firm foundation, from every holy, inerrant, and inspired word of God must say – I follow the Lord Jesus Christ.…..I dearly hope most your life you will be able to receive from others commendation, praise from unbelieving neighbors for the fruit of the spirit in your life…commendations for being like Jesus—loving and sacrificial, compassionate and humble, merciful and kind, truthful and forgiving. These qualities shape lives that draw others to the Savior. Yet…After his temptations, Satan didn’t have anything nice to say about Jesus….Because of the offense of his authority and for the pharisees the gospel, the offense of pointing out sin, the offense of saying they needed saving.I know naturally in my own flesh, I would love to be able to say, that I have my own life handled, and that nothing anyone else does would ever need an uncomfortable confrontation with truth…Yet What will the fate of these 12 apostles, these disciples be?· First, they will follow Jesus and not get for the longest time who he is.· Second, fleeing from Christ in his greatest moment of suffering in the garden of gethsemane and his trial & crucifixion· Third, Betrayal and apostasy by one of their number· Lastly, Being scared…hiding….But then being comforted. Seeing the resurrected Christ! Their faith restored, leaving all behind once more and going into all the world with…What? The Gospel…verse 14-16 right… 14] Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, [15] and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”· And they received what? Yes, much joy and church families gathered and planted,· But they were beaten, reviled, and killed…· You live in a context where you are not going to be likely killed for your faith…Though in some cities today I’ve started to see people beaten for being identified as a Christian…· Yet our world today, often is quick-fire labels: bigot, phobic, intolerant, backwards, hateful, judgmental, narrow-minded, and oppressive.o Those are thought terminating slogans.§ They do not want you to remember you follow Jesus, a king who loved you and died for you.Remember the words of Polycarp, from the 2nd century facing death & ridicule “Eighty and six years have I served Him, and He has done me no wrong. How can I blaspheme my King and my Savior?”§ The world does not want you to remember that God is a good and wise creator who made us, who cares for us, who reveals in NATURE & his word how we should then live….Because that would mean pausing – and seeing the darkness of this world, the need of a Savior….§ If you currently are not sure you are a disciple of Jesus – I beg you the next time you feel that the world is not the way it is meant to be, when your heart, feels guilt and shame, and you want to throw up a shield of moral relativism, and cling to yourself as the final decider of who you are, who you are meant to follow, your heart, your life, your truth…§ Know, you are not your own savior and God, you have a savior, who created you, made you, who loves broken sinners, while they were his enemy§ Jesus would have you leave your very self-sufficient life self-ruled life behind, it does not work, it all falls apart, you are not GOD, you do not decide what is right, you need to flee the darkness, and follow the light of your savior.§ He is the only one that can free you from yourself.· He can free you from the bondage that satan has you in.· He passed the test he overcame the temptations, he overcame the darkness of this world…Satan lost!· Instead regard Jesus this way,1 Peter 3:15In your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, [16] having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. [17] For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil. (ESV)Will you in your hearts…leave and forsake all and Honor Christ as Holy?· In your heart there is only one throne. Sin must be repented of. The Lord Jesus placed on that throne, and you will have peace with God. You will never fail to have brothers and sisters in Christ,an eternal home, and Christ’s body the church, here on earth.Prayer“Jesus, I my cross have taken, All to leave and follow Thee; Destitute, despised, forsaken, Thou from hence my all shalt be. Perish, every fond ambition, All I’ve sought or hoped or known; Yet how rich is my condition— God and heaven are still my own!”Amen!Benediction This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jamesensley.substack.com

Introduction: [ Acts 17] 1 Thessalonians is written to a young Christian congregation planted by Paul over a short period of time 3 weeks in the local synagogue and then he was driven out of town for the sake of the gospel turning gentiles from Idols and scandalizing the Synogogue. Paul now writes back to this congregation with thankfulness for their growth in the gospel of grace and to answer throughout the body some issues surrounding the second coming of Jesus and the nature of his ministry. This section before us is part of his thanksgiving prayer. Let us now turn out attention to the reading of God’s Holy Word which is given as a gift that we might Know God, our need, and his redemption in Christ.Read: 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10THANKSGIVING IS MY FAVORITE HOLIDAY. Why?A) – It reminds me that every good thing that I have comes as a gift from my Father’s smiling ProvidenceB) – It reminds me that everything I have suffered comes from my Heavenly Father’s frowning Providence.C) – It reminds me to take a day to have the Joy of family, to be thankful for immediate family, for Church family, for the body of ChristD) – Yes it’s the food, but its more.E) Thanksgiving is like new years but better. New years is all about us, what we will do differently, and our resolutions. Thanksgiving is about God, what he HAS been doing IN us and AROUND us.a. So also, in Paul’s prayer today he is taking the time to say how he is THANKFUL for what God has done through his ministry and in the Thessalonians. And it all flows from the WORK of God the Father, of Christ, and the HOLY SPIRIT and this work of God in them is bearing fruitToday we will see #1 The Fruit of the Word (vv. 2-3)#2 The Power behind the Word 4-5a#3 Godly Imitation verses 5b-10.#1, When we see Fruitfulness produced by the Word of God we must remember that It is all Thanks to God that there are things to give thanks to God for.Look with me at verses 2-3, 2 We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers,3 remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus ChristA) Praise God for each and every one of you. That’s what Paul says, praise God for the work he has done through his word, the gospel preached by Paul over just 3 weeks. which has produced fruit and life. Produced a new gathered body of Christ in Thessalonica and churches springing up throughout all of Macedonia.a. All letters, all epistles, have thanksgiving sections in Paul’s day but Paul’s thanksgiving and prayers are always special and never there just to be there. In them, he previews his main themes and rejoices in the salvation he shares in Christ with the dear, beloved saints he writes to.b. Even though he only briefly knew them, he is meeting people and churches founded because of the fruitful gospel witness and community that is lived out in the Thessalonian Church.B) What specifically is Paul praising them for, he is praising: The Fruitful Christian life, the cardinal virtues, as we call them, for Paul throughout his letters are Faith, Hope, and Love.a. But post-reformational protestants can hesitate, balk at the pairing of words like work…labor…steadfastness or endurance with the words Faith, love, and hope.b. But we should not shy away from this but rejoice in the exact way Paul phrases his praise for the Thessalonians. Because they are Justified believers in Jesus who are being Sanctified and bearing, living-active-fruit.c. My thanks to Dr. Benjamin Gladd for how he phrases this. Paul is saying, the believer in union with Christ lives out an Obedience of Faith, that is work produced by faith. A Labor of love or labor prompted by love, and Endurance inspired by Hope.i. This is the opposite of monasticism, or mysticism. Where the Christian life is only an internal, contemplative, disembodied life.ii. Or our own culture where We look within affirming faith in ourselves and our own resourcesiii. No, true Faith hears the word of Christ, believes the word of Christ, entrustsitself to Jesus himself and all that he accomplishes in the gospel and such a faith is a gift that is given along with spiritual life, a new heart, and new energies that produce FRUIT. That produce transformation. Paul is thankful that trusting in Jesus has transformed the Thessalonians.C) It has also given them a Labor of love, that is a labor prompted by lovea. The Christian - rooted in the gospel of Jesus - is Rooted and grounded in the love of Christ. And this love does not remain a mere feeling, no. Love when actively lived out can be a laborious, grueling thing. Christian Love demands much of us because believers in Jesus you have received much.b. We love because he first loved us.c. We Forgive because we’ve been forgiven.d. We Seek and promote others’ good unconditionally because we have had the love of Christ declared to us, and then actively because we love the Lord Jesus, we Love his commands, and we love his will and desires and affections revealed to us in the entire bible.i. Jesus sought our good while we were enemies and as our creator wisely gave us all we need for life and life with him. We in turn promote the good of others unconditionally with the free offer of the gospel and invitation into the fellowship of the Church. Into the life of the Church.ii. Now, there is a trap here right? Our culture says, Love is love, by this they mean a feeling of affirmation and permissiveness to other perception of truth & their perception of what is good and true and beautiful even if it may be harmful, evil, and destructive.e. Our Labor of Love is controlled, channeled, and directed by the moral law, molded by the character of God, and seen in the life & ministry of Jesus. …Then Love will seek the other’s highest good, ultimately.f. We need a labor of love in the 21st century whose content is the very character of God declared to us from every page of scripture and not emptied down to a few slogans or culturally captivated, love emptied until it is mere approval.i. Jesus said, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. 24 Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father’s who sent me.ii. Are you glad that Paul sees in the Thessalonians a labor produced by loveand not merely felt love, or love signaled, or love re-invented, love shattered into a thousand opinions and a millions desires heading in every direction and impulse of mankind under the sun?1. In the internet age of connectivity, americans broadly speaking are less connected to real HOMES, real direction telling us where to channel and express our love and how it works when its not just a Disney love story.2. You must make your home centered on your heavenly Father, live by his word in the household of faith with brothers and sisters. Not as orphans.iii. Christian love is not the rudderless American youth, dazed, angry and confused by a world with suffering and no hope.1. No, it is wise, weighty, and directed by Faith in Christ and a Love labored and directed by Christ.2. This labor of love is anchored and held enduring and steadfast because it has a fixed and solid Hope.D) Endurance inspired by Hopea. Hope in Christ is attested in scripture and inspires the fruit of endurance.i. Colossians 1:5 - because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel,Hope is what holds us steady in the face of suffering because we have a future, a resurrection, and a savior seated in Heaven who is returning to bring us home.b. We live in a Hopeless society. There is nothing beyond our own resources. So every day when people scroll twitter or their favorite news site every hit of suffering closes in on us and makes us feel small.i. One solution is to withdraw, to be hopeless, to be cynical, and to speak down on everything to see through everything in a negative and cynical, but ultimately passive way.ii. Or, perhaps, we see the only solution is to lash out at everything wrong and, in our own strength, attempt to fix everything here on earth in a Restless activism, but the weight of the thousands of causes needing thousands of solutions is crushing. We cannot endure without the Hope of heaven, a heaven, with a risen king seated on the throne.c. Paul does not despite the Thessalonians suffering, encounter a hopeless, loveless, faithless people. Nor has he seen them retreat to a spiritualized faith, hope, and love. But instead, he is thankful for a faith, hope, and love that produces a Church community that is living and active, rooted in Christ Jesus!Look with me at verses 4-5a, 4 For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, 5 because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction.#2, vv. 4-5a The Power Behind the Word, what lies behind the fruitfulness of the gospel word spoken to the Thessalonians?A) Paul responds to the faith, hope, and love of the Thessalonians by speaking a word of encouragement. And there is nothing more encouraging and assuring than the doctrines of grace grounded in God choosing, unchanging, electing Love.a. Now I say that slightly tongue in cheek because we know that this is often a divisive doctrine, a mysterious doctrine, one which the Westminster Confession calls for ministers to treat with care, which is why these verses deserve their own separate sermon. – Which I will find for you from a Pastor Jim Roberts who I team preached this with a couple years back.b. What I will do is keep the movement going from God’s choosing to the fruit and result of it in the church and allow Pastor Roberts time to slow down and unpack and trace old testament parallel passages and enjoy reflecting on God’s gracious choosing.what do we see in verses 4-5B) We are Loved by God in Electiona. God loves his Church. God has chosen out of fallen humanity a people to belong to himself and Paul says, he knows this because of the fruit of the faith hope and love because the POWER of the Holy Spirit is evident in the Church.b. Why is it evident? Because the WORD is accompanied with POWER, with vitality given by the Spirit producing conviction. A conviction that is public in the face of suffering and is dispersed as suffering pushes the Thessalonians throughout Macedonia.c. The Word takes root because of the Holy Spirit, which makes the Word Sound Forth and in turn that word takes root with conviction and so on throughout Macedonia and the whole world and through the centuries until we inherited it here today in Coeburn, VA. Let’s follow that Logic a little more closely.C) The Gospel goes forth in Worda. Throughout 1 Thessalonians and Acts 17 there is an abundance of words related to the Preaching of the Gospel the word of God to us.b. Words such as: [Slowly] Declare, Speak, Proclaim, Exhort, Charged,c. it’s the Received Word, people are Persuaded by the word, in Acts 17 Paul: Reasons, Explains, Proves…What? that Christ suffered & Rose. The Gospel declaration of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ who is seated in power in the heavens and will (v. 10) return from Heaven.i. Word based ministry is necessaryii. And The content must be the Gospel of Jesus Christiii. But Not only in word…though that is the Necessary precondition. How can we believe if we have not heard (Rom. 10) but how is it believed once heard? The gospel is foolishness to natural man.iv. Its received why? How?1. Jesus says, I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, 17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.a. Only the Holy Spirit, Spirit of truth, can take the word of truth and press it into our lives.2. Apart from the Spirit we are dead idolators worshipping dead idols…This must be overcome if we are to receive God’s word.v. If you have received the truth of the Gospel it is Not some special goodness in you. It was not some special goodness of the Thessalonian believers, Acts 17 says only some believed, the rest were busy driving Paul away and hauling a man named Jason into court. Because Their idols and idol selling businesses were threatened. But those who received the Power of the Holy Spirit coming in regenerating hearts, giving new life, and the gifts of faith, hope, and love…these experienced FULL conviction. Conviction that produced fruit.Conviction of sin is a special ministry of the Spirit in the heart of those under the preaching of the word.a. The Holy Spirit according to Jesus from John 15 & 16.i. Is sent from him and “when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in me;2. What is Conviction? Conviction is The full acceptance of the truth and importance of the gospel. Which is both the conviction of sin and conviction of mercy in Christ, which produces Joy.3. If we receive the word with full conviction then we will become imitators of those who also value the Word proclaimed and have suffered because of the gospel. Look with me in verses 5b-10.#3 5b-10 You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. 6 And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, 7 so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. 8 For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything. 9 For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, 10 and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.D) IMITATORS of What of Who?a. Paul says, they became imitators of him, Silas, and Timothy. I believe this is an aspect of discipleship good spiritually minded evangelicals have shied away from. It feels somehow earthly to literally become like another living person who isn’t King David, or Jesus, or just a Devotional quite time model of piety.i. Paul says, “Follow me as I follow Christ.”ii. The ultimate goal of discipleship is to be renewed in the image of Christ. But the Pathway that discipleship takes according to Paul is to be more like other disciples in the Church.iii. We know this, People start to sound like others in their prayers, how they ask questions, have conversations, do hospitality or our reaction to seeing other Christians happy or sad or struggling with sin.iv. We mimic Favorite phrases and responses. We do not follow an ethereal set of behaviors learned from devotionals… No, we rub shoulders with brothers and sisters from different generations, income levels, backgrounds, job, and areas of the world. Paul is not ashamed to say in so far as I am like Jesus follow me.v. Because we have the same spirit, we have the same faith, hope, and love working in us, and we learn the toolbox, the life skills of Church from others.1. Are you gifted at hospitality you learned it from a Brother or sister and THEY learned it from a brother and sister who learned it ultimately from Jesus and the work of the Holy Spirit in the scriptures. Are you an evangelist > it was caught not taught and ultimately back to the Holy Spirit teaching through the Mind of Christ.2. Prayer. Mercy. Counseling. Parenting skills all are imitations done in the body of Christ, we embrace this when we long to fellowship together and mimic each other.3. But what specifically were the kinds of men Paul has in mind for the Thessalonians.b. They were the Kind of Men who had 6 things:First, Received the word with affliction that is Men who suffer for the sake of the gospelSecond, Men who had the Joy of the Holy Spirit, that is an assurance of belonging to God as a redeemed and forgiven child.Third, Men Who speak of the gospel, in such a way that the name of Jesus spread through all of Macedonia and AchaiaFourth, Men who Who turned from idols exercised repentance.c. To repeat last week, repentance is Having a true sense of sin, and the mercy of God in Christ, hating and grieving sin and turning from it to God in new obedience.d. Idols & Sin are lifeless and death-producing. Rejoice when you see someone turn from sin and learn how to do the same. Parents, speak in appropriate ways to your children about how you are actively turning away from sin and idols in your life, ways you are finding life in God but death in sin.e. Weep over sin with grief in our culture. I think we often express our anger at sin but rarely our grief at what sin does to us and to others. Children need to see our grief at sin and its effects on individuals, families, and society. Not just anger.Fifth, they were Men Who serve the living and true GodE) Idols are dead and bring death. God is the Lord and giver of Life. He is living and he gives life, vivification, and he blesses us with the life-giving communion of the saints.F) If we serve the living and true God we will draw our life from those appointed places that God has given us to find life. Such as in Prayer, communing with Christ by his Spirit. IN worship. IN the body of Christ, around the Lord’s table. Our whole life if it imitates Paul will be consumed with a love for the Church that flows out of a love for God. It is impossible for Church to be a secondary and tangential part of your life if you have turned from idols to the Living God.a. Examine your hearts is anything in your life an idol you serve instead of the living God.b. IF there is anything cast it aside and look to Christ, ask for the Holy Spirit to give you FULL conviction and Full Joy and assurance in Christ alone, in fellowship with the body of Christ.Sixth We are imitators of those Who Hope in Heaven meaningG) We Hope In the Risen Christ, the risen and seated Lord. We speak of death as conquered, defeated, we hold our funerals to dead saints with Hope. We do not entrust ourselves to lesser hopes. Because only in the Hope of Christ seated in heaven do we have deliverance.H) Deliverance from the Wrath to come.a. Praise be to God that he has loved us and shown mercy in sending his only begotten son into the world not to condemn the world because it stood condemned already but that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.b. Is this your all controlling CENTER of your very life, identity, your controlling thought and passion???c. Let this be our prayer, that we can say the word of the Lord hasd. sounded forth from Coeburn Presbyterian Church, and our faith has gone into our neighborhoods, our work, and the report of us is that we are joyfully filled with the hope of Heaven and the love of Christ.Prayer & Benediction This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jamesensley.substack.com

Introduction: Sinclair Ferguson writes; “Mark begins his Gospel by telling us two simple things. First, the gospel is about Jesus Christ. It is not good advice about how to live, but good news about a person. Then secondly, Mark sets the scene for Jesus by telling us about John the Baptist and the significance of his ministry” (Ferguson, Let’s Study Mark, 2).Read: Mark 1:4–11[4] John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. [5] And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. [6] Now John was clothed with camel’s hair and wore a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey. [7] And he preached, saying, “After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. [8] I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”[9] In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. [10] And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. [11] And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” (ESV)Prayer of IlluminationFirst a quick review of Mark’s outlineSecond, John a prophet of repentance (vv. 4-6)Third, John preaches a savior mighty to save. (7-8)Fourth, Our Baptism Belonging to the Covenant Community: Jesus’ Baptism Our Priest, Set Apart, commissioned for Holy ministry. (9, 10-11)#1 What is the Outline of Mark?What is the broad brush stroke outline of Mark’s Gospel? There are two parts to it!1. The first half of the book says WHO Jesus is: Jesus is mighty to save! John preaches repentance, John talks about the kingdom of God. Jesus actually forgives sins, and brings us into God’s kingdom and makes us a people.a. This builds as Jesus does miracles and makes statements that only God himself could back up, and culminates in Mark 8 with the question: who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Christ.” [30] And he strictly charged them to tell no one about him.i. This fulfills Mark 1-8 the WHO, the identity, you are the Christb. And Jesus says, people won’t understand that yet, they think that means I’m going to kick out the Romans…so to Peter, to even the demons who call Jesus the messiah, he says be quiet, not yet… [Techn. Messianic Secret]2. The Second half of Mark, Mark 8-16 focuses not on WHO Jesus is but WHAT he came to do…Not the Person, the WORKa. Mark 8:31”And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again.” (ESV)b. JESUS sets his face to Jerusalem to be the suffering servant who lays down his life as a ransom. Mark 10:45 “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” To die on a cross, where a centurion will say surely this is the Son of God! (15:39).i. So the first half of Mark – wandering Galilee with his disciples in POWER, miracles, with Authoritative words establishing WHO he is. The miracles are to prove the identity so we will believe his words, and so put our faith in his WORK.ii. …Second half of Mark setting his FACE to Jerusalem – in order to lay down his life, to suffer, and to die as a ransom for your sins.c. Both halves demand a response! Douglas O’donnell asks this? “d. “Will we follow, listen to, obey, and humbly serve Jesus? Will we suffer for Jesus, look to Jesus’ death and resurrection as our only hope of salvation, and await Jesus’ return? To Mark, those who genuinely believe the good news of Jesus the Christ and the Son of God respond in certain ways. Self-denial. Cross-bearing. Total dependence. Radical allegiance. Arise and follow the Son!” (O’Donnell, 9.)e. Our membership vows roughly follow this order; Mark’s entire gospel provides this flow…Mark knows the good news begins with repent & believe on the Savior, rise and Follow him…We took these vows so I think a constant reminder is good…And hopefully like wedding vows they are familiar.1. Our Need of the Gospel: Do you acknowledge yourselves to be sinners in the sight of God, justly deserving His displeasure, and without hope save in His sovereign mercy?2. Justification by Faith: Do you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as the Son of God, and Savior of sinners, and do you receive and rest upon Him alone for salvation as He is offered in the Gospel?3. Sanctification: Do you now resolve and promise, in humble reliance upon the grace of the Holy Spirit, that you will endeavor to live as becomes the followers of Christ?4. Gathered Worship & Service: Do you promise to support the Church in its worship and work to the best of your ability?5. Honoring Delegated Authority: Do you submit yourselves to the government and discipline of the Church, and promise to study its purity and peace?I pray Mark’s gospel will make these vows flow from knowing and Loving Jesus and knowing and loving the Church, the covenant family bound by oaths that Jesus gathers, the kingdom of God gathered on earth, worshipping Christ with the saints in heaven.Well John launches straight into vow #1 – our need for revival, for cleansing from sin. Look in verses 4-6.#2 Verses 4-6 John: Prophet of Repentance[4] John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. [5] And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. [6] Now John was clothed with camel’s hair and wore a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey.· John’s job is to prepare the way for Jesus’ three year ministry. He is getting Israel ready, to have hearts that are spiritually hungry, that know something is off in the spiritual life of Israel they need the messiah.o He dresses as a prophet, specifically he dresses like Elijah in 1 Kings 17o What kind of man was Elijah? 2 Kings 1:8 says, “He wore a garment of hair, with a belt of leather about his waist.” And he said, “It is Elijah the Tishbite.” (ESV)a. What kind of Prophet is he? John is a Prophet of Repentance (pointing us away from sin) and He is Heralding Jesus (pointing to the solution, life, forgiveness, and restoration in Jesus)i. We might call this addressing the problem of “nominalism” [external religion, in name only]ii. “I desire worship from your hearts not sacrifice” “I desire repentance, a turning from idols, and turning to God for forgiveness of sins”iii. ILLUSTRATION: What is repentance? Two metaphors, Holy SPIRIT light on sin (ah!) This focuses on the repentance side of the coin first; Or second Walking a cold dark path and the warm fire comes behind you. This focuses on repentance as inherently looking to the mercy of Christ.b. SO when people say, that Christian sinned! …Yes, it’s the first question, we are sinners. Saved sinners, still sin. We just repent and look to God for purification. We are in this life always going to be putting sin to death, asking forgiveness of sin, and forgiving the wounds of living with other…saved…sinners. John pointed out sin, so they would repent, the same in the church for the grace of repentance never self-righteous condemnation.i. So repentance is Good, and just preaches this word.Q. 87. What is repentance unto life?A. Repentance unto life is a saving grace, whereby a sinner, out of a true sense of his sin, and apprehension of the mercy of God in Christ, doth, with grief [sin is sad…] and hatred of his sin, turn from it unto God, with full purpose of, and endeavor after, new obedience.Q. 89. How is the word made effectual to salvation?A. The Spirit of God maketh the reading, but especially the preaching, of the word, an effectual means of convincing and converting sinners, and of building them up in holiness and comfort, through faith, unto salvation.ii. John preaches repentance and, second he preaches JESUS.#3 John preaches a Savior Mighty to Save.1. Jesus is Mighty to SaveV. 7-8 he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. [8] I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”So Jesus is not merely a prophet, he is the one who gives the inward reality of baptism by the Spirit…Jesus pours out the third person of the Trinity, God the Holy Spirit poured out in your heart by Christ… So that the Church is filled with the Holy. He is Christ’s Spirit.2. Following Jesus is not just following a new Instagram account that gives you good advice, explains psychological techniques and health and fitness solutions. Its not a bunch of encouraging quotes…1. Jesus Spiritually rescues dead men and women who by his death and life and By the Holy Spirit filling their hearts and minds. If you go to Jesus and say, I am lost save me! The sin in me is stronger than I am – I trust you, save me! This is not just a well-advised move. It is a supernatural rebirth done in your heart and mind! That is now a Soul whose true north compass is changed forever.2. John preaches that Jesus will baptize his people with the Holy Spirit.3. The Holy Spirit is the fire and engine of the Christian life that makes our conscience alive and working, our hearts full of love that can overflow to our neighbors, that can make us truly sorrow for sin, and love God with all our heart, soul, strength, and mind so that All of live now revolves around HIM.a. All believers receive the spirit at conversation. He is not a special second tier membership a select few get.b. And for all believers; the Spirit delights to work through the WORD and to shine the spotlight on JESUS.c. John 16:13–14 says the Spirit is the spirit of truth that takes the word of Christ and declares it to our hearts glorifying Jesus!d. And in Christ we are by the Spirit, cleansed and forgiven, bearing his name. Reborn. Regenerated. Called, and united to Jesus. That’s the reality.]#4 Our Baptism Belonging to the Covenant Community: Jesus’ Baptism Our Priest, Set Apart, commissioned for Holy ministry. Look in verse 9.[9] In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.So John is calling people to repentance and baptizing them…Now Jesus is baptized.What is baptism?A Theology of Baptism: Holy & Clean, belonging to the covenant community1. Baptism Represents that we are: Purified: Clean & Belonga. This could be coming from the priest’s baptism (definitely Jesus’) it could be proselyte, various purification.i. Purify – Heb. 9 various washings (various baptisms1. Sprinkled blood as a purifier for holy things2. Anointing oil3. Water4. FIRE.2. Baptism as a Sacramenta. Second it is now a sign and seal of the covenant this is Rom. 4 language.b. OT precurs is Circumcision (cut off, bloody, represented a cleansed heart, call for internal to reflect the external).i. NT baptism, water, cleansed, united to Christ and all his benefits as a sign and seal of regeneration and a new heart by faith, of righteousnessc. Jesus…does not need this baptism to be clean, he Makes us clean. But it shows he is our priest who is Holy and Clean.i. Sinclair Ferguson say,“John knew that Jesus did not need to be baptised as a symbol of repentance - he had no sins from which he needed to repent. He was the spotless Lamb of God, who needed no offer of forgiveness. … His baptism inaugurates him publicly into his role as the priest who bears away the sins of men in order to bring them forgiveness and salvation.” …“The baptism of Jesus marked his public inauguration as the Messiah. He came into the world to be the Saviour of sinners…He has not come in pomp and circumstance to lord it over men; but in lowliness and humility, to save them. Here already he indicates how he will become our Saviour: by standing in the river in whose waters penitent Jews had symbolically washed away their sins, and allowing that water, polluted by those sins, to be poured over his perfect being.” – Sinclair Ferguson, 6.d. Our Baptism says we belong to Jesus and to the covenant community the church, it is a sign of our belongingi. Our Identity-holy to the Lord– represented (in the sign) Sealed as authentic and to be believed as from God that we belong to God and have an interest, a part, in the things of God.e. We are not pagans. We are God’s people. And in Jesus’ baptism we see that he is not just a member of God’s people, He is God’s son, and by him we belong to GodLook in verse 10.[10] And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. [11] And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”Illustration – Every child on the playground—Every child on a play stage or during a sporting game scans the audience for their Father’s face as they step out to perform—they desire the gaze and approval of their father. Look, look, look at me, do you approve?Now, Jesus is not an anxious child, but there is a fittingness of him in his earthly ministry, in his humanity, as the eternal son of God to be equipped and fueled for his ministry from these words…How often Jesus must’ve remembered this moment over the next three years…Even as he goes into the wilderness to be tempted, when times are difficult “you are my beloved son…I am well pleased with you!” See the sign of the dove…the dove of Noah’s ark saying, there is a new creation, a new beginning. Judgement will come to an end through Jesus. The world is redeemed from sin and misery in Christ. A foretaste now and in completion when he comes again at the end of the age. PEACE.You can say the dove represents peace….but what kind of peace…peace with God and new life because of Christ’s work to defeat sin and death in our place. Jesus will take the flood, the deluge of wrath in our place that we may have PEACE. It’s not a hippy peace achieved by ignoring reality and responsibility with drugs, free love, and finding yourself. A False peace.It is a peace that comes from finding your life in Christ, by being reborn, because Christ took judgment on your behalf and sent the Holy Spirit to come and live in your heart to make you a new creation reborn in the world made new. Forgetting all that lay behind and beginning again…And every time we repent it is a bit like that.Let me say in no uncertain terms—You have the approval of your heavenly father if you are in Christ Jesus—when you stumble and fall into sin, you are covered by Christ, you are not gaining and losing God’s love and approval…therefore we can always name our sin for what it is because we are SECURE, we are beloved, we can BOTH see the sin for what it is UGLY or Unholy repent of it put it to death—And in Christ Jesus we are not identified by our sin by as a son and daughter of God.The gospel of John proves clearly that the approval given to Jesus transfers to us in our Union with Christ…Two steps track with me.John 3 as Jesus’ described his ministry and John 17 as he describes the approval we gain if we are united to Jesus by faith and trust.: John 3:34–36 He, Jesus whom God has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure. [35] The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand. [36] Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him. (ESV)John 3:35…Public, proud, approval…Spirit without Measure given to Christ. [35] The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand.J.C. Ryle says, the voice of the Father announces… “the Father’s acceptance of the Son as the Mediator, Substitute, and Surety of the new covenant.” (Ryle, 5). He’s the one who bridges the gap between sinners and a Just and holy judge, by being their subtitutes, cleansing, and guaranteeing the relationship promised in the new covenant by fulfilling our side of things in our place so that we have all the benefits of a secure relationship in Jesus….The Heavenly Father in Christ approves of you…God approves, he likes you, he hears your prayers attentively, being in a relationship with you was the plan set in motion by the Father & the SonSO Yes, Jesus has the approval of his heavenly Father. You do too, as adopted sons and daughters… if you have rested in Christ. Christ is the only begotton son by divine & eternal nature…we are adopted sons and daughters by being born again by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit witnesses that approval, witnesses the renewal of you and creation. Even as Jesus is beloved of the father, you are beloved of the father.John 17:6, 24-26 [6] “I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word….[ [24] Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. [25] O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. [26] I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”Jesus is sent from his baptism to suffer and serve to rescue those the Father sent him to gather. He has made known God to us. He shows God’s love for us that we can repent we can be forgiven, we can belong, we can have peace with God and a renewed life –If we die to ourselves and hide our lives in Christ. Have you done this? If so, enjoy the peace of the Spirit, the belonging of a Son & Daughter.If you have this faith, God asks us to pronounce it publicly…John’s baptism was a public renewal… the book of Acts says we are to confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord and we do this with vows and witnesses. …I would encourage a reading of the book of Acts to see this example.If you have never been baptized, God calls you in the same way the Holy Spirit was poured out on Christ from heaven, poured out in tongues of flame at Pentecost to be poured out on you, and to your children after you…Acts 2, for the promise is for you and your children, and all who are a far off to be Holy, Clean, and Belong to the covenant community of God.Prayer | Benediction This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jamesensley.substack.com

How to begin one of the Four Gospels of the life of our Savior…Simply by Beginning.This is the very word of God. From the Gospel of Mark Under the eye witness testimony of the Lord’s Apostle Peter; written for us to testify to the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.Read Mark Chapter 1:1-8[1] The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.[2] As it is written in Isaiah the prophet,“Behold, I send my messenger before your face,who will prepare your way,[3] the voice of one crying in the wilderness:‘Prepare the way of the Lord,make his paths straight,’”[4] John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. [5] And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. [6] Now John was clothed with camel’s hair and wore a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey. [7] And he preached, saying, “After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. [8] I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”#1 Introduction to the Gospel of Mark#2 Verses 2-3 Bridging B.C. to A.D. with the entry of the LORDInterlude: WHO wrote it and to WHOM#3 Verses 4-8 John: Prophet of Repentance; Herald of the KingClosing: What is the Outline of Mark?Look in V.1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. (ESV)What’s the big idea going into Mark 1, and indeed the whole book: Banjamine L. Gladd says that Mark proclaims “Israel’s long awaited King has arrived upon the sceneEvery gospel This is why mark is often pictured as a Lion (Gen. 49:9; Num. 24:9). (vs. an Ox, Man, or Eagle).o Speed & Agility – “Immediately” The Suffering Servant-King acting, not long teaching passages…Genre: A Gospel It is like a biography, but with a more central focus on the crucifixion week 50% of the book; it is “History with a Point!”The point of Mark’s Gospel is that there is great and good news that Jesus is the Christ! The long-expected Messiah, God’s anointed Savior, whom Peter confesses in Chapter 8. And that he is the Son of God, the great King, the Lion of Judah, and as the Son of God we learn the second person of the Trinity himself. This is confessed in Chapter 16. By the Centurion who spoke far better than he knew.· Each passage of a gospel informs our heads & hearts about Jesuso Peter says “though you have not seen him you love him” We are to know and love Jesus more and the Holy Spirit can do this through the Gospels.o So always three things in our minds – WHO is Jesus?; WHAT was his message?; and WHAT did he accomplish? All these things are a proclamation of “Gospel ’eungelion” meaning Good News heralded.§ The main point of every account as we go through Mark is not US or even the disciples, it is how they are responding to the Person (who: Christ; The son of God) and the WORK of Jesus (divine power displayed only to humbly suffer and die as a ransom for sinners).· So NO Lord’s Prayer; No Sermon on the Mount, meaning no Beatitudes….But§ Jesus calms the storms, casts out demons, defeats satan’s temptations in the wilderness, heals many, teaches with authority, is the Lord and Ruler of the Sabbath-The Lord’s Day is Jesus’ Day-He declares sins forgiven, feeds 5,000; feeds 4,000; curses the fig tree, cleanses the temple, is transfigured; declared the Son of God by Peter, marches to Jerusalem and sets his face as the Lion of Judah the king who will suffer and lay down his life as a ransom for sinners because the Kingdom of God is at HAND!o And if you stepped into the worship service remember this service is gathered in the name and presence of the risen and reigning King Jesus. And these words are for you this morning. You are not just a random person with no purpose, a cosmic accident, a highly evolved monkey, or spinning the wheel to determine your meaning, identity, and purpose. You are called by this book to repent and believe in Jesus bowing the knee to your king who was gentle and lowly but mighty to save.#2 Look in Verses 2-3 Bridging B.C. to A.D. with the entry of the LORD[2] As it is written in Isaiah the prophet,“Behold, I send my messenger before your face,who will prepare your way,[3] the voice of one crying in the wilderness:‘Prepare the way of the Lord,make his paths straight,’”· John the Baptist is preparing & calling to repentance preparing to enter into the new covenant community. Forgiveness NOT Judgement. Restoration not Evil for those who are prepared in their hearts to turn to God through the messiah who is beginning his ministry.o This ministry of John’s is a Bridging ministry, between B.C. & A.D.§ John is Passing the Baton as the middle runner to Christ and the Apostles who will pen the New Testament.§ John is the final old covenant prophet· And God has prepared the church to expect and respond to this. John Calvin points out that Malachi stands as the final of the Old Testament writing prophets…the Lord then leaves Israel with Just the Law of Moses with no proper prophets. Until John…o We know this feeling of Anticipation. Of Standing on the precipice of the age for a while.§ Movie goers & Video game players are always asking…When are they going to make the sequel???§ And one answer that is often given, is when the script is ready! (James Cameron’s avatar) or When technology allows for the filmmaker to do what he wants (Star Wars);§ And God says, labor Under Moses and the law until “the fullness of time” until you are yearning for the messiah to come and do what the Law couldn’t do! until I send my messenger before your face…we’ll get there in a second….§ Mark’s gospel shows the grace of God! It is the beginning of Good and joyful news, happiness to fallen humanity.o So we can say yes, John is ushering in the Gospel age, the New Covenant Age, he is ushering people into the fulfillment of the chain of the Covenant of Grace From Genesis 3:15 to Abraham to Noah to Moses to David and finally to what it all promised—Jesus.John’s message of repentance is graciouis: Because God makes the first move! God sending John, means the God…after 400 years of silence…is about to SPEAK. Sarch the whole bible is clear, God makes the first move, God speaks “the word of the Lord came, ”God reveals himself, God is on the move and he sends his messengers full of the Holy Spirit…· But Who is he the messenger of?· Verses 2-3 is a combined references to Malachi 3:1-4 (that last prophet) and Isaiah 40:1-5 (the greatest Prophet arguably).o Right away the New Testaments roots are sunk deeply into the Old Testament. Mark’s understanding of the Messiah Jesus flows directly from the OT roots. The Old Testament promises what the NT fulfills. Unified. But greater light, greater revelation.o Malachi 3:1§ Malachi says, a Messenger will prepare the way for GOD to come to his temple….This is echoes both in the tabernacle and temple will the glorious presence of God fills the temple!§ Now John prepares for JESUS to come to the Temple of God, where he in his very flesh will be in the temple to cleanse…· Malachi 3: asks those “But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap. [3] He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the LORD. [4] Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the LORD as in the days of old and as in former years. (ESV)o The messenger who prepare the Way of YHWH to come in judgement….o SO John is warning them—God is coming to dwell with us again, this is great and joyful news, but also God is still Holy, Holy, Holy a purifying fire let us respond to the grace of the King of Kings coming in Repentance and receive the sign of our repentance & cleansing by water baptism.The second reference is to Isaiah 40…Also a reminder that repentance and renewal is a Joyful and ultimately produces peace with God peaceful and peace from this fallen world.· Isaiah 40:1–5 Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the LORD’s hand double for all her sins. …not not double punishment for sin but double pardon!It is said Jesus come full of grace and truth---James 4:6 says, but he gives more grace…More mercy, greater pardon, probably the understanding that our exile is over, we are Home and at Peace.· DO you feel at home and at peace with God? Jesus tells his disciples they will abide in him and him in them….that by the Holy Spirit we rest in the strength and life of the resurrected Jesus.· And that is the key isn’t it. God did not remain at a distance…He did not turn the four hundred years of silence into 4,000. NO, he has Hebrews 1 say,o Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, [2] but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. [3] He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,· And here in Mark 1 verse 3, we hear the voice of John the Baptist crying in the wilderness. Prepare the way for the LORD (all caps); YHWH; make it a highway; bring the dynamite and blast through every hill and barrier so that this is a railway straight through the mountains so GOD can come to his People and the Temple.And Isaiah 40 verse 5 says, “And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed,and all flesh shall see it together,”· To be Clear John is - The Voice of one calling in the wilderness· The LORD all caps in Isaiah in Hebrew is YHWHo This is in fact heavily implying that Jesus is God! Jesus is Lordo The final implication is also that from here on out when marks says, lord in Greek “kurios” he is thinking of Jesus’ divinity.o So fix firmly in your mind that in Mark’s gospel the earliest gospel from the first Paragraph it is clear that Jesus is Lord, and he is YHWH. It’s a bold claim. And it carries through in your ear how you hear “the Lord Jesus Christ” as a title from here on out.Interlude: WHO wrote it and to WHO?1. By Mark?? If I asked you to name “the 12 apostles…would using the names of the four gospels help you? “Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John?” Indeed, not. Mark & Luke are not apostles but are associates writing under the apostles.a. From earliest church history Mark was associated with Peter who stays at Mark’s mothers home in Jerusalem, Mark then become a ministry companion of Paul and Barnabas; He returns back to Jerusalem which upsets Paul but gives him more time with Peter; Paul has an argument with Barnabas about Mark, so Barnabas and Mark travel together in effective ministry, eventually so reconciled with Paul that he asks for John-Mark to come to him in prison.b. HE is in the words of Laurence Housman “The saint who first found grace to pen, The life which was the Life of men.”i. [Mark the writer of the first gospel was rejected as useful by Paul himself….When you fail in work, family, and Christian service in some way. No one has a final word on your future usefulness to the Lord, and no has formed a final opinion on you!]ii. A second humerous note; Mark is receiving this gospel probably in the 60s from an old Peter as the key eyewitness. So whenever Peter seems ridiculous in his reactions and statements, remember it is the older & wiser Peter tattle-tailing on himself. Was he said? Fondly remembering what he got right and what they got wrong? I think so, like any older man would.2. Who is this gospel written to?a. In one since we could say, since everyone needs life from Jesus because we are lost wretches without him. Then Mark was written to every man, woman, and child who can listen to the life of Jesus and in it know – that is my savior, he forgives sins, he heals everything broken in my soul.b. So Mark is for all people in all ages. And he wanted it to go far and wide.c. Mark a little more specifically is for people he need a savior who suffers, who serves, who touches the sick, who listens, who is your creator who made you, who knows you.d. More specifically Mark’s first audience may have been those suffering under Nero’s persecution. To initially Roman Christians….There are little Latin explanations of Greek terms throughout Mark. That make it likely he wrote it while in Rome, during the time of Nero.e. Mark is saying the apostles are dying one by one—I know times are difficult, but do you BELIEVE? Do you have FAITH will you today whisper of the hope of Christ to someone else….Mark’s ending has these words Mark 16:8 And they [the women who visited Jesus at the tomb] went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid. (ESV)f. And we the audience say – NO! they have to TELL someone!And Mark knows they will….They eventually do make it to the 11 disciples behind locked doors and tell them…But initially Shock and fear. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jamesensley.substack.com

Introduction: This morning we are back in Nahum, Nahum Chapter 3. We have 19 verses, and it’s a communion Sunday, so we will not re-read every phrase. I entrust you to track with an open Bible as we move through different sections.In Nahum, we have seen God addressing Nineveh for its wickedness: Nahum has shown that sin will be judged because justice is how God is able to be a good refuge and address evil in this world. We learn that sin is inherently folly, chaotic, and entangling. Sin has consequences, and last week we learned that sin is sad. We learned that not just there but throughout the Bible, God sometimes accomplishes justice with a crooked stick. In this case, pagan Babylon is the crooked stick bringing justice against pagan Assyria. We looked at two similar examples: Joseph being sold into slavery by his brothers in order to save his family from the coming famine and Jesus at the cross—evil men crucifying him. (I would invite you to go back and hear that message if you have questions this week that were really addressed last week. YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts are all options...)In Nahum 3, we are wrestling with war, yes...violence, yes...but the more shocking part is we are dealing with the way Assyria, Nineveh, shamed others. Their sins brought shame and suffering to others and were shameful themselves. And so, when God brings justice against them, we cannot help but be shocked by the way He uses shame categories to address them. The underlying shame of Nineveh is exposed as Babylon conquers them. That, I would submit, is why the language and examples are uncomfortable in our passage this morning.Because of the shamefulness of sin—But also, I hope by the end of today’s sermon, and as we approach the Lord’s table later, you will be thankful that God not only addresses our guilt in Christ Jesus but also the accompanying shame.Note as we read this outline: think of who the audience is. Judah, who has suffered great evil and yes, shame at the hands of Nineveh. Verse 19 says when countries hear of the fall of Nineveh, they will respond with rejoicing—that those who had brought such evil upon them had been dealt with. For upon whom has not come your unceasing evil?Read Nahum 3:1-19 | Prayer of Illumination#1 The Guilt of Nineveh: The Shamers Shamed (v. 1-7)#2 Nineveh’s Abuse of Thebes (v. 8-13)#3 Your Leaders Have Acted Shamefully (v. 14-19)_#_4Our Shame Removed by Christ* The Shamefulness of Sin (Analogical to Assyria)...a. Some of us may have experienced not just being sinned against but being shamed by the sin of another person. This is when we usually talk about sin as abusive. Some of us may have never been truly under the power of others to shame us, and this is a kind providence.i. But in abusive relationships, addictions (we are under the thumb of evil. Sin has “power over us” even if it rightly is flowing from our own hearts).ii. Nineveh had other nations under their power, under their thumbs. And they would shame them and grind them to dust. Look in verse 1.[1] Woe to the bloody city, all full of lies and plunder—no end to the prey!#1 The Guilt of Nineveh: The Shamers Shamed (v. 1-7)First, what are they guilty of?b. Violence – Violence celebrated and used as a tool of control over conquered nations.c. Lies – Diplomats making and breaking treaties.d. Theft – Extorting tribute, raiding temples, and looting entire nations.e. Prey – Their presence leaving people wondering when Assyrian armies would next come and kill and destroy.They are guilty of these things: violence, lies, theft, conquest.Second, Nahum says for the guilt of these sins, they will fall: Their shameful conduct will be vividly reversed, and they themselves shamed in verses 2-7.Verses 2-3 begin with chaotic scenes again—verse 2—The crack of the whip, the rumble of the wheel, galloping horse and bounding chariot! Horsemen charging, flashing sword and glittering spear, hosts of slain,heaps of corpses, dead bodies without end—they stumble over the bodies!It’s the chaos and violence of war.But more than the war itself, verse 4 answers WHY. Why is all this happening? The answer has already been given: Because of verse 1. They are guilty.And guilt produces shame. Adam and Eve sinned, and immediately they felt the reality of shame. And it doesn’t take very long before we realize that shame is also transferred not just when you sin but when you are sinned against. Nineveh has shamed the surrounding nations. And vividly, we are being reminded that they needed to feel the shame of their guilt.SO yes,v. 4 says, and all this is happening because of your unfaithful craving of power, recognition, and abuse of the influence of your powerful position. Nineveh abused the good gifts of wealth (not inherently bad), power (not inherently bad), and influence (not inherently bad)—but they used their wealth, power, and influence in dishonorable ways that were harmful to the moral state of themselves as a city and harmed all those smaller countries that took Nineveh at her word, who trusted her promises and graces and charms.This is a difficult metaphor for especially Western Christian worldview people. Both those who are no longer believers but are still operating with the understanding of human dignity, value, and hold in respect the sanctity of marriage.The metaphor is so shocking because the gift of marriage, female beauty, and sex is such a good gift; we are most ashamed when that good gift becomes manipulative power, shameful, and unfaithfully used.One note in the metaphor for an American Nineveh is not the powerless female victim of trafficking. That is not the metaphor. Nineveh, in this metaphor, is the powerful one in control and is more like the Proverbs Temptress of Proverbs chapter 7:24-27, who entices and drags the foolish man into her home. She seizes and lures with promises...And now, O sons, listen to me,and be attentive to the words of my mouth.25 Let not your heart turn aside to her ways;do not stray into her paths,26 for many a victim has she laid low,and all her slain are a mighty throng.27 Her house is the way to Sheol,going down to the chambers of death.So Nineveh used her wealth, power, and charms to betray the nations around her.a. That is because the problem of guilt and shame when it comes to evil is severe. God is shocking our conscience to see the need for Nineveh to be sharply addressed.b. ...And is preparing us to see Nineveh is reaping what they did to the city of Thebes in Egypt. And so the vivid word picture makes us remember sin is shocking and shameful. There is a reason in verse 19 all the nations say, finally, our abuser has been addressed.c. You need these verses so you know that sins of true oppression, true victimizing, and true abuse are shameful and judged by God...i. Verses 8-13 are about to ask Nineveh, “Did you think you could do all those things to Thebes...or Judah...or all your other vassal states and not reap what you sow?” Sin has left them guilty. But sin has also shamed them.d. But taking a step back from Nineveh being the big bad empire reaping what they sow, what about ourselves? In the Bible, none of us can get away from the fact that all our sins have both an element of guilt before a holy and pure God and an element of shame before a God who is faithful, true, beautiful, and all His influence is for our good.ii. The sin of Nineveh left entire nations broken, angry with them, and liable to be angry with God for what they suffered. Sin produces shame. Shame produces self-hatred and hatred of God...iii. More on this later....e. And that would paralyze you because you then must go further and say Jesus suffered shamefully at the hands of wicked men in order to redeem you, cleanse you, and restore you from the shame of sin...More on that later.iv. Two areas we need to go...Let us look at what Nineveh did to Thebes in Egypt and then we will see the suffering of Jesus not only to remove our guilt but also to remove our shame.2. Nineveh: Remember what you did to Thebes (v.8-13)[8] Are you better than Thebes that sat by the Nile, with water around her, her rampart a sea, and water her wall?i. The context you need to know for these verses is that Nineveh had besieged and sacked the City of Thebes in Egypt...And so God is saying, “You think you are better than them?” YOU were cruel in your conquest.b. What you did to Thebes, the shaming, will be done to you despite your best efforts. Reaping what you sowed.i. You (verse 10) sent her into exile...you committed atrocities against men, women, children, and even infants...You took her people into slavery.c. V.11-13 What you will reap will be defeat. You will lose all strength. In verse 11, you will reel and go into hiding...Seeking refuge...In the Lord? No, they will seek refuge in their own strength, never coming to the end of their own pride, self-sufficiency, and idolatry, never once remembering the God of Jonah and the mercy and refuge He showed their ancestors.d. V. 12. All their secondary fortresses and cities will be useless and barely slow their enemies down once Nineveh falls.e. Verse 13: Your strength and pride in your soldiers as the lions of Assyria, who are the Marines, the Army Rangers. Proud warriors, that strength will turn from a strong professional military into ineffective soldiers, ineffective defenses, and you will feel the vulnerability of being a woman in combat. [pause]f. Nahum is in no way attacking women as women. Nahum would agree with Genesis 1-2 and the inherent value and dignity of women made in the image of God, with unique gifts and callings.i. V. 13’s purpose is to state that Nineveh’s soldiers are going to be humbled by their powerlessness to stop the Babylonians from conquering them. Please remember that the internet and Marvel superhero movies are not real; in combat, war is ugly and brutal, and God created men and women with different roles. One created to guard, protect, and keep, and another uniquely created for nurture, giving life, not taking life. We are both blessed with strengths: I am very thankful for the love, care, nurture, and many gifts and callings God places on women.ii. Verse 13 is using a simple reality as a metaphor that relies on the underlying truth that in real life, outside of Hollywood movies, there are vast differences between the strength of men and women. And the Bible agrees in principle that there are creational moral reasons for nations to rely on their men to fight honorably, and it is dishonorable for a nation to use women in combat.Look in verses 14-19.#3 Assyria, Your leaders have acted shamefully.iii. The Assyrians thought they were invincible, and yet they will fall. Verses 14-19 invite them to be prepared, draw water, and strengthen the fortress; it matters not. For all your leaders are powerless (verses 17-19). Your leaders, your fortresses, will not save you.In fact, your leaders and scribes and entire bureaucratic system are like grasshoppers and locusts devouring everything around them, devouring the wealth and freedoms of those under their rule.iv. You are done abusing the nations around you, and people will rejoice to hear that justice has been done. It will be good news. “For upon whom has not come your unceasing evil?”v. Nineveh’s leaders are not unique; our society has sins we are guilty of that aggravate feelings of shame.vi. And our world: are we not unceasing in finding new ways to harm nations, families, and individuals? We harm men as men and women as women. We distort the image of God; we make families vulnerable or broken apart. In many ways, we are like the Assyrians.* We can point to how civilized we are, but yet 100 years from now, when the history books are written, a wise historian who understands the inherent value and dignity of men and women made in the image of God will be able to fill entire books with the ways we have acted with guilt and shame as a nation.vii. But we can’t just blame leaders or other people; each and every one of us has areas we feel not just guilt but shame for how we have impacted others.* It doesn’t matter if we are raised in a good home, a good neighborhood, or even if we are people like myself who were children of the covenant.* I still need Christ as a Savior to deliver me from my guilt and shame, and Christ draws near to us all.* Look in this chapter again; I would invite you to remind yourself how Christ has done far more excellently than every wrong and everything shameful in this whole chapter.Our Final Point: #4 Our Shame Removed by Christ...g. Remember, Jesus went through shame, wrongful guilt, suffering, violence, lies, and the plundering of his possessions for us.The Larger Catechism reminds us that: “Christ humbled himself in his death, in that, having been betrayed by Judas, forsaken by his disciples, scorned and rejected by the world, condemned by Pilate, and tormented by his persecutors; having also conflicted with the terrors of death and the powers of darkness, felt and borne the weight of God’s wrath, he laid down his life as an offering for sin, enduring the painful, shameful, and cursed death of the cross.”h. And yet Jesus is strong and kind to save: As you look through the chapter, we can say, looking back at verse 1 that...i. Jesus was gentle and lowly, shedding His blood for us, not requiring it of us for His own comfort. He came full of truth and bestowed the rich inheritance of the Holy Spirit to us whom He rescues, fully reversing the wounds of Nineveh.ii. Jesus is truly God; as our conquering King, He defends the widow and orphan, ruling and defending us...iii. Jesus is faithful to us; He comes to us in our guilt and shame.* Hebrews 12:2–3 says, “Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. [3] Consider Him who endured from sinners such hostility against Himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.“* Romans 10:11: “As Scripture says, ‘Anyone who believes in Him will never be put to shame.’”* What Jesus does for us is exactly what God did in Gen. 3: “The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.” He atoned for their guilt and covered their shame.* Jesus fulfills wonderfully the words of Zephaniah 3:19: “At that time I will deal with all who oppressed you. I will rescue the lame; I will gather the exiles. I will give them praise and honor in every land where they have suffered shame.“a. Zephaniah 3:19 is a one-verse summary of Nahum 3 and what we still today need to hear as redeemed sinners—* That in Christ Jesus, God is for us; He clothes us in radiant garments, restores honor to us, and all who look upon you will draw near in fellowship as brothers and sisters in Christ.a. When we name sin as sin, what we are doing is saying this is the kind of thing I can take to Jesus for forgiveness, healing, and renewal.b. Do not cling to your sin. Do not refuse to name sin as shameful; name it for what it is in your life, confess it to Jesus. He will not turn His face from you but will do the work of assuring you that He died for that sin! Jesus comes full of grace upon grace.i. Do not wallow in your sin. Do not think confessing sin is beating yourself up for it. No! You are forgiven in Christ. No condemnation. No morbid introspection. Instead, the honest confession and assurance: FORGIVEN! CLEANSED! SON! DAUGHTER!* In Christ Jesus, we know we are not better than Thebes or Assyria but that Christ is BETTER. Christ is our Strength. Christ is our Refuge.* In Christ, you will have a home, a table prepared for you in the presence of your enemies. You will be free, sober-minded, upright. You may stumble but not fall, be shaken but not defeated. Still a struggling sinner but not shamed, because...* He eases our hurts, binds our wounds, and proclaims Good News, the gospel, to all who would find their rest in Him.* Praise God for Christ Jesus, who takes our guilt and bears our shame.iv. AND this ought to produce in us, as a community, the fruit of the Spirit: patience, kindness, and the beatitudes of mercy—to be a hospital for sinners that diagnoses and names sin accurately, as any doctor should. But then to love the wounded and care for them with great patience, encouraging Christ as the only substitute for sin, and the Holy Spirit as the healer of hearts.May Nahum’s warning to Nineveh cause us to long for salvation and deliverance from all evil, and magnify our wonder at the love of the Father, the suffering of Christ, and the assurance of the Holy Spirit.PrayerBenediction This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jamesensley.substack.com

Introduction: Our first sermon in Nahum began with a big picture view of God’s character, explaining how God’s intense love for his people combined with holy justicemeans that sin will be punished. So in broad brushstrokes, Nahum wants you personally to believe, I need a refuge because sin will be punished, and provide comfort for the oppressed. God is jealous, avenging his people who are hurt by sin…The second sermon, covering verses 8-15 tells us that sin is chaotic and entangling having inherent consequences. These consequences can cause problems on both a national scale and on an individual scale.Third, today In Nahum chapter 2 verses 1-13 we learn that the result for nations and individuals, due to sin, is just sad. It’s awful.We’ll see the consequences of Assyria’s sin coming from not just the judgement seat of the Lord but through the means of the Babylonian Empire. Themselves, though not as wicked as Assyria, still a brutal Empire. So we have some not good people being used as an instrument against other not good people, producing an ugly situation. But one that ultimately brings about judgement on evil and deliverance for those who take refuge in the Lord. God draws straight lines with crooked sticks.This principle holds true for Jesus and the gospel…so that when you go to the cross, Jesus is experiencing the ugly consequences of sin, Pilate, the false trial, the soldiers mocking and beating him it’s ugly because the people crucifying him are themselves personally evil, and we will see that with Assyria as a city falls over the next two weeks.Read Nahum 2:1-13 (begin and end with v. 13)#1 vv 1-6 The Falling City#2 vv. 7-9 The Plundered City#3 vv. 10-12 The Predator Removed#4 vv. 13 Why? Because God was against them.#1 Vv. 1-6 The Falling City[1] The scatterer has come up against you. Man the ramparts; watch the road; dress for battle (gird your loins); collect all your strength. [2] For the LORD is restoring the majesty of Jacob as the majesty of Israel, for plunderers have plundered them and ruined their branches.· ILL: Gandalf racing on horseback through Gondor, shouting, “prepare for Battle!” And you look out over Pellenor field and see the orc hordes….The Second and terrifying thing is God is telling Assyria to prepare for head to head battle…yes with Babylon but ultimately, this is like Moses looking Pharoah in the Eye saying get all the magicians…Be as prepared as you can in your own human strength. God’s mighty hand is about to Restore the freedom of the Israelites from Egyptian Bondage….Watch Prince of Egypt if you want to see this put to great music.· Prepare for Battle. Man the walls and What do you see? The Red Babylonian Army. Read v. 3.· “The Red Babylonian army led by King Nabopolassar. Who seems to be “the scatterer.”· According to our text, Two different people. Two different agents are acting simultaneously against Ninevah in real time.o The red Babylonian army is there…What do they want? They are conquerors. They are removing a rival empire. They want to plunder and loot the city.o Yet God is sovereign. His providence governs all events in history. He has a purpose.o To understand this event which is filled with bloodshed, death, Wickedness and yet in the midst of it all Deliverance for Judah…o We must remember two other events that show this same dynamic.· First, Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers, and the Lord used it…actually the Lord decreed it in order to provide food and grain to preserve the Abrahamic Line, the Covenant people of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in his old Age.· Second, the Crucifixion of Jesus.§ Genesis 50:15–21 [15] When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “It may be that Joseph will hate us and pay us back for all the evil that we did to him.” [Who did it. They did it? Why because they desired to, they acted in creaturely freedom to do what they wanted. What they wanted was evil. And they did the evil of selling their brother into slavery….][16] So they sent a message to Joseph, saying, “Your father gave this command before he died: [17] ‘Say to Joseph, “Please forgive the transgression of your brothers and their sin, because they did evil to you.”’ And now, please forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father.” Joseph wept when they spoke to him. [18] His brothers also came and fell down before him and said, “Behold, we are your servants.” [19] But Joseph said to them, “Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? [I am not the Lord of History. God is clearly at work saving us.] [20] As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. [21] So do not fear; I will provide for you and your little ones.” Thus he comforted them and spoke kindly to them. (ESV)· So men of selfish desires acted wickedly. God used, ordained, the events to ultimately bring about a deliverance.· Joseph’s brother crooked sticks. The Lord’s draws the straight line of deliverance and refuge for Jacob’s tiny band that is fledgling Israel being Guarded as they leave the nest to grow into a nation in Egypt…God preserves the stepping stones of history from Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David, Exile, and return, all the way to the Cross of Jesus Christ. God must be sovereign over history. And so we see this same story unfold in Nahum 2.o In our account today.§ Assyria is wicked and is a lion killing and devouring prey – in this case frequently JUDAH.§ God desires to deliver Judah from this wickedness.§ But the third group Babylon. They aren’t a righteous army of Knights freeing the Judeans…No they are also a wicked conquering army.§ They are a crooked stick, the straight line of justice however will be drawn by God using crooked Babylon.· You are invited by Nahim to recoil at the crooked stick, and yet celebrate the refuge and freedom that is produced in God’s sovereign providence. Justice even with a straight stick is at times violent. Warfare is bloody. Nahum desires in his writing for us to recoil at the brutality and the distress of siege warfare to men, women, and children. (Even more intensely in Nahum 3).o So, the Genesis 37-50 account of Joseph and his brothers is a good example, but a far greater example is the crucifixion of Jesus himself. The greatest act of evil in the history of the world. PURE INJUSTICE against a PURELY innocent and righteous sufferer.o Bringing about God’s plan, God’s desired salvation.o Satan is truly throwing all his darkness, wickedness, and evil at God. The soldiers are brutal and beat and mock Jesus, the pretend crown of thorns, the purple robes and being spit upon, being paraded through the streets, questioned repeatedly under false pretense (the Sanhedrin) or under cowardice (Pilate) not acting according to the truth. Acts 2:22-28 describe these events this way.· Acts 2:22–25 [22] “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know—[23] this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, // you [you!] crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. [24] God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it… [and the same crucifixion described in Acts 4].· Acts 4:24–31 describes The disciples praying together, “Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them, [25] who through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit,“‘Why did the Gentiles rage, and the peoples plot in vain? [26] The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers were gathered together, against the Lord and against his Anointed’—[27] for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, [They gathered they freely came together to crucify Christ but in the same breathe verse 28 says, [28] to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. [And they ask for boldness to keep preaching the gospel and they are filled with the Holy Spirit to continue to spread the gospel.]· God has a redemptive plan as the Sovereign Lord of history to save, to deliver Judah. He is good, a refuge in the day of trouble, and he knows those who are his.· Judah needs to be delivered from Assyria.· Assyria is under a just judgement and the wrath of God. He is avenging his covenant people. The bride of Christ.· The Red Army of the Babylonians are on the move with their own set of motivations and desires.o This events shows both God’s sovereign decree in history, and human responsibility (what the Babylonian army desires and does)o The ultimate divine perspective and the human level of secondary causes. Sovereign personal reigning, but not impersonal fatalism.· Assyrian will fall it will happen in this case not by purely miraculous direct supernatural means but through the true acts of the Babylonians, through “The Red Babylonian lead by King Nabopolassar, the scatterer. Look in verses 3-5 again.[3] The shield of his mighty men is red; his soldiers are clothed in scarlet. The chariots come with flashing metal [These are like battle tanks, Abrams tanks are rolling in.] on the day he musters them; the cypress spears are brandished.[4] The chariots race madly through the streets; they rush to and fro through the squares; they gleam like torches; they dart like lightning.Everything is confusing….the red army has breached a set of defenses the chariots are rushing about…Its warfare…its mad rushing about.[5] He remembers his officers; they stumble as they go, they hasten to the wall; the siege tower is set up.Assyria is falling faster than expected…History tells us they had won a small victory; the Assyrians are drunk with celebrations and so the Chariots have pushed farther and faster than expected. The officers rush to catch up with the main army and to breach the next set of defense with siege equipment.[6] The river gates are opened; the palace melts away;The river floods, the city falls, and the palace of mud bricks is melting away under the mighty waters. Who knows how metaphorical this is or literal.The king’s palace. Its fallen. The government. The leadership. The city is done for.Nahum said, at your strongest you will fall.The siege of a city can be brutal. This siege was a brief siege relatively. So, we do not hear of the horrors of one like Jerusalem in A.D. 70 with starvation.But throughout history, foreign plundering armies have been brutal. Filled with evil and suffering. This is no different as men flee#2 Vv. 7-9 The City is Plundered[7] its mistress is stripped; [That is Ninevah personified as a woman] she is carried off, The City, Ninevah is stripped of resources, beauty, cultural artifacts, everything looted. her slave girls lamenting, moaning like doves and beating their breasts.There is crying out and distress from the city falling. It’s awful. The Babylonian army is like every other conquering army throughout history. The Assyrians have lost and the Babylonian army spread through the city pillaging.Verse 8-9 Shows two things. The population of the city flees. They are running to the hills they are running to the next great Assyrian city. Like a pool of water fading away…The army begins to dessert…. [8] Nineveh is like a pool whose waters run away. “Halt! Halt!” they cry, but none turns back.Men flee from military formations and begin to run to their homes to get their family out of the city.Perhaps this is the Lord’s influence. The Lord has melted the courage in their hearts. Perhaps this is because of the river flooding. Perhaps the Lord used the river flooding to melt the hearts of the Ninevites. Look in verse 9.[9] Plunder the silver, plunder the gold! There is no end of the treasure or of the wealth of all precious things.#3 vv. 10-12 The Predator Removed[10] Desolate! Desolation and ruin! Hearts melt and knees tremble; anguish is in all loins; all faces grow pale!The city that once had conquered and plundered. Is not plundered itself. John Mackay points out the poetry in the Hebrew which we tried to echo in english. Desolate. Desolation. And Ruin. Pillaged, Plundered, and Stripped!· The Assyrian Pagan temples are filled with gold some of which stolen from the temple in Jerusalem. Pillaged.· All the heavy taxes demanded through the years of Israel and Judah hauled away. Not given back· Remember, though the Lord is working through the crooked stick of Babylonian. They do not care about Judea…But nevertheless, the Lion of Assyria has been slain. Jacob, Israel is no longer their prey.Verses 11-12 tells us the metaphor of Lion’s and their dens. The Assyrians liked Lion imagery, their young men, their soldiers were proud of their strength, and they knew they were the Apex predator. Everyone around them was prey. All they killed, they would bring back to the den, to the city, and give it to their own citizens.[11] Where is the lions’ den, the feeding place of the young lions, where the lion and lioness went, where his cubs were, with none to disturb? [12] The lion tore enough for his cubs and strangled prey for his lionesses; he filled his caves with prey and his dens with torn flesh.· But no more! No more! Babylon has Conquered, Assyria is Fallen. Judah is free.· If they will stay free of Idols. And turn and follow the Lord. Lest they too bring upon their own head the curses of the covenant.· Nahum 2 is a gripping telling by Nahum of the Fall of the city.· Remember a few thingso First, Nahum is prophesying this. It has not happened yet. But historical Babylonian records show that it happened just as he said.o Second, This is meant to comfort Judah. And I think it does two things. Its gives HOPE. Hope that one day the Assyrians will no longer oppress and plunder them.o But Third, it is also gives a warning. Judah – God’s people – will you be no different than Assyria, are you taking refuge in the Lord? Will you as chapter 1 says, will you keep your covenant vows? Will you worship God and God alone? Will you act Justly to the poor and the weak? Will the Lord be your refuge where he knows you by name. And you are UNDER the blood of the covenant, where you are made clean in the temple, and your sins are atoned for.· OR will you be a lion dragging your prey into your den like Ninevah does? Judah will you follow idols, will you worship Baal, will you sacrifice your children to Molech, will you be like wicked King Manasseh or wicked King Amon, or will you one day be like good King Josiah…Look at verse 13.#4 vv. 13 Why? Did Ninevah ultimately fall?: Because God was against them. Because God was against them, they are a predator with prey no more.[13] Behold, I am against you, declares the LORD of hosts, and I will burn your chariots in smoke, and the sword shall devour your young lions. I will cut off your prey from the earth, and the voice of your messengers shall no longer be heard. (ESV)God was Against Ninevah. That is why they will Fall. That is why he used Babylon to remove them as a lion preying on the nations.There messengers can no longer threaten, insult, levy taxes, and put pressure towards idolatry upon Judah.Remember the progression of Nahum there is· First, the warning that sin will be punished.· Second the warning that, sin is chaotic and entangling and has inherent consequences· Third, now Nahum 2 is saying the results for the sinful nation and unrepentant sinner is sadness and destruction. But in grace God’s word comes as a call to repentance for JudahWhat about you JUDAH. But what about you hearing this today? Is God for you or against you?When Judah is hearing Nahum’s prophecy, Judah is spiritually compromised, and the king is most likely Manasseh (or possibly the very early years of Amon).Remember King Manasseh reigns in the middle of the 600s BC a few decades before Assyria falls.Most likely Nahum prophesied during the reign of Manasseh, before Nineveh’s fall in 612 BC but after Assyria’s dominance was unquestioned.if I were to ask, “name a wicked king of Judah.” Manasseh’s name is THE go to answer.Manasseh led Judah’s into Deeply Corruption and IdolatryUnder Manasseh, Judah is at its lowest spiritual point since entering the land. Read. 2 Kings 21 and 2 Chronicles 33 description under Manasseh.* Baal worship was restored; Pagan Altars are inside the temple itself; There is Molech Child sacrifice; Occult practices (fortune-telling, mediums)* 2 Ki 21:9 says, “Manasseh seduced them to do more evil than the nations the LORD destroyed before the people of Israel.”This matters enormously for understanding Nahum. Because he is appealing to the remnant of Israel to turn back Nahum 1:15[15] Behold, upon the mountains, the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace! Keep your feasts, O Judah; fulfill your vows, for never again shall the worthless pass through you; he is utterly cut off. (ESV)* Judah has not been keeping her vows* Judah has copied Assyria’s gods* Judah is choosing worthless things over the LORDSo Nahum Wants his readers to remember this:· “Your enemy will fall, but do not think you are righteous.”· Assyria’s judgment is not Judah’s vindication; it is God’s patience.Even in this darkness A faithful remnant still exists. The Scriptures are not gone, the grandson of Manasseh, Josiah, will find the book of the Law, he will read it, be cut to the heart with true repentance, and go on the greatest campaign against idolatry and evil in Judah of any of the kings.Nahum is preaching to Judah’s ears preparing them for a time of spiritual renewalNahum 2:2 For the LORD is restoring the majesty of Jacob as the majesty of Israel, for plunderers have plundered them and ruined their branches. (ESV)Hear this clearly, Judah is being comforted by a judgment they themselves deserve, except for God’s covenant mercy.Judah must move from Manasseh to Josiah. From deforming themselves in sin to reforming themselves in faithfulness to the covenant, the word of God, and worship.You and I must do the same throughout our lives whether we the culture is trending towards wicked Manasseh or a reforming Josiah. Our lives must constantly be wisely turning from sin and turning to Christ. Humbling seeking Christ.Judah should not think. Assyria is falling. I am righteous. NO that was Ninevah’s mistake, thinking God does not hear, God does not care, there is no justice, sin has no consequences, sin does not distort and lie to me.o Persisting in unrepentant sin, presuming on grace, or clinging to idols places a person in God’s opposition.o Mercy, patience is always meant to lead to renewed repentance and trusting in the mercy of God.· When is God for someone? God is for sinners who repent and take refuge in Him.o God Is For Those Who Take Refuge in Himo “The LORD is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; he knows those who take refuge in him.”(Nahum 1:7, ESV)o If God Is For You it is Because He Has Acted for your in Christo Rom. 8:31 says, “If God is for us, who can be against us?”· Paul does not say this lightly. He grounds it in the cross: “He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things??Turn from your sin and Look to Christ in faith, and you will find a certain refuge. If you are battling sin and you feel the guilt and shame of it today. Remember, God is a refuge for sinners. Pray and ask for strength. Seek the Lord. He meets you each week in worship to feed you, to weaken sin, and to strengthen the obedience that flows from a living faith. He will sanctify all those who are in Christ and indwelt by his holy Spirit.So this week pray to him, speak of your sin honestly. Ask him to put it to death. Speak of his goodness. The beauty and the sweetness of a savior who died for you. Speak to God as your Father who saves you in Christ and ask him to make you more and more like Christ. Christ is a sweet refuge for sinners who are tired of their sins and do not want to live life fearing the wrath of God against their many sins and want refuge in a God who will one day make all things right when Christ returns. That is our certain hope.Prayer| Benediction. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jamesensley.substack.com

Pastor John Mackay says, “God’s wrath is one aspect of his character that is almost too awesome to contemplate. Its implications for sinners are so overwhelming that we shrink from it. But there is another attribute of God that his people have to remember so as to have a full orbed appreciation of the God with whom they have to do. [The LORD is good]. God [is] implacably opposed to what is morally wrong, and has as himself the standard by which all goodness is determined.”Further, we saw last week that this opposition to wrong means that we as sinners need a rescue. But as those rescued by the grace of God, this is the very good news that God will truly deal with all evil in the final analysis. Such that Heaven can be a wonderful place, filled with glory and grace. Because a Holy, Good, Wise, and Just God has dealt fully and finally with Evil. The second component of this is the Timing of God. We see that in the patience of the Lord, the slowness to anger, that God deliberates and chooses the timing of his justice. This was good news because it means that like Adam and Eve the Lord is patient and his timing allows for the Gospel. The good news of rescue and refuge in Christ Jesus.This week, we will see a small example of Evil and the entangling chaotic nature of sin. Ninevah is plotting against the Lord and the Lord’s people. Because God cares for those who take refuge in him, He will make an end of Ninevah.Read: Nahum 1:7–15#1 vv.9 Plotting against God? The End. (v.9).#2 vv. 10-13 The Entangling Folly of Sin (v. 10-13).#3 A Case Study of Foolish Idolatry (v. 11,12, 14).#4 Peace with God: The Freedom of Wisely Worshipping (12b, 13, 15).[7] The LORD is good,a stronghold in the day of trouble;he knows those who take refuge in him.[8] But with an overflowing floodhe will make a complete end of the adversaries,and will pursue his enemies into darkness.We will go more into the end of Ninevah in the future. But one thing to note is verse 8 says with an overflowing flood God makes an end of his adversaries. And in this case, Ninevah quite literally historically did flood at its downfall; the river flooding was part of the ordinary means the Lord used to allow Babylon to conquer it.The Prodigal Son: [Tell the opening story up until he takes his father’s money and his intended uses for that money]….It was a plot dreamed up in his heart…He believed he could do it, get away with it, and gain ease and pleasure in the world. You see sinful plotting can range from wicked nations like the assyrians serving the idols of power and glory. All the way to the idols of Money, Pleasure, possessions, and fame. What do we suppose the end of this kind of plotting is?1. The Folly of Plotting & Idolatry against God: verses 9-11? (v.9-13).Look in verse [9] What do you plot against the LORD? He will make a complete end; trouble will not rise up a second time.i. Evil is frequently talked about in the bible as scheming or plotting against God. Plotting against the Lord’s people or even plotting against the Lord’s creation.1. A couple Examples; Psalm 2, the nations rage and PLOT in vain against the Lord’s anointed. God laughs and the psalmist says the anointed king reigns in Jerusalem. Ultimately this is about Jesus. Satan has long opposed God, the people of God, and eventually the anointed messiah of God.2. Proverbs 21:29-30 [29] A wicked man puts on a bold face, but the upright gives thought to his ways. [30] No wisdom, no understanding, no counsel (or no plan no plotting) can avail against the LORD. (ESV)3. Whether nations or Individuals, in the long run it is Fruitless to plot against God. Indeed, it is inherently dangerous. He will make an end to it, Stan plotted to strike at God throughout history until he finally struck at Jesus’ heel, which he then crushed down on the head of Satan, pivotally at the Cross and as we saw last week when he returns in glory to fully and finally crush evil and bring us into heaven where trouble will never rise up to plot again. No, not ever..So plots are vain. Second, The Entangling Folly of Sin (v. 10-13)[10] For they are like entangled thorns, like drunkards as they drink; they are consumed like stubble fully dried.2. Nahum: You are sneaking around God’s creation where you shouldn’ta. You are going up against the Lord and his peopleb. You soon forget the plot against other people as your own plots and sin takes your full attention.c. The IMAGE: Is of a burglar coming against a house and getting entangled in thorn bushes as they try to break in, the second image is of a drunk man going against a foe and stumbling around or possibly just sleeping off his stupor in his chair while being attacked.i. SIN entangles and confuses us; that is the general principle here. Or Sin makes us easy prey to downfalls.1. There is a Chaotic nature surrounding people entrapped in relational sina. Nations that sin against other nations stir up chaos and the Lord is going to Judge Ninevah for this.2. But closer to home for us: there is a Chaotic nature of people entrapped in societally destabilizing action – Empires have always reaped what they sowed when they do not let the people dwell in peace. When they do evil and not good towards others.a. Either creating unethical people or a destabilized region.b. Example: B.B. Warfield and the distress in the streets…sees one calm man, and asks “What is man’s chief end?” “To glorify God and enjoy him forever.”c. Trusting the Lord, the living and true God, or giving ourselves to the idols mentioned here that are poor counselors of money, possessions, passions, and power that is fleeting…the Living God, or the thorns of Satan and entangling sin with all its confusion and distress.3. For you – you will reel or become entangled if you abandon the Lord’s commands for your life. In Every area of our life we are tempted to think we can lay aside God’s commands for our Speech, or our anger, or even our relationships.a. In dating, marriage, singleness, as father, or mother no matter the status. There is a chaotic cost to sin every time.i. There are consequences - if we sin in marrying an unbeliever. Because two people are no longer pursuing the same horizon of God. Because Everyone has an ultimate chief controlling life goal, and the Lord knows our relationship will reel and suffer confusion if one person is pursuing idolatry and one person is pursuing God in Christ; knowing the gospel of forgiveness and reconciliation makes a difference.d. There are consequences if we act abusively towards family members.i. It may be as simple as the economic and relational cost of a split home. Of now having two mortgages, and two of everything rather than one home, one marriage, and peace.ii. That’s the bad news of the sinfulness of sin. We’ll get to the good news in a second…I’m trying to not just let us sit in the general principle of “oh poor Assyria, they got what they deserve” and “oh sin, vaguely defined, has consequences.”One way to overcome this vagueness is to remember the revealed moral law of God. A study of the 10 commandments and the catechism questions on each one reminds us of how we are called to live, God’s plan for holy living, lays out the many ways we can sin against God and neighbor. And a good exercise is to ask, Why? Why commands on honoring parents, murder, coveting, stealing, lying, and sexual immorality….Well if you trace each way as a way to Love God and Love our Neighbor we see that sin then harms our neighbor, is against God, and ultimately means we have not loved our own lives because we have embraced the foolishness of sin in each broken commandment. As I said last week, “I will run in the way of your commandments when you enlarge my heart” (v. 32); “Your testimonies are my delight; they are my counselors.” Enlarge my Heart, O God, lest I stumble and fall.Jim McCarthy says, “When we open our Bibles in private or at the start of a Sunday sermon, our desire must be for the Holy Spirit to stretch, hammer, and mold our hearts over the anvil of his word. It must be our desire to be shaped by the Bible, and never to shape the Bible. With young Samuel we must learn to pray: ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant hears’ (I Sam. 3:9).”….And to do this is to believe every word of God about the true nature of the chaotic cost of sin.There is a chaotic cost to sin every time. [10] For they are like entangled thorns, like drunkards as they drink; they are consumed like stubble fully dried.Even if, as the psalmist says, it seems like for a year, 5 years, 30 years the person has gained from the sin, or the wicked has prospered. No, they didn’t. No, they didn’t, not at the end of the day.1. There was a costliness to that sin. There was disorder of God’s good creation and a misery produced by it. Even if no one will tell you the cost and only his word, only God himself is wise and good enough to tell what the cost was. Trust the Lord even when sin seems to have all upsides and no downside to it.2. Remember Ninevah had a revival 100 years before Nahum wrote and you can imagine as that faded and they fell back into wickedness and idolatry. Maybe for a few years they wondered what the cost was going to be…until eventually they said. There is no cost. That repentance was a brief panic. The Lord of Heaven and Earth does not care, let us turn to idols, let us turn to sin, it is easier and more comfortable this way.3. But it is a lie: Nations pay the price. Families pay the price as do communities, as does every individual living soul.4. Assyria will feel secure in its greatness; there are historical reasons to think their army was drunk and off guard when they were attacked.5. And like dry stubble the end is quick a flash.v Let us look more closely at the State of Ninevah in verses 11-14… Because this is the specific example given…#3 A Case Study of Foolish Idolatry (v. 11,12, 14).[11] From you came one who plotted evil against the LORD, a worthless counselor. [12] Thus says the LORD, “Though they are at full strength and many, they will be cut down and pass away.[14] The LORD has given a commandment about you: “No more shall your name be perpetuated;from the house of your gods I will cut off the carved image and the metal image. I will make your grave, for you are vile.”1. A worthless counselor plots evil against the LORDa. Most likely this is the Evil Assyrian King Sennacherib. His counseling is actually very extensive in 2 Kings 18, where he gives his opinion of the LORD, and where Israel should put their trust.b. Remember, Hezekiah has become king and he does what is right in the Lord’s eyes according to all that David his father had done. He removes idols and pillars and even the bronze serpant of Moses that people had begun to worship. …We are told He trusted in the LORD, the God of Israel. And he even rebelled against the king of Assyria and would not serve him.c. During this same time, Israel in the north was still deep in idolatry and they were carried off by Assyria in 722 BC.d. So the Assyrian King Sennacherib imposes a massive tribute on Hezekiah, 300 talents of gold. And in 2 Kings 18:15 “And Hezekiah gave him all the silver that was found in the house of the LORD and in the treasuries of the king’s house. At that time Hezekiah stripped the gold from the doors of the temple of the LORD and from the door posts that Hezekiah king of Judah had overlaid and gave it to the king of Assyria….But Sennacherib came with his army anyway…and the communication from Sennacherib through intermediaries is this: “18:18 On what do you rest this trust of yours? Do you think that mere words are strategy and power for war? In whom do you now trust, that you have rebelled against me?”e. He then goes on to mock Hezekiah, mistakenly thinking Hezekiah removed the high places. That Hezekiah’s removal of idols from Judah was his removal of God. When in fact, it was Hezekiah being faithful to the Lord. (v.22)f. He then mocks Israel, attempting to counsel them to fear Assyria and ignore Hezekiah’s kingly leadership to trust in God.g. Assyria feels like they are at full strength. They feel powerful and like the great majority *verse 12 of Nahum…h. Sennacharib says, make peace with ME. Not the LORD God. Then you will prosper…things will be great and easy.i. He then mocks all the countries’ he has conquered saying their gods are worthless and defeated and couldn’t defend them.j. “But the people [ofJudah were silent] and answered him not a word , for the king’s command was, ‘Do not answer him.” But they were scared….i. Hezekiah in his fear went to the LORD, tore his clothes. And he knows Judah is physically weak compared to Assyria.ii. But he notes to the prophet Isaiah in 2 Kings 19:4 “It may be that the LORD your God heard all the words…the king of Assyria has sent to mock the living God, and will rebuke the words that the LORD your God has heard….To spoil the end of this particular account. Sennacherib speaks against God saying 19:10 “Do not let your God in whom you trust deceive you by promising that Jerusalem will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria…”iii. After blaspheming God, he then tries to defeat Jerusalem…Hezekiah says, “2 Kings 19:19 So now, O LORD our God, save us, please, from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you, O LORD, are God alone.” (ESV)iv. TO which the Lord replies. “I will defend this city to save it, for my own sake and for the sake of my servant David.” And that night the angel of the LORD went out and struck down 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians [v.19:36] Then Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and went home and lived at Nineveh. [37] And as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, Adrammelech and Sharezer, his sons, struck him down with the sword and escaped into the land of Ararat. And Esarhaddon his son reigned in his place. (2 Ki. 19:36-37)v. Nahum 1:14 The LORD has given commandment about you: “No more shall your name be perpetuated; from the house of your gods I will cut off the carved image and the metal image. I will make your grave, for you are vile.k. Evil ultimately serves false idols (v.14)l. Those who worship idols worship worthless things6. In the end idols always wants more…power…wealth…pleasure. it will never be enough until our sin consumes us…or the Lord disciplines us.a. Its all very extravagant when its nations and Assyrians and names like Sennacharib.b. But it’s the same today. The Human heart is a perpetual idol factory. The names change, the way we sin changes, but all are vile distortions of the good, the true, and the beautiful.c. How very different a mindset idols produce in us Compared that to the fruit of the spirit – sober-minded, alert, on guard, awake. In 1 Peter and the Gospels. Joy. Peace. Paitence. Kindness. Goodness. Faithfulness. Self-control.Let’s recap some Application, Lessons for us From verses 9-14 Questions to ask our heartsd. First Remember: Alarm bells – Is my sin, whether secret or public making me have to think, plan, and plot further sins to get away with it or to keep pursuing it?e. Second, Do I remember and believe that my sin will be brought to an end either through natural consequences or by the LORD on judgment day?f. Third have I considered: The heavy hand of the Lord?i. The Lord judges those plotting evil against him and his people. And also…ii. The Lord chastens him whom he loves. Like a father disciplines the son he loves. So good news in the confusion, plotting, and reeling. If you are 1 step down the trail of sin, 3 steps, or even 50 steps and you feel the entangling, confusion, and the sense of impending doom from your sin.iii. That may be the good news that you are a child of God and has not abandoned you to your sin but your conscience, the Holy Spirit, is still working in your heart and mind to say – flee from this – go to Christ – entrust yourself to the loving forgiveness of your Father.iv. Remember the Church is a hospital and a refuge for those who are tired of their sin, and desire to seek a fellowship of brothers and sisters to begin plucking the thorns from their wounds, and to bring clarity, truth, and order to the confusion brought about by your sin.7. Remember the Good news of gospel is the Lord offers reconciliation and healing to sinners:i. The bible consistently shows those who have made a mess of things the promise the call from God is the free offer to at any instant to repent and be forgiven by the Lord.ii. But what the bible does not promise is that we will always have more time to repent and return to the Lord. There is a suddenness to life. Ninevah has fully given itself to sin. To sinful plots. To entanglement, chaos, and either confusion or feeling at ease as they drink. And like an overwhelming and sudden end they will have a complete end and will never rise again.iii. Nahum gives one historical example of Sennacherib and warns that it will be much worse this time. Nahum is not about the fall of Sennacherib (in 701 BC) that is only an example.. Nahum 2 and 3 will not just be the destruction of their army away at Jerusalem but the violent conquest of Ninevah some 80 years later by the Babylonians in 622 B.C. And as we’ll see over the next two weeks, war is not pretty. What the Assyrians did to others was brutal, and their judgement by the Babylonians will be as well.How should Judah respond to this good news that the evil Empire of Assyria is no longer going to be oppressing them? Look in verse 15#4 Peace with God: The Freedom of Wisely Worshipping[15] Behold, upon the mountains, the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace! [it is said for the fortress cities you could tell that good news was coming based on how the messenger on foot ran joyfully in reporting the news. Good news behold good news is running towards you Judah, and should they respond? Second part of verse 15…]Keep your feasts, O Judah; fulfill your vows, for never again shall the worthless pass through you; he is utterly cut off. (ESV)2. Remember the Prodigal son…he had hit rock bottom….there are two futures possible for hima. One is like Ninevah…they no longer worshipped the Lord in any way. They were not his people. They did not take refuge in him.b. The second is Judah. Ike the prodigal son, returning home to his father, his father running to embrace his son that was lost but now is alive. [the prodigal remembered]c. Judah needs to remember the Lord. After the time of Hezekiah a good king, Judah has two very wicked kings in a row in Nahum’s Day. Manasseh and Amon. God is calling Judah to hear the downfall of wicked Assyria, to turn from the evil idolatry of King Manasseh with his rebellion and abominations, rebuilding pagan high places. King Amon was also a wicked king. So cruel that his servants assassinated him. But out of this Young Josiah was made king at just 8 years old. And he reigned 31 years. He was a reformer. 2 Kings 22:2 says, Josiah “did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and walked in the ways of David his father, and he did not turn aside to the right or the left. King Josaih was a good king; he fulfilled his role as king, kept the covenant vows of Judah, and truly worshipped the Lord.The exhortations make historical sense only in Josiah’s day:· Verse 15 “Keep your feasts” → Temple worship is restored; Hilkiah the priest finds the book of the Law and Josiah restores the feast of booths; Passover is restored; the covenant is renewed with vows, and for a time they have peace and righteousness.· Nahum is saying: Now that the LORD has broken Assyria’s yoke, respond rightly.· Embrace Freedom from worthless idols.Nahum’s good news did not end when Assyria fell, because Assyria was only the shadow of a deeper enemy. In Christ He bears the judgment in His own body. The yoke is not merely broken—it is nailed to the tree. And so announces a greater good news than just Nineveh’s fall—peace with God through the blood of His Son. Keep the feast, fulfill your vows, rejoice in your King—because in Christ the enemy is truly cut off, and the Lord Himself has become our refuge forever.PrayerBenediction. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jamesensley.substack.com

*audio issues. Hopefully corrected now*Introduction: Jonah & Historical Preface (Jonah mid-700s; Nahum Mid-600s.These verses preview the whole book. If Jonah shows God’s mercy for those who repent. Than Nahum shows God’s justice against wicked unrepentant Ninevah. This serves to comfort God’s people who suffer under the oppression of an evil Assyrian empire.Read: Nahum 1:1–7[1] An oracle concerning Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum of Elkosh.God’s Wrath Against Nineveh[2] The LORD is a jealous and avenging God;the LORD is avenging and wrathful;the LORD takes vengeance on his adversariesand keeps wrath for his enemies.[3] The LORD is slow to anger and great in power,and the LORD will by no means clear the guilty.His way is in whirlwind and storm,and the clouds are the dust of his feet.[4] He rebukes the sea and makes it dry;he dries up all the rivers;Bashan and Carmel wither;the bloom of Lebanon withers.[5] The mountains quake before him;the hills melt;the earth heaves before him,the world and all who dwell in it.[6] Who can stand before his indignation?Who can endure the heat of his anger?His wrath is poured out like fire,and the rocks are broken into pieces by him.[7] The LORD is good,a stronghold in the day of trouble;he knows those who take refuge in him. (ESV)First, v. The Burden of the Book, v. 1Second, the Character of God: Good but not Safe, v. 2-6Third, Wrath & Refuge, v. 7#1 The burden of the Book: This is an oracle, literally a burden, a weight to speak!. Nahum is a prophet and like a water tower creates water pressure that leads to water pouring forth. Nahum must pour forth the very word of God. This is not Nahum’s thoughts, nor the thoughts of a mere man, this is the word of the Lord. This is the word of which the psalmist in Psalm 119 says, “I will run in the way of your commandments when you enlarge my heart” (v. 32); “Your testimonies are my delight; they are my counselors” (v. 24); “The sum of your word is truth, and every one of your righteous rules endures forever”Nahum is pouring forth truth that we ought to meditate on, long for, delight in, and see as righteous and enduring forever, more precious than Gold. But the key phrase there is that we need our hearts and minds enlarged and conformed to it, counseled by it. Because God’s thoughts are not our thoughts. Because God is God. And so we must meditate all the more to receive the teaching of the word of God to our hearts, souls, wisdom, and affections.Nahum’s burden is that we receive the truth of Who God is and in particular that he is living and active. He says specifically that this concerns Ninevah. But it is written to Judah to encourage God’s people. Ninevah, though mighty, though powerful, though cruel that God remembers his people and his judgement will fall on Ninevah and he will remember his people. Like Israel is remembered in Exodus.If, like Ninevah, you are unrepentant, and doing wrong towards others, this would make this a terrifying book.But for southern Judea, and Nahum is meant to encourage God’s people that he has the power to save. God will be their defender and avenger of every wrong directed toward them, showing we need both a good God and a God who saves. That is the burden of the book.#2 The Character of God: Good but not Safe, v. 2-6Look again in verse 2The LORD is a jealous and avenging God;the LORD is avenging and wrathful;the LORD takes vengeance on his adversariesand keeps wrath for his enemies.There are three terms here applied to God we must think through carefully here because each of these three terms, jealous, avenging, and wrathful, is very different if the person described by them is entirely Good, Wise, and Just vs Evil, Foolish, and unjust. if the person has a right relationship with you or one of harm….…depending on context, these traits may drive loving care, justice, and salvation for weak and defenseless creatures….Or terrible news to the defenseless if assigned to a sinner, someone we morally do not trust to be Good.Second, it not only depends on the person with these traits but on you. It truly depends on if you are currently harming the loved one of this jealous avenger or if you are the victim being rescued by your avenging savior….ILL: Taken, Liam Neesom (Daughter)…It matters if you are the kidnapper or the kidnapped…Jim Mccarthy says, this of v. 2: “… We equate jealousy with envy, bitterness, and covetousness. But God’s jealously is holy. It is his righteous zeal for that which belongs to him. As a wife is jealous over the eyes of her husband, the Lord is jealous for the singular worship of his people. As a father is jealous for the safety of his children, so the Lord is jealous for the well-being of his own when they are threatened.” – Jim McCarthy, 69.In this context. Here, God’s Jealousy is that of a husband witnessing someone insult or attack his wife. Ninevah, the Assyrian empire, has overstepped. [Pause].Second term: Vengeance: Romans 12:19 says, Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”This is a call to entrust ourselves to God’s moral timing in justice. To remind ourselves that, as mere humans and limited creatures dealing with our own sin, we have to, in faith, entrust ourselves to a wise God.We distinguish two types of Avengers: One type of vengeance is illegitimate. Because it is without a transcendent moral claim, it is without complete knowledge; these avengers are frowned upon. Versus, God’s vengeance, which is always true Justice, based on true knowledge, perfect righteousness, and perfect holiness. God by Definition of his transcendent moral authority NOT a vigilante.God is the rightful king of the universe who will take vengeance on his adversaries and keep wrath for his enemies. Why? He is jealous Husband, shepherd, and friend for those who are his. He knows those who take refuge in him, verse 7 says. …Good news. But also Scary right?ILL: Remember in Narnia the Lion the Witch and the wardrobe. The children go through the wardrobe into Narnia…Its always winter never Christmas…evil has a frozen hold on the land through the White Witch…But Aslan is coming. And the children hear he is a great and powerful Lion.And they ask is he safe? And Mr. Beaver replies Safe? Of course, he isn’t safe…but he is Good.The Assyrians are being warned that they have the wrath of a Jealous King for his people turned against them….And I think as westerners we rightfully have caution over jealousy, wrath, and retributive justice because We know Human beings do not always have all the facts, we are emotionally volatile, we can be jealous of things for which we have no right over.We believe in limited government because we believe in Total Depravity, the sinfulness of mankind, that one who has an impure heart, is not perfectly HOLY tends to use power corruptly. [pause]But God is the rightful creator and judge, he is full of wisdom and knowledge, and he is jealous ultimately for His covenant people. He is Good and incorruptible.He has said, “I will be your God and you will be my people’ Ultimately those who are the bride of Christ, the Church, he is jealous for his flock the sheep whom he will guard from evil wolves. So Ninevah has become a rabid wolf, or in Narnia, the White Witch who is an adversary an enemy of his people…God is A Terror…to evil….but he is Good.And that is where this word wrath comes in. God is not disinterested about evil, God is not apathetic toward wickedness. No, the word Wrath speaks of personal heat and fury directed against particular evil and evildoers. Nahum illustrates the strength of God’s holy opposition to evil by using the strength and fury of Nature in (look in v. 3-6). God’s power is a Tornado and it’s all under his feet. He is greater than the fury of the Ocean. (if you’ve ever seen videos on boats on the oceans it is immense terrifying…and the ocean dries up before his might; the mightiest mountains melt before him, and he is stronger than the most powerful of earthquakes and so v. 6 asks:[6] Who can stand before his indignation?Who can endure the heat of his anger?His wrath is poured out like fire,and the rocks are broken into pieces by him.That question is one to be wrestled with especially when we place it right next to verse 3.v. 3….The LORD is slow to anger and great in power, [repeat slow to anger AND great in powerand the LORD will by no means clear the guilty.If we know the sinfulness of sin in light of the Holy Goodness of God we will recognize his great patience…When Adam and Eve sinned, he said “you will surely die…that is the greatness of sin, the greatness of his patience is that very day God who is slow to anger and great in power…substituted an animal in their place and clothed them in animal skins….Did God just forget that it was Adam and Eve who deserved death? Was he clearing the guilty? OR did all guilt, sin, and wrongness in the world actually get addressed? …God is not the security guard at the Movie theater who sees you smuggling food into the theater…who sees you smuggling sin into his creation and just waves you through….Can God be both Slow to Anger, Great in power, and not clear the guilty without all of us perishing?Both must be true. Can both be true?Walk with me a little longer we’re going to circle all around this a few more times.Do we believe God is God? Do we believe God is Good and Patient And that he can pour out Wrath and Justice against particular sinners, particular people? And do we believe this can possibly be good news?Long quote but I appreciate Jim McCarthy here: “This reality [of God’s wrath] can be difficult for believers. But it is utterly unbearable to an unbelieving world. So when preachers and churches fear the wrath of the world more than the wrath of God, this inconvenient but inescapable truth is usually the first to go. One need look no further for evidence than to Rob Bell’s 2011 bestseller, Love Wins. The former pastor wrote, ‘Millions and millions of people... were taught that the primary message of the gospel of Jesus is that God is going to send you to hell unless you believe in Jesus. And so, what got subtly sort of caught and taught is that Jesus rescues you from God. But what kind of God is that, that we would need to be rescued from [him]? How could that God ever be good? How could that God ever be trusted? And how could that ever be good news?... The good news is that love wins.But Bell is wrong. There can be no perfect love without perfect hatred. God’s love and wrath are the equal and opposite manifestations of his holiness. God loves righteousness because he is holy. God hates wickedness for the very same reason: he is holy.” (McCarthy, 71).Do we believe God is God and we are not? Jonah struggled with that when God said, “I will show mercy on your enemies because they have repented and turned to me.”What is not yet clear in the Bible’s history is just how that sin will be covered. We know the wages of sin are death. We know that they had transgressed the justice of God and that the only way people could be shown mercy without compromising the justice, holiness, and perfect goodness of God is that a costly covering and atonement for that sin had to happen.But that wasn’t any of Jonah’s business. We, now see Christ, who was God, left heaven SENT by this Just and Holy Father sent to save us. We are saved by Jesus, the Son voluntarily being sent by the Father and giving up his glory. Jesus, in perfect harmony with the Father left The Glory of heavenly hosts to step into the world that now is filled with death, sin and misery in order to provide that costly atonement, in order to enter into and raise us up from the muck itself.So as Western Christians, we intuitively say Jonah, look at the mercy of God of course God is merciful.” …because we are on the other side of the cross, where costly mercy was shown—By the Father sending Jesus who would lay down his life, and he has laid down his life for us.And if he is for us then there remains no more penalty for sin, and that indeed is true of us—IF we have fled sin and wrath into his marvelous grace.But this isn’t Jonah, this is Nahum and Nahum gives us a very different kind of Mind & Heart challenge. God is God and we are not! God in his infinite goodness and holiness, can say to the Ninevites 100 years later, “you have stepped over the line” “you have assaulted my child Israel, and my goodness means that I must administer justice. Every wrong willbe made right.And every wrong being made right is done with righteous fury, righteous jealousy over his child Israel, a righteous putting to death of all that is wicked and sinful.I want to press this home a little more by contemplating more fully who Christ Jesus is and how he matches this portrait of God, and why this is Good news: So how does the Wrath of God and the Hope of Heaven God together?Once again remember what Jim McCarthy argued in response to Rob Bell: “There can be no perfect love without perfect hatred. God’s love and wrath are the equal and opposite manifestations of his holiness. God loves righteousness because he is holy. God hates wickedness for the very same reason: he is holy.””Look in verse 7 The LORD is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; he knows those who take refuge in him.#3 Wrath & Refuge: In order for heaven to be Good and paradise, then God must be wrathful towards sin.If one day heaven is going to be a wonderful place, filled with glory and grace, the book of Revelation says sin cannot dwell there. Look with me in Revelation 19 & 21 and ask: How is everything made right, glorious, and beautiful?First, Look in Revelation 19:11-16 and listen to this description, of Jesus. In his first coming, Jesus came in humility to rescue sinners on the cross…Paul says this is a time of patience, but when Christ returns he comes mounted on a White Horse to defeat evil and usher in heaven.[Rev. 19:11] Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. [12] His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. [13] He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. [14] And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. [15] From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. [16] On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.Next look in Revelation 21:1–7 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. [2] And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. [3] And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. [4] He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”Everything is made right. Jesus came in humility and made it right on the cross….But in order for there to be life and light, the holy city, safe from all harm… the End of Revelation 21 must also be true. God must dwell there. And God is God. God is good. God is just. And Second. Sin cannot dwell there for it to be truly beautiful and a safe refuge for those who names are written in the lambs book of lifeLast Look in Revelation 21:22–27 asking but what must also be true of heaven for it to be a wonderful place?[22] And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. [23] And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. [24] By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, [25] and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. [26] They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. [Pause… v. 27] But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.To which we must ask the question, where does the justice of God fall in my life when I take a full inventory of every thought and deed in my entire life, and I do fall far short of the goodness of God…And well, yes, we can say “much sin has been done against me. I see the misery of this world impacted by sin.”But. I myself have contributed evil in this world, so I must look to God for mercy to be enfolded in Christ Jesus and cleansed and made acceptable, such that God then becomes a refuge, a shelter in the time of storm.Rev. 21:27 said, “only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life” shall enter in there. It further says, “nothing unclean will ever enter into it.”Nahum 1:6-7 asked the question: [6] Who can stand before his indignation? Who can endure the heat of his anger? His wrath is poured out like fire, and the rocks are broken into pieces by him.But then equally true: [7] The LORD is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; he knows those who take refuge in him.“Who can stand” the answer No one but the singular righteous man. Christ and Christ chose not just to stand for himself but to stand in our place.Because God’s good and just indignation against sin fell fully upon Christ, it does not fall upon those who are united to Him by faith. We endure as guilty sinners before God not because His justice has been set aside, but because His justice has been satisfied in Christ.And Nahum presses this home so vividly such as it almost hurts us in our guts in our stomach to hear what happens to sinbecause then we realize how very wrong it is in comparison to God and how very great our sin really is if it warrants, and it does warrant the response of God described in Nahum against Nineveh.And then we look to Christ, and we see unearned mercy, steadfast love, and a savior who bore our sins on the cross, our sins our burden buried in his tomb, and his life, light, and holiness clothing us in his resurrection by the Holy Spirit uniting us Sinners to Christ our savior, and God our Father, and he was both Just and Refuge because he knows each and every individual name of those who take refuge in…him…those who take refuge in Christ!PrayerBenediction This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jamesensley.substack.com

Note: Apologies for the audio recording quality. The lapel mic failed to pair to the phone and so this is a recording from the phone across the whole sanctuary.Manuscript: J.C. Ryle says, “every birth of a living child is a marvelous event. It brings into being a soul that will never die. But never since the world began was a birth so marvelous as the birth of Christ…it opened to man the door of everlasting life.” – Ryle, Expository thoughts on Luke, 38.· Introduction: Gabriel has come to Mary and said You will bear a son sent by the Father, The Holy Spirit will create life. By the Power of the life-giving Spirit, Jesus will be miraculously conceived according to the scriptures.· We now enter into something very earthy in Luke Chapter 2. Very grounded feeling as Heaven meets earthly realities in a fallen world, receiving her newborn King.· The Birth of Jesus happened in time, with specific people, in specific places, and the message and events of Jesus begin to unfold in very humble, tangible ways. Yes, still with angels, and worship, but also mangers, and family travel plans, government census’, and lodging problems.· Is this not your spiritual life – There is the lightning bolt of seeing your sin and a need for a savior, the desperation of the darkness of your heart, your failures, your sins, and the cry for God to come and forgive, to cleanse, to heal, because you need Jesus. You know that you put him on the cross! “It was my sins that held him there”….And then you enter into a very ordinary life: School. Work. Family. Travel. Kids. Government officials. Some things are good, some things are bad, but your life is different once you are in Christ. The ordinary must be seen in light of the spiritually extraordinary realities of being saved, born again, and living for your Savior and King Jesus, in fellowship and worship with God’s people. Good news! Spiritual Glory meets Earthly Lives in Luke Chapter 2 verses 1-20.Read: Luke 2:1–20Prayer of Illumination#1 The Birth of A Humble King vv. 1-6#2 If Jesus is for the Shepherds, then what? Vv. 8-12#3 Angels Worship, Shepherds Wonder, Mary Ponders (vv.13-20)#1 The Birth of Jesus: A Humble King vv. 1-6[1] In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. [2] This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. [3] And all went to be registered, each to his own town.* Caeser Augustus formerly “Octavian” considered a good administrator and allowed his provinces a great deal of self-governance in law and religion. And the Lord used him to fulfill Micah 5:2 - unwittingly summoning Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem, to begin and 70 mile journey while pregnant.This was “in those days”, that is the days when Herod the great was King of Judah.[Tell 2 Samuel 24 and the fear of a Census ever since David’s….]This actually delayed the enactment of Augustus’ census until Quirinius got their act together to force the census…* earthy, people, time bound, he took on our nature, he entered our fallen world, he submitted to the law of God and the earthly human situation. Census. Taxes. Go to this town for legal reasons. Roman political situations.[ look in verse 4] And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, [5] to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. [Pause]. …The household of David returns to Bethlehem to be numbered…and in God’s providence he is born in Bethlehem.A) But he grew up in Nazereth it is only in the Lord’s providence through layers of Roman bureacracy that the census brings him to Bethlehem at the appointed time…a. Matthew later emphasizes the tension people felt: “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” (John 1:46) …Jesus is known not as a humble, despised, almost backwater person - as a Galilean [local equivalent? GA > AL > MS > LS??], yet born in David’s city in Bethlehem therefore he is of the line of David and rightfully king, fully meeting messianic expectations the Lord had foretold in the written Word.b. Every step of the way fulfills something. Micah 5:2 says he is born in Bethlehem, he fled to Egypt so the Lord could say, “out of Egypt I called my son.” Then on to obscurity until the time of his ministry.i. It is not so much that Mary and Joseph have a checklist of places to visit Oh we must go to Bethlehem, back to Egypt, and then to Nazareth of Galilee, so much the same way as you may have experienced the Lord’s providence…They received the Notice – A Census is occurring you must go to Bethlehem…ii. And then they understood oh yes Micah 5:2, then breaking news Herod has decreed the death of the boys of Bethlehem you must flee to Egypt to be safe….And then Herod dies it is safe to return…But it need not be Bethlehem you can come home to Nazareth to raise the young boy…iii. Every step of the way providentially orchestrated by the Lord by events well outside Mary’s and joseph’s control. But the tapestry of their history being woven while fuzzy while looking forward at it…yet from behind, became clear as they look back over the shoulders at where the Lord has led them.c. Jesus’ life every step of it is grounded in both earthy history and anticipated predicted prophetic meaning. A King, but a Humble King, the son of God out of Egypt, yet this time the perfect chosen Son.i. Jesus is very aware that His coming is God saying, of all our fears, failures, to all the darkness, to the sin and misery, “fine” I’ll do it myself the eternal son of God will step in and this time he will retrace the physical and spiritual journeys of humanity, of Israel, of the prophets, the kings, and priests but this time It is God saying “I’ll do it myself” in order to save us… Look in verse 6…B) [6] And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. [7] And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.i. Mary and Joseph go to Bethlehem, while in Bethlehem she came to the full term of her pregnancy and Jesus was born. Real pregnancy, labor, and childbirth. To not her Only son but her “firstborn” son…Mary has other children of which the gospels name as his brothers….despite objection that those are just cousins. Jesus is Firstborn not only born. Uniquely born yes, but he has true siblings and there is nothing wrong with that and through that we are blessed with James the brother of Jesus writing the book of James.ii. There was no room in the usual second-story guest room, the same kind of “upper room” like where the First Lord’s Supper took place.iii. Jesus is born, swaddled like countless babies through history, and in humble conditions laid in a feeding trough manger….whether in the lower courtyard or in a cave, it does not matter, the detail is given either way to show Humility that is jarring—Christ is born in meekness, humility, and lowliness, and it has been a check on the pride of godly men and godly women for centuries. Your savior was humble. Your king was humble, do not raise your proud eyes and sneer at any condition the Lord places you in when you yourself—a ruined sinner—in a despairing and dark world, were lifted, cleansed, and made a son and daughter of God.1. If the unique only begotten son of God is born in a manger, then we too can be the blessed poor in spirit who are made Sons and Daughters of the Eternal Heavenly Father, united to the Eternal Son, indwelt by the Holy Spirit of Truth and the Lord and giver of life.2. Christ made his home in the manger:a. 2 Cor. 8:9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ that though he was rich yet for your sake he became poor that you through his poverty might become rich.3. So therefore, meditate deeply in your heart on this fact the King was wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger. And let that thought fill our adoration and worship4. Do not skip over the actual significance of newborn babies being swaddled. Not just the swaddling clothes but Mary is swaddling Jesus. William Hendrickson notes this simply…He is loved. Jesus is eternally loved by the Father. And in time Mary loves her son and swaddles him to keep him warm and comforted. God is Love and the love Mary felt for the Son of God flows from God to her. The mystery is profound if you wish to meditate on it further.5. Let us follow Christ in humility, and know you are warmly beloved of Christ. The Jesus who loves you was loved by his mother of whom he was also her creator and savior. He knows what it is to receive human love and divine love in the Father…He knows how to love you and sympathize with your frailty and weakness…6. And, he loved you enough to defeat sin and death and swaddle you in righteous robes as sons and daughters of the king. Humilty precedes Glory. Glory flows from the Humilty.iv. God the Son, the eternal word steps into the ring to defeat death, satan, and save his people from their sins….to clothe them in humble, loving, righteousness.v. And then the camera pivots to Shepherds…#2 If Jesus is for the Shepherds, then he is for each of you this morning: a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. Vv. 8-12[8] And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. [9] And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. [10] And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. [11] For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. [12] And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”A) V..8-9 misc…[tell the story of Christmas walk-thru…this is my scene!]a. Who: Shepherds by night…..FLASH. Glory. A Spiritual and powerful being! Glory. Fear.b. Fear Not!c. Good News. Joy!B) V. 8 & 11 If Jesus is “unto you” is for the Shepherds then he is for each of you this morninga. You may know that we think of Shepherds highly, and from paintings fondly now…but that is because of these very events, because of Psalm 23, because Christ is out great Shepherd…But for these Angels this is going to the humble men that much of society would be worried about as dirty and dishonest. Now I don’t want to overplay that hand, though it makes for strong preaching… We don’t have to pretend shepherds were the worst of the worst. They are poor but easily can be honest and good Israelites but of a humble to negative reputation.b. But what the shepherds are not is powerful, wicked King Herod and his court. The angels are not appearing in the middle of the Sanhedrin or among the rulers, or among any of the movers and shakers of the day.c. Unto you, humble, questionable people, a Savior is born. Christ came to save the least to the greatest, and He has done so throughout history. And this morning Christ is born for you, whether you feel the least…or if you feel the greatest, or somewhere in between he is born for you if you would humble yourself.d. It is for All people, it is joyful news, and it is for you if you believe if you trust and rely on the next part.C) a Savior, who is Christ the Lorda. Jesus was born To savei. He is not help….he is not merely a teacher….that is a person who is a great help, a mentor, to you.ii. But what does it mean that he is a Savior. A rescuer.iii. “O Holy Night” – “Long lay the world in sin and error pining” – trapped! Wrong!iv. Saviors rescue those who cannot save themselves. Like from a trap or prison, from war, distress, from defeat. From being conquered to be liberated.v. Sin has conquered and enslaved humanity in darkness.vi. Jesus is Savior, Jesus is also the Christ, the Messiah, the anointed with the oil of God upon his brow to be the King of King who as Lord mounts the great rescue mission of Light breaking in to liberates captives in dark chains to sin.vii. And third…our rescuer is as Thomas says, “Lord”, my Lord and my God.b. My anointed Lord and my God my savior, my King is a baby laying In a manger – He, the eternal Word of God in the manger, the Lord of universe come into the universe.Just as the shepherds eyes adjust to the glory of the one Angel of the Lord…And they receive the standar “fear not.” As they are trying to process the message…Suddenly A Multitude an Army of angels appear on the scene… Look in verse 13.#3 Angels Worship, Shepherds Wonder, Mary Ponders, and We?[13] And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,[14] “Glory to God in the highest,and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”[Youtube suddenly decided I wanted to watch Malcolm in the Middle Clips: Dude Ranch, fireworks at night, Komodo 3000, How will we know which one is the Komodo 3000? And all of a sudden night turns to blinding daylights….As the TV crew simply films them in broad daylight before switching back to night time…]I do not know what a multitude of angels glorifying and praising God looks like. But the pillar of fire and cloud, the fiery cloud on mt. Sinai the glory of the Lord descending on the tabernacle, the brightness of Moses’ face as he came down tells us something of the brightness of the weight of glory the shepherds experienced. Being themselves glorious like flame, shining precious like jewels, but more these glorious creatures, angels, if they are the seraphim literally “fiery ones” they themselves shield their faces with their wings in the throne room of God. Because of the intensity of the Holiness and Glory of God.Glory be to God! Joy to the world, the Lord has come, let earth embrace her King. Let every heart prepare him room, And heaven and nature sing. Let all creation sing “Glory” …rocks, hills, and trees echoing back this joyous strain to the ears of the shepherds as the voices of the angel echo from creation itself.Glory to God in the Highest….Because the Son of God has become a baby boy….in order to give us who were enemies with God peace with God because he was pleased “as man with men to dwell”There are grammatical questions and even some early manuscript disagreement About the end of verse 14. And simply because of tradition it can sound right or wrong to our ear. Because it is familiar in the KJV. The peace on earth comes from God free and gracious good pleasure towards man. Not because we were particularly pleasing to God. It is all of Grace.You can paraphrase its meaning along the lines of “peace towards those whom God freely loves and delights in in Christ Jesus.”How should we then respond to the announcement of the Gospel. TO the worship of the Angels…Look in verse 15.[15] When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” [16] And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. [17] And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. [18] And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them.· We sometimes can have a brief moment of religious wonder, a song moves us to tears, a sunset or sunrise says, God is beautiful and wondrous. Christmas songs stir our hearts to worship Christ. Because he came to rescue us from Darkness…· But as the glory fades….what if the shepherds had just gone right back to their flocks? What if we after Christmas just go right back to ours – as if God and Christ do not exist lives? –· May it never be. May all of Life be lived before the Face of God, to the Glory of God, out of Gratitude for such a great salvation.· So the shepherds say, Let us go to Bethlehem to see! To experientially act on what we have seen!o God has made Known his salvation.o Let us respond to the offer of salvation and go and see!· [ILL: Growing up….Christmas walk-thru…at first we’d just leave quietly….But I think our leader had read the passage… Let us go to Bethelehem! “What about the sheep, Father?” Leave the Sheep! The Messiah only comes once, let us go and see what the Lord has done!]· Haste! Quickly! Today! This hour this moment! Believe the Word of the Lord.· They went and found it exactly as God had said. A Baby boy, swaddled in a manger, in Bethlehem, the Son of Mary of the house of David, the house of the King, Humble….· And they went home and visited the synagogue about once a quarter…complained about Taxes and Herod…· No! They told others. The messiah is born. The savior. The King is born, humble! Salvation has come!· And all who heard Wondered! Marveled! Because they like us wonder at the grace of God, wonder if the darkness in our hearts can be lifted, has the 400yrs of silence ended…Will we really and truly return from Exile. Will the King come to his Holy Temple! Yes and Yes.[19] But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. [20] And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.A) This year I encourage you to treasure these things up in your heart.B) To treasure the word of God, the promises of God, the life of Christ.C) We will be in Mark’s gospel over this next year…But ponder, gather up God’s word throughout the week that you may daily in your hearts ponder, and grown in glorifying and praised God!D) Let the word take root in your heart lest hearing you do not hear and seeing you do not see. And you remain lifeless in darkness and lost in your sins.E) Instead, with Mary Ponder and Treasure the Word this coming year.F) With the shepherds, glorify and praise God for your Savior Christ Jesus.G) The story of Christ as Savior, Messiah, and Lord is only just begun. He will from a humble condition fulfill the Law, fulfill, all righteousness, and like a multi-faceted diamond there is infinite beauty of grace in Christ to turn and examine each day from the Word of God in the events of the life and Christ and all of scripture which points us to him.H) May God add his blessing to the reading and preaching of his word. Will you pray with me?I) PrayerJ) Benediction This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jamesensley.substack.com

· Last time together we saw the grace of God the Father in sending Gabriel to announce good news. The savior is coming, great David’s greater son, sent by the Father, to conquer sin and death to inherit an eternal throne. But Jesus did not come in glory he came humbly, taking on our flesh.· This is done by the life-giving power of the Holy Spirit. The work of the Holy Spirit in the incarnation is wondrous, miraculous, and powerful, but it is not irrational or unbelievable. Because God works consistently through history to prepare his people to know How the mighty creating God planned to save his people by a Child born to a woman.· The Holy Spirit not only gives life to Christ but also gives life and faith to us to know this is a trustworthy and true statement and a true event of History: Jesus, the eternal Son of God, truly was born to Mary some 2,000 years ago in history, in reality. It is not a mere story or a metaphor; it is reality. Indeed, even saying the year is Two thousand twenty five asks the question….Two thousand twenty five what? In the year of our Lord’s Nativity. The First Noel.J.C. Ryle says this “is a passage which we should always read with mingled wonder, love and praise.” (16). Hear. Believe. And Give praise to God for the wondrous things written in His word for us. From Luke 1:34-38.Read: Luke 1:34-38[34] And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” [35] And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. [36] And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. [37] For nothing will be impossible with God.” [38] And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her. (ESV)Prayer of Illumination#1 A Natural Question, with a Supernatural Answer (v. 34)#2 The Answer: The Holy Spirit’s Life-giving Work (v. 35)#3 Faith Seeking Reason: God Works in Patterns (vv. 36-37)#4 Responding to the Word with Spirit wrought Faith (v. 38).Look in V. 34 And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”#1 “How will this be?” (Not unbelief like Zaccheus, not this cannot be, or will this be, but HOW, in what why – I believe but I desire explanation.· There is a Good reason for the question, we are right to question; Spontaneous, reasonless claims. Except we’ll see this is not a contextless, spontaneous, or reasonless claim. And Mary did think it was either.· The annunciations rightly underscore the supernatural character of the revelations and the events that inaugurate the age of the new covenant.· And should it have been otherwise? If nothing less than the sovereign, divine intervention of God himself was capable of accomplishing the work of restoring a fallen world, should not the initial beginnings of that wondrous work be clearly marked as divine in origin?· Remember the world is desperately fallen in sin and misery to the Root. Well-beyond merely human efforts to repair the far-reaching and powerful curse of the fall.· Let Christmas remind you that man does not redeem himself Gabriel’s words are not for the spiritually self-sufficient. Christmas was a thorn in the face of every grand-Ism (Naturalism, Marxism, Atheism, theological liberalism) of the 20th century.· Donald Macleod says, The virgin birth is posted on guard at the door of the mystery of the incarnation; and none of us must think of hurrying past it. It stands on the threshold of the New Testament, blatantly supernatural, defying our rationalism, informing us that all that follows belongs to the same order as itself and that if we find it offensive there is no point in proceeding further.’ [– O Palmer Robertson, Christ of the Consummation, 24 citing Donald Macleod.]· Christmas is unapologetically the HOW of a personal and sovereign God unfolding a plan across centuries through prophets, signs, and anticipation of these things being fulfilled.· Were not these very events predicted several hundred years before their occurrence? Does not the record of the succeeding events of the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus confirm his uniqueness as the Messiah sent by God to bring to pass the promises of the prophets?· Christmas reminds us there is a God who Speaks, he gave signs, he gave plans, and Mary, as an Israelite, knew not Just the Plans, she KNEW HIM. She knew HOW he works. And knowing HOW he works, Then she may go and ponder these things in her heart. What follows is not Spontaneous, reasonless claims in a materialist world, but the planned, anticipated, Who, how, and why reasons to her Question. Not simple. Not without mystery because God’s ways are not our ways. It is not an instruction manual. But it is a sufficient answer to her and to us without us prying into the mysteries of The Holy Spirit’s work.Look in v. 35.#2 The Answer: The Holy Spirit’s Life-giving Work[35] And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.We will answer WHAT the Holy Spirit Does. Previously we read in v. 31 you will conceive in your womb and bear a son…Now we see that this will be the life-giving work of the Holy Spirit.A) The Holy Spirit will be “Upon Mary” – the singular life giving, attention of the Holy Spirit to Mary. Just as the Spirit of God hovered over the face of the waters at creation, and was the breath of Spirit and life to Adam from the dust of the ground….So The Holy Spirit is particularly and singularly the life-giver to Mary. So Mary if you can believe God is the creator of all things of nothing, and the Spirit of God is the Lord and giver of Life, the how is through Him. The Spirit of God you have heard of as active through the whole of the Hebrew Scriptures you have heard from childhood.B) The Spirit’s life-giving power is the power of the Most High – The power of God, his ability to accomplish his Holy Will. This the positive “God is able” vs. the double negative “nothing is impossible with God.”a. If you are at your darkest point. You feel alone and abandoned, to far from God, and there is not Joy. Remember nothing is impossible with God, the same Holy Spirit who gave life to Christ can restore, and give you a relationship of trust, belief, and joy in Christ again…The spark of life and hope in the Darkness. The Power of the Holy Spirit.C) The Holy Spirit will overshadow her: The bible frequently records the Holy Spirit appearing as a Theophany – a visible appearance of God, a theopany -as a cloud, symbolizing the immediate presence and power of God; so we see the Spirit of God at Mt. Sinai as a Cloud, the Cloud over the tabernacle, Spirit hovering over the face of the waters in creation.a. The Holy, Transcendent creator of the universe, who sustains, guides, oversees, everything with wisdom, who does not get overwhelmed, flustered, confused, has placed his Holy Attention to bring a holy, undefiled, life – human life conceived united to the eternal son of God. Through Mary.D) Therefore Christ would be Holy.a. Holy: What is Holiness?i. Holy things are set apart from common and profane uses, especially anything unclean, and tainted by sin.1. Holy things are pure, clean, and in service to God.ii. Jesus is Holy because he is the Son of God not the son of Joseph and by extension represented by fallen Adam. Jesus is not imputed with Adam’s sin or Adam’s loss of original righteousness or the corruption of Adam’s nature. No, he is the second person of the trinity who never was represented by Adam or fell with him.iii. He now by the Holy Spirit is the Son of God taking on a human nature now in the incarnation becoming a new Holy representative.b. Jesus is The Son of Godi. The Father sends the Son in the incarnation. The eternal Word took on human flesh. By the power of the Holy Spirit.1. The son didn’t send the father to become a son.2. The Heavenly Father, sent the eternal Son, to become a son.ii. He eternally was a divine person of the Trinty and in time and space at the turning point of History the eternal person of the Word, the Wisdom of God, the Son of God, assumed a human nature. A human nature is a true and united body and soul.iii. Mary is his true mother. The Holy Spirit the true creator out of nothing.What of Us Sinners?· We must consider a similar yet distinct work of the Spirit – The Holy Spirit, He is the one who gives rebirth.· I already said, nothing is impossible with God. But indeed our salvation, righteousness, turning to God is impossible with man. Why? We must be born again, the work of the Holy Spirit is absolutely necessary because Eph. 2:1 says, The necessity of rebirth is because [1] And you were dead in the trespasses and sins [2] in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedienceo Dead, spiritually lifeless men walking… v. 3 we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the flesh and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.o We need to be born again, by the Holy Spirit: v. [4] But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, [5] even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— (ESV)o The Spirit takes Dead, defiled, unholy men and women and makes them Alive, Clean, and Holy Saints.o Similarly God says we are a covenant community – our covenant Children are declared “Holy” by Paul in 1 Cor. 7.o Both the Incarnation of Jesus and our Being Born again is a work of The Three persons of the Trinity. The Father sends the Son to save a chosen people, the Son is given life by the Spirit that he may die for his people’s sins, and the Spirit gives life to those who are dead in their sins.§ The incarnation and salvation are woven together and the Father, Son, and Spirit act consistently in each. Therefore – Nothing can separate us from God. Just as nothing could defile the Lord Jesus who was holy, innocent, and undefiled.§ Remember Jesus by the Power of the Holy Spirit, and the nature of himself as a divine person, despite taking on a human nature was securely HOLY§ The term for this is “impeccability” which says, Jesus is the same, yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Though Satan assails him, though he goes through many trials and temptations, He is one person both man and God: And God the Son Cannot sin. Deyoung says, “Just as an iron wire by itself can be bent (human nature), but once welded to an iron bar is rendered immovable, so that God-man Jesus Christ is rendered impeccable by the union of the human and divine natures.”§ Good news for us because while we are still being sanctified, battling indwelling sin, if we are truly in Christ Jesus, by the power of the Holy Spirit, we will be glorified, and in Heaven WE too will be UNABLE to Sin. Not because in ourselves we will be impeccable but because we will be glorified by the Holy Spirit and all three persons of the trinity have brought us to an eternal home.§ We have an eternal, secure home with Christ the Savior. In heaven a place that is holy, holy, holy. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit will hold us secure.· Christians are not naturalists (believing matter is all there is), Christianity is supernatural from beginning to end, and we are people who believe in the sovereign work of the Holy Spirit. Mary has an answer to “how can this be”: God the Holy Spirit is doing life-giving work in her, and by extension will do the same for us his people through the centuries, and wondrously into eternity in Heaven.· So the answer How? Supernatural. The plausibility and belief of this it not just in this moment from Gabriel with no preparation to believe this….There is a history to the world…there is a history to HOW God has acted. How god has spoken in history, preparing context!Look in v. 36-37: And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. [37] For nothing will be impossible with God.”#3 Belief by other evidence: Elizabeth too has conceivedMatthew Henry states, It was a further encouragement to her faith to be told that her cousin Elisabeth, though stricken in years, was with child, Here is an age of wonders beginning, and therefore be not surprised… Dr. Lightfoot thinks, …all the instances in the Old Testament of those having children that had been long barren, which was above nature, were designed to prepare the world for the belief of a virgin’s bearing a son, which was against nature. And therefore, even in the birth of Isaac, Abraham saw Christ’s day, foresaw such a miracle in the birth of Christ. The angel assures Mary of this, to encourage her faith…. No word of God must be incredible to us, as long as no work of God is impossible to him. – Matthew Henry CommentaryMary this supernatural work will happen in your life….That is How. But God has given you a history, the entire old testament in preparation, and even you cousin Elizabeth has joined the ancient ranks of Sarah, Rachel, and others.Elizabeth: In her old age has conceived a son…she who was called barren, in her Old Age…Gabriel is not just being mean. Americans I think have a fear of old age. Whereas in the bible age is wisdom, honor, and glory, grey hairs are a glory on the head. Elizabeth is old and the bible doesn’t waste words the strong implication is that Gabriel means this in a medically technical sense of post-menopause. Luke 1:7 (ESV): “They were both advanced in years.” Luke 1:18 (ESV): Zechariah says, “I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” So Her having a child is miraculous. As is the Case of Sarah and Isaac. Indeed, wrapped up in the covenant of grace is God for thousands of years preparing the world to know that Salvation will come from a miraculous conception, not just of an old couple like Sarah and Abraham, and Elizabeth and Zecharaiah….But as Isaiah 7:14 prophesies. Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. (ESV)· Ryle points out the special graciousness of God in this. That he could have asked Mary simply to believe, but he graciously offers her the immediate comfort of an in context sign. Just as Jesus after the resurrection could’ve said I told you ahead of time destroy this temple and in three days I will rebuild it, I said, I am the resurrection and the Life, but here I am grilling some fish and Jesus shows them his true resurrection body by preparing and eating breakfast with his disciples.· But. Behind the merciful preparing and confirming signs and evidences we have the greater statement for faith.A) For Nothing is Impossible with God. The reality of a supernatural creator and a creator who has spoken through the centuries fills this passage.a. What is impossible with the God who is the personal transcendant creator of the world? Ryle says, “Faith never rests so calmly and peacefully as when it lays its head on the pillow of God’s omnipotence.” (Ryle, 22)b. What is plausible?i. Gabriel’s declaration—“Nothing will be impossible with God” (Luke 1:37)—is itself a citation of Genesis 18:14 (“Is anything too difficult too wondrous for the LORD?”), spoken to Sarah, another woman facing an impossible birth.ii. This is not poetic flourish. It is a theological argument. The God who opened Sarah’s womb…the God of Egyptian plagues, manna, who parts waters, can impart life to a woman, bearer of life, this God can accomplish the conception of the Messiah.B) Prophesies of God down through the ages all converging on a single human being with the impossibility of coincidence…All the contours of history converging on Jesus: Kevin Deyoung says, “When Jesus Christ came into the world, he did not come unannounced. For those who had ears to hear, God had long promised to send a deliverer: a seed of the woman to crush the head of the serpent (Gen. 315), a child of Abraham (23), a lion of the tribe of Judah (49:10), a star from Jacob and a scepter from Israel (Num. 24:17), a prophet like Moses (Deut. 18:15-19), a royal Son (Ps. 2:7), a son of David (132:11; 2 Sam. 7:12-13), a child born of a virgin (Isa. 7:14), a Prince of Peace (g:6), a shoot from the stump of Jesse (11:1), a revelation of the glory of the Lord (40:3-5), a light to the nations (49:6), an ancient one born in Bethlehem (Mic. 52), a speaker of peace whose rule shall extend from sea to sea (Zech. 910), and the God of justice and the Lord come to his temple (Mal. 3:1). (Deyoung, Daily Doctrine, 165).i. This conversation with Gabriel is vastly different then a contextless claim; or atheistic claim.ii. Angels, Relatives who work in the temple of God. Mary & Joseph are descendants of David.1. I read the book of James more as a kid because It had my name, Mary’s Magnificat shows that she is very familiar with God’s plan of Salvation through the Messiah.2. Let us look at Mary’s response of faith, and prayer, and song.#4 Response of Faith: The Spirit confirms in our hearts the truthfulness of the word.Look in verse 38: And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her. (ESV)I am the servant of the Lord…Lord I am your handmaiden, the King James said. A response of faith that accepts the coming trials and difficulties such a believing obedience would demand Matthew Henry says, “She objects not the danger of spoiling her marriage, and blemishing her reputation, but leaves the issue with God, and submits entirely to his will…She is not only content that it should be so, but humbly desires that it may be so: …We must, as Mary here,guide our desires by the word of God, and ground our hopes upon it. Be it unto me according to thy word; just so, and no otherwise.” (Matthew Henry Commentary).The Spirit who is John 14:17 says , the Spirit of truth, confirms this to her heart.she expresses her belief in prayer in song, which we call Mary’s Magnifcat from the opening line “my soul magnifies (Magnificat) the Lord. My spirit REJOICEs in God”Or even…My soul fulfills its chief end, my soul glorifies and enjoys God. Vs. 46…“My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name.…v. 55. as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever.” (ESV)Mary knew the Messiah was long expected. We capture that long-expected longing that the Holy Spirit testifies to in our Christmas carols.· Come, Thou long-expected Jesus, Born to set Thy people free.· The hopes and fears of all the years Are met in thee tonight.· Late in time behold Him come, Offspring of the Virgin’s womb.Maybe less well known is “of the Father’s Love Begotton” v. 5-…Of the Father’s Love Begotton This is he whom seers in old timeChanted of with one accord, Whom the voices of the prophetsPromised in their faithful word; Now he shines, the long-expected;Let creation praise its Lord— [Evermore and evermore.]6. O ye heights of Heav’n adore him! Angel hosts his praises sing!All dominions bow before him And exalt our God and King.Let no tongue on Earth be silent, Every voice in concert ring—[Evermore and evermore.]7. Christ! to thee with God the Father, And O Holy Ghost, to thee,Hymn and chant and high thanksgiving And unwearied praises be,Honor, glory, and dominion, And eternal victory—[Evermore and evermore.] This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jamesensley.substack.com

Read: Luke 1:26–38 (Emphasis v. 26-33).[26] In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, [27] to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. [28] And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” [29] But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. [30] And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. [31] And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. [32] He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, [33] and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”[34] And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”[35] And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. [36] And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. [37] For nothing will be impossible with God.” [38] And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her. (ESV)Three Things this morning#1 A Long introduction to the next 3 sermons#2 The Messenger sent by the Father.#3 The Message From the Father about His Son.Finishing the HC catechism, now doing the WSC in a year, Christmas and Easter are also catechetical topics with repetition. Why do we need to come again and again to Isaiah, Micah, Genesis 3, and the beginning of Matthew, Luke, and John in particular? We are being reminded who Jesus is and what he came to do.Part of the repetition allows us to remember two things: The simplicity of Christmas and 2,000 Years of Wonder at the depths of the theological reflection found in it.· Shallow enough for a child to play in, in its simple joys. “Joy to the World, A savior! Rescue from Darkness. Light is here…. – Also Deep enough for an elephant to wade in…because to truly understand the incarnation, what is happening at Christmas…· We have to understand – Adam’s Fall and our Fall, covenants with Abraham & David, the covenant of redemption in eternity, saying the Son will Redeem sent by the Father.· Christmas is simple “a savior is here” the darkness is being pushed back, and the depths of Gabriel, saying Christ is conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit, introducing the revelation of how an eternal person of the godhead takes on a new nature by the work of the Holy Spirit. Born yet without sin, the second person of the Trinity in the womb of a virgin….o Christmas is essential in explaining the basics of our Faith, mere Christianity that Salvation comes from humility, and starts with an unborn child who is born in humble conditions…born that man no more may die; because the one born is the resurrection and the life…by trusting in Christ because no one comes to the father except through this baby laid in a manger. No one has the life and light of Christ if they are not trusting in Christ.o It is Joy to the World and the Light wins, but many loved the darkness rather than the light.· For the next three weeks, we will be exploring Luke’s Gospel, examining how the incarnation creates simple joy and deep mystery, and exploring the utterly unique salvation found in the work of all three persons of the Trinity, who come into clear focus in the beginning chapters of the Gospels. Already by the end of the first two chapters of each Gospel, we know more about the Trinitarian rescue mission than we did in the Old Testament.· This is A Trinitarian Rescue, a Trinitarian Salvation…Like in Creation the Trinity is active in our salvation.o John 1:1–5 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. [2] He was in the beginning with God. [3] All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. [4] In him was life, and the life was the light of men. [5] The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. (ESV)§ Creation: Architect, Builder, Life-giver [Expand]o The same is true of our Salvation.§ Galatians 4:4–5 “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law.”§ The Father decrees, the Plan – Jesus is sent by the Father, to undo the curse of the fall, Jesus the surety, a surety is the person who is the secure-guarantee of the oath or contract, the guarantee pledged of the Covenanto Jesus is the accomplisher of the covenant; everything broken by Adam would be accomplished and more by Jesus.o And the life of his incarnation was given by the Holy Spirit: He was Conceived by the Holy Spirit.o The Holy Spirit accomplished, the Incarnation of Jesus; who is the Accomplisher of our salvation by his birth, life, death, and resurrection. He lived in a life of sinless righteousness. All according to the plan and blessing of the Father with the assistance of the Holy Spirit every step of the way.· In the incarnation, at advent, or Christmas, we remember the simplicity and depths of “The word became flesh.” The Father sends the Son in the incarnation. The eternal Word took on human flesh.o He eternally was a divine person of the Trinty and in time and space, at the turning point of History, the eternal person of the Word, the Wisdom of God, the Son of God, assumed a human nature. His Human nature is a true and united body and soul.§ Mary is his true mother. The Holy Spirit is the true creator out of nothing.§ This is a holy mystery of which we can say some things but not all things.§ But all the things we say of it come from the testimony of the Scripture. A very fact the Birth narratives in Matthew and Luke point out to us, to fulfill the scriptures, according to the scriptures, and the traditional readings from Isaiah, Micah, Samuel, and Psalms are quoted throughout. So let us go see wondrous things in God’s word.§ Look again in Luke 1:26-27Read: Luke 1:26-7[26] In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, [27] to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary.1. Angels on the Move – messengers from God (v. 26-27)a. Who? Gabriel sent from God to a city of Galilee called Nazarethi. Gabriel along with Michael is one of our two named angels in the bible, and his name means Mighty is God.ii. V. 19 to Zechariah, I am Gabriel, “I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you, and to bring you this good news.” Speaking of John’s birth. But this same Gabriel comes to Mary here.1. He is an angel and so we always see Gabriel’s prompt and complete obedience. Hendrickson reminds us, your will be done “as in heaven so on earth.” It is on on earth who need to learn the will of the Father the way the angels do in heaven.2. God’s salvation plan is being enacted. We sing “late in time behold him come”a. The world groaned under the effects of the fall. But the moment the divine order came from the Father “go, go to Joseph of Nazereth, go, go to Mary of Nazareth.” He went…things are in motion.b. Gabriel was sent to bring Good News. No more waiting. No more types, shadows, symbols, promises, prophesies of future times and seasons, future days of the Lord.3. Now, Now is the day of salvation, when is NOW? v. 26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God…4. Earlier in Luke’s gospel Gabriel has already announced the John the Baptist was coming, the voice of one crying in the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord.5. Salvation history timeliness is now measured in Months. Elizabeth is 6 months pregnant with John….And soon Mary would go to Elizabeth where John would give his first pronouncement of Joy by leaping in the womb of Elizabeth in the presence of Christ.6. Good and Joyful news. As some of the most important events of salvation history begin happening in weeks, and months (and then of course we get about a 30 year gap and Jesus’ active ministry happens in the span of three years…7. So Gabriel is a busy angel as he goes to Zechariah, Mary, and Joseph. Of all three, his announcement to Mary is perhaps the most important.b. V. 27 MARY A Virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph of the house of David.i. Now Joseph will get his own visit from Gabriel where he says the same thing…Assuring Joseph that what was happening with the creation-out-of-nothing power of God to create life in the womb of a virgin betrothed who had been faithful to all her vows to Joseph. Matt. 1:22 says, All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet [Isaiah]: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).ii. Next week we’ll look more at the actual nature of Jesus’ incarnation by the power of the Holy Spirit.iii. Today remember All this took place according to scripture,iv. Including that Joseph is “Of the house of David”1. He has no throne. Herod has the throne. But the Father has not forgotten his promise that the King of his people will be of the line of David legally through Joseph (Matthew’s genealogy) and biologically through Mary (Luke’s genealogy).2. V. 32. “Jesus will be great… and the Lord God will give to Him the throne of His fatherDavid.”3. Take great confidence that Christmas is a Heralded event where God brings together all the promises of the scriptures in the person of Christ Jesus.v. But Gabriel is on a mission sent by the Father…He is about to explain the Father’s call on Mary’s life and why we know her name to this day, and he will be explaining the greatness of her Son.[28] And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!”2. The Message (v.29-33)a. (v.29) “Favor with God” – the culminating of Redemptive Historyi. God’s unearned grace towards Mary.1. Gabriel speaks wisely and rightly to Mary.2. We know the church through the centuries has unhelpfully and often blasphemously assigned sinlessness, titles, and even prayers to Mary in a way that takes glory from the Father, Son, and Spirit and places it on a mere human….All that aside.3. Gabriel is going to a young woman, who is betrothed, engaged, and telling her very weighty news. I say weighty because it is the weight of glory, splendor, and distress and difficulty for Mary all at the same time.4. The distress is emotionally deep, relationally she is going to struggle with rumors, wondering in her heart if Joseph will understand …Accusations of sin, fears of potentially being alone.5. So Gabriel gives a very formal greeting, but leads with the assurance that the favor and grace of God is with you, Mary.a. Your Heavenly Father is with you. He will never leave you nor forsake you, because you have the Favor of God. And God is not fickle. God’s settled disposition of Grace to us once given is never taken away. If you are in Christ, trusting in the Son, then you can know that you have the Father’s favor and the Spirit dwelling in your heart.ii. God is with you! The Lord is with you. I think there is a double meaning or word from Gabriel that God is “With Mary”1. First, Immanuel, meaning God with us. Quite literally she will be raising the second person of the trinity after he has taken on a human nature…She doesn’t know all that yet.2. Second, Also, I think God with you in the same way Psalm 23 promises us that God is our shepherd, he is with us. As surely as God was with Mary as she bore the Savior, so too will He be with us if we are trusting in that Savior by faith.iii. But at the End of the Day, Gabriel is an Angel, and Angels are scary.1. [Story time] In college after night classes…walking behind women in Car Garages at night – think non-scary thoughts, don’t walk too close behind that woman…should I pass her, take out my keys? Is whistling scary or cheerful?2. Fearful.3. Gabriel…ok man remember you’re an angel, its going to be scary but no need to add extra fear on top. So lets go with the standard angel line “Greetings, I know who you are, Do Not be afraid, explanation.”iv. It doesn’t matter the greeting. Mary is Distressed3. [29] But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. [30] And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with Godi. Do not Fear, remember I said you were “O favored one” you have “found favor with God” (active or passive?)1. Is The verb tense that she is in the process of gaining favor?2. No, She has Favor. It is settled. That is why he said her identity was “Favored One”3. God has decreed Favor towards Mary:4. Favor is grace that which affords joy, pleasure, delight, sweetness, charm, loveliness: grace of speech5. good will, loving-kindness, the favour of the merciful kindness of God. He delights in her.6. Even as in Luke 2:40 Jesus grows strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him.ii. God will be with her. He will never leave or forsake her.1. Similarly, God was with Christ all the days of his life. By the Spirit.2. And of US, in Christ Jesus with very different callings but he is the Same Heavenly Father who shows his favor to us as his sons and daughters in Christ.3. Eph. 1:2-3 says, Grace [Favor] to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.iii. We have the grace of the Father in Christ Jesus and the promise that God will be with us. Indeed, his spirit dwells in us.1. We take that for Granted.2. Mary is blessed not by inherent grace or lack of sin in her but by her role.iv. The Favor of the Father is the blessing, particularly of her role as the Mother of our Savior…look in v. 31-334. . [31] And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus1. The Wonder of LIFE – in her womb, a body and soul a miracle that ought to be highly valued in every life…in every mother. But of singular and unique significance because she bears the Eternal Son of God in her womb.2. The Life of Christ is unique in that he is an ETERNAL Person. Now with two natures. On the most important mission ever, sent by his Heavenly Father.3. V. 31: Has a clear echo of Isaiah 7:14… you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.4. [14] Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.5. Mary probably did not process all this at once. After all, she is troubled, an Angel is speaking to her, her world is being turned upside down, indeed not just hers, but the whole world was turned upside down by Jesus.6. God is more closely known to us because he took on our humanity. Mary doesn’t know people from Germanic Tribes, England, Russia, China, Africa… But all throughout the whole world, people now know her name…because her son would die for them and rise for them and is right now leading the worship of his people from his heavenly throne today. Jesus is alive and reigning today and he is great and on his throne.That Jesus will be a descendant of David with a throne and a kingdom is not new news but very old news. God promises it to David. Isaiah says it, and now Gabriel says it to both Mary and later Joseph.Look in v. 32. Gabriel speaking…5. [32] He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, [33] and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”a. God the Father will give him the Throne of his Father Davidi. God with Us is great, because the Son of God, Jesus, is the savior who will take the throne of David.ii. 2 Sam. 7 is the Davidic Covenant where God speaking to King David says, My steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. [16] And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.’”iii. Mary, remember the covenant promises God made to your ancestor David; your family is humble and low, you were exiled to Babylon, but the Lord has brought you back, and the throne your son Jesus will have will be eternal. It will be the throne of Isaiah 6…the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. …“Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts;the whole earth is full of his glory!”Glory fills the throne room of our risen Savior. But…When the Father sends the son…He is not yet on the eternal throne promised him. Salvation begins not with Glory but with humility.The Humble King is sent by his Heavenly Father by the power of the Holy Spirit in the womb of Mary of Nazareth, betrothed to Joseph the carpenter, soon to travel to Bethlehem of Judea, in order to the fulfill every word and promise of God.If you are here this morning, remember that Christ has come. It was long expected according to the scriptures, it was the eternal plan of the Father and the Son that Christ would come, that Christ would die, and that Christ would rise again. And now His Kingdom is forever. On Earth as it is in Heaven. Receive these glad tidings with Joy!PrayerBenediction This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jamesensley.substack.com

Introduction: Jonah 4….Jonah 3 Ninevah repents, “who knows” (behind the curtain: God relents). Jonah 1-3 could be a wrap. But the lesson the invitation for reflection is in chapter 4 as Jonah reveals his heart and God’s sovereign mercy.Remember tis about God: God shows mercy to sin. In his grace he offers a substitute. The wages of sin is death, but Christ Jesus bore that penalty on himself, purchasing patience, forbearance, and forgiveness for all who trust in God’s forgiveness.What Jonah shows is that for many of us we like the mercy and pity of God for ourselves but not for others. We approve of God’s smiling providences, but we are angered by his frowning providence.READ: Jonah 3:9-4:11Prayer of IlluminationOutline#1 What Didn’t Happen…#2 Praying while Angry – vv. 1-3 The Mercy of God ought to produce forgiveness#3 Hoping for Judgment vv.4-11God’s Sovereign AppointmentJonah’s Fragile HeartOur Hearts: The call for self-reflectionJonah’s message is not wishy washy, each time the Lord calls him to preach AGAINST Ninevah, it is because they are truly a wicked people. I said last week, Jonah KNEW God was merciful, but the message was one that said “This is what justice deserves,” overturning the word is to “flip-over your city” which 99% of the time means destroy….” But It can mean….to cause to repent. Philip Cary makes this point of Chapter 3By leading us to anticipate the terror of what the LORD might do, the narrative shows us the glory of what he does do. Were it not for this sequence we might think that the reason the LORD has mercy is because he is not the kind of God who would ever take vengeance on the wicked. Such a god would be an indulgent fantasy, giving us a picture of mercy without justice—which is to say, a concept of mercy that is not really mercy at all but only a failure to uphold what is right and to vindicate the oppressed. To undermine that fantasy, the word of God undertakes the strange project of telling a story about unchanging divine mercy. – Phillip CaryA story of what God decided NOT to do? That is, NOT Give Ninevah what it deserved for its sins. Just as wicked in many ways as Canaan, which was judged, as the nations at the end of the age are judged when Christ returns are…But in Jonah chapter 3, God accepts repentance. He relents.And Jonah is Angry.What the lord has NOT done in our life is perhaps the trickiest to tell our children. The mercies of God, telling of the kinds of judgments NOT or only partially experienced. The evils we did NOT reap because we are under mercy and not judgment.I would encourage you to reflect deeply on this.Like Ninevah What didn’t happen because God showed mercy on you, calling you to himself, forgiving your sins, giving you a new heart, and placing you in a community.Note I didn’t say “what didn’t happen because “you were the perfect Christian with no sin…”But what didn’t happen because there is great forgiveness and great love in Christ to pursue us when we are wayward sheep.Think of While Ninevah is NOT destroyed: how many people turned from their evil ways? How many slave master blows didn’t land on backs? How many were not murdered, stolen from, or abused because of this revival?The same is true for us. In your heart bless the Lord for the dozens of times the Lord either kept you back from a path with sorrow in it OR in his mercy chased you down that path, brought you back, and restored you. Tell of the mercies of God. God’s justice NOT falling on you.Transition: And if that is true of you, what of Jonah?#2 Praying while Angry – vv. 1-3 The Mercy of God ought to produce forgiveness[1] But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry. [2] And he prayed to the LORD and said, “O LORD, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster. [3] Therefore now, O LORD, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.”First, this IS A Prayer: I was in my country, and said how I felt, I fled to tarshish, I did go to Ninevah, but in my heart I don’t want a people such as this to listen to the word of God.Jonah is STILL PRAYING, that is commendable. There are many psalms with anger… Questions…but David usually resolves the psalms with the PROMISES of God and the Character of God. “Lord, you have promised to be my God. God, you are good, your steadfast Love endures forever. Praise the Lord.”The psalmist is usually applying God’s character and promises to his difficult circumstance.But Jonah angry? Because of the character of God.God is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love.Oh man, I knew God was “a spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth.What should we do when the goodness of God IRKS us?Or in other accounts, what should we do when the Justice of God angers us exceedingly. When God’s choices and plans make us angry.God showed Jonah mercy in sending the plant for shade. (YES, a smiling providence; a free parking space God is on my side), God sends the worm, He removes mercy (God hates me, God is unjust, unfair) – How dare you remove the mercy of the plant on me!Mercy for me but not for thee, says JonahWe need some more context of the city Jonah is camping out at for why he is EXCEEDINGLY ANGRY: We need to feel Jonah’s struggle to see the Assyrians receiving mercy.Persians, Romans, Baylonians, and Assyrians. Ninevah is an Assyrian city. So, a tour of four empires.Best: Persians — Generally Humaneparticularly under Cyrus the Great and Darius, is widely viewed as the least barbaric of the major Near Eastern empires.Persians were an empire of order, law, and toleration, not terror. (relatively).Romans: The Romans were extremely violent, but with a different flavor from Assyrians: Their brutality served law, order, and deterrence, not theatrical cruelty.Typical Roman Atrocities: Crucifixion (the iconic Roman method); Mass enslavement after conquest;Sacking cities (e.g., Carthage, Jerusalem in AD 70); Colosseum games (state-sponsored killing as entertainment); Decimation of rebellious legions. Law and order keeping not religious or sadistic.Romans were brutal in a legal and militaristic manner, not celebratory terror like Assyria.Babylonians: Typical Babylonian Practices: Siege warfare (Jerusalem, Tyre); Exile as population control (e.g., Judean exile); Destruction of cities and temples (including Solomon’s Temple); Harsh reprisals against rebellion They could be ruthless, but: They do not record torture as public spectacle. Their inscriptions emphasize building projects, not cruelty.Summary: Babylonians were violent conquerors, but comparatively bureaucratic, not terror-theatrical.Assyrians, Ninevah’s is part of the Assyrian empire. The Assyrian Empire is the ancient world’s most explicitly brutal imperial regime in terms of recorded atrocities.Why we know this: Their own royal inscriptions boast of cruelty as a tool of psychological warfare.Mass deportations of conquered peoples; Flaying alive enemies and displaying skins on city walls; Impalement of rebels; Beheading pyramids; Burning cities completely; Blinding captives (sometimes whole populations); Cutting off limbs, noses, ears; Parading defeated kings with hooks through the jawOne Assyrian inscription from Ashurbanipal:“I tore out their tongues and smashed them… I cut off their limbs.”This is typical of their royal annals’ self-presentation.The Assyrians were unique in celebrating their atrocities in official propaganda.A truly atrocious people, individual atrocious Ninevites, the king who put on sackcloth had condoned atrocities.And Jonah sits there, and they are not getting punished for it.God is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love.And Jonah says, Oh man, I knew this would happen. In the major and minor prophets, the message of condemnation always offers the hope repentance and turning to God, the redeemer of Israel, and through Abraham the nations would be blessed by a redeemer. And Jonah is angry.The repentant Guard (Corrie Ten Boom).Corrie Ten Boom – Background in concentration camps, where her sister died.Corrie Ten Boom, sister Betsie – Ravensbruck.Two years after the war, Corrie spoke at a church in Munich, to a defeated Germany, bringing with her, the gospel, the message that God does indeed forgive us our sins in Christ Jesus.Yet, Corrie was unexpectedly struck by a familiar face that stared back at her from within the crowd; a man that she recognized as a particularly cruel guard from Ravensbruck.After Corrie’s speech had ended, the man approached Corrie. His words to her were as follows: “You mentioned Ravensbruck in your talk. I was a guard there,” he said. “But since that time, I have become a Christian. I know that God has forgiven me for the cruel things I did there, but I would like to hear it from your lips as well.” He extended his hand toward her and asked, “Will you forgive me?” Corrie stared at the outstretched hand.Listen to the account that she would later give regarding that experience: “And as I stood there – I whose sins had again and again been forgiven – and could not forgive. Betsie had died in that place – could he erase her slow terrible death simply for the asking? It could not have been many seconds that he stood there – hand held out – but to me it seemed like hours as I wrestled with the most difficult thing I had ever had to do, for I had to do it – I knew that. The message that God forgives had a prior condition: that we forgive those who have injured us.‘If you do not forgive men their trespasses,’ Jesus says, ‘neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses’ (Matthew 6:15). I knew it not only as a commandment of God but as a daily experience…And still I stood there with the coldness clutching my heart. But forgiveness is not an emotion – I knew that too. Forgiveness is an act of the will, and the will can function regardless of the temperature of the heart. ‘Jesus, help me!’ I prayed silently. ‘I can lift my hand. I can do that much. You supply the feeling.’ And so woodenly, mechanically, I thrust my hand into the one stretched out to me. And as I did, an incredible thing took place. The current started in my shoulder, raced town my arm, sprang into our joined hands. And then this healing warmth seemed to flood my whole being, bringing tears to my eyes. ‘I forgive you, brother!’ I cried. ‘With all my heart.’”Who, if they came to know Jesus, truly, with repentance, a changed heart, the old man is dead only a new creation remains, who would you struggle to call brother or sister in Christ?That is who we ought to ask the Lord to save. TO pray for their salvation…Not sit and wait for the city to be burned with fire from heaven.And in doing so, ask the Lord to come to your own heart to fix the wounds, heal the holes, and bear the pain, the sin, and the loss there.Christians may pray imprecatory psalms, right the psalms that curse, “for the sake of the righteous, the wicked be Judged.”Believers always know there is a duel and the greater prayer there that the wicked would repent and turn to Christ before they fall into judgment. Before they do any more harm to the righteous.But which do we hope for?Jim McCarthy says, “Sometimes, it seems impossible to pray for some people. Maybe you have such a person in your life? Whose name you can’t even utter? The very thought of whom causes a dark cloud to overcast your heart? In such cases the first step of obedience is to beg God to grant you a heart of forgiveness and a desire to pray for them. He who said, ‘Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you (Matt. 5:44), is faithful.”Caveat: This of course, does not mean we must physically put ourselves in danger or under the power of a wicked person in a false since of piety.But desire for the salvation of our enemies starts in the heart?Look with me in verses 5-11#3 Hoping for JudgmentGod’s Sovereign AppointmentJonah’s Fragile HeartOur Hearts: The call for self-reflection[5] Jonah went out of the city and sat to the east of the city and made a booth for himself there. He sat under it in the shade, till he should see what would become of the city. [6] Now the LORD God appointed a plant and made it come up over Jonah, that it might be a shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort. So Jonah was exceedingly glad because of the plant. [7] But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the plant, so that it withered. [8] When the sun rose, God appointed a scorching east wind, and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was faint. And he asked that he might die and said, “It is better for me to die than to live.”God shows pity to Jonah with the Plant. God creates. God comforts. Jonah for a time is alright with the Lord’s providence. The Lord’s dominion over his creatures and all their actions.What are God’s works of providence? Answer: God’s works of providence are, his most holy, wise, and powerful preserving, and governing all his creatures, and all their actionsGod initiated: the word, the storm: God appointed creatures: fish, plant, worm, storm.Deism vs. Providence. (overseeing, decreeing, sustaining, governing,Jonah is a-ok with some of the lord’s special providences but not with others.John Mackay says, This dry, hot wind which withers green growth, and causes considerable physical distress, is a well-known phenomenon in the area - but it is under God’s control and serves his purpose. Jonah at once feels the effect of the plant’s death, and begins to suffer from sunstroke. He wanted to die, and said, “It would be better for me to die than to live… If the provision of the plant had eased Jonah’s lot and his bad temper somewhat, the situation was now reversed. He was back into his old mood again, and wishing he were dead.In a twist of IRONY, JONAH “challenges God’s right to destroy” – John Mackay, 68.A plant….He is waiting for a city to be destroyed…And he challenges God’s right to send the worm to destroy a plant. Jonah’s heart is Fragile.Jonah’s Heart is fragile…A little bit of physical comfort… Exceeding JoyHeat and distress…Jonah Wishes he was dead. (Ninevah didn’t get to hear the narrator at the end of chp 3. – They are still just hoping to be spared. They probably don’t realize yet they’ve been spared. There city with 120,000 people and their livestock has a nuclear bomb hanging over them.And Jonah is worrying about shade, comfort, he is feeling pitiful, angry, rage, and then comfort, then pitiful again.He is tired and away from his home country. He is watching and waiting for a the city to be destroyed and he is not getting his felt vindication.Look in v. 9-11 God asks a question…GOD Draws out Jonah’s Heart with a comparison.DO you do well to be angry for the plant?“Yes, Jonah says”Jim McCarthy puts his finger on Jonah’s problem: what Jonah pitied, prized, and loved most of all was himself. This plant only made him glad because of what it did for him.Yes, I do well to be angry. Does Jonah believe this yes?God says, : You “labored” for the Ninevites, they are human beings…Do you pity how ignorant they are of the darkness of their lostness?No, because the Ninevites don’t make Jonah happy.John Mackay, “He felt he was being victimized by what had happened to him. Jonah was sure he was right in what he considered should have happened to Nineveh. Not only was God wrong in what he had done to the city, but also in what he had done to the prophet.” (68).Remember, Strong emotions of pity, and exceeding gladness do not make your course of action correctEvents that feel like “god opening doors” do not validate your emotions or moral state of heart. Jonah could’ve said “Look at the plant, the shade, the nice cool weather, God approves….”Jonah should’ve rejoiced at the Character of God, the Mercy of God, and searched the word of God to see, yes, God will bless the gentile nations, and perhaps this is a foretaste of how a descendant of Abraham, would one day place many believing gentile communities throughout the world.Transition: God reminds Jonah of the Imago dei, the value and dignity of mankind – God’s creation, and that it is good, and that We (v.11) were created to steward the animals.You are so angry at Assyrians, do you remember that you were made to at least care for and pity the animals?If you don’t pity your fellow man because you hate them, do you perhaps pity the cattle?God is reminding Jonah of 3 thingsFirst, We were made in his image to love and live in fellowship with God “They do not know their righthand from their left. Pity them.Second, we were made for fellowship with one another. Rejoice there will be a better life in a god-fearing city than a godless city.Third, we were made to guard, to keep, to tend and steward the creatures. Rejoice in the life spared.What is the book is all about? God is a merciful and a gracious God.Our Hearts: Are you watching people around you to see a merciful and gracious God at work to save sinners? Or are you watching people around you to see if you approve of how God in his providence is treating you and them, who do not know there right hand from there left? Have Pity. Because if you are in Christ Jesus, he pitied you.Man of sorrows what a namefor the Son of God, who cameruined sinners to reclaim:Hallelujah, what a Savior!Guilty, helpless, lost were we;blameless Lamb of God was he,sacrificed to set us free:Hallelujah, what a Savior!PrayerBenediction. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jamesensley.substack.com

Imagine you have never heard of Jonah before…You are reading your bible for the first timeThe World in the Flood (Genesis 6–7); Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 18–19); Egypt (Pharaoh’s kingdom warned through Moses—Exodus 7–12); Canaan and its cities (especially Jericho; Leviticus 18; Deut. 7; Josh. 6)What was Jonah’s task: The evil stench of Ninevah has come up before the Lord, Go, Call out against that great city: “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!”What do you think is going to happen to Ninevah in Chapter 3 – no spoilers? If you had to put money on it.What did Jonah think was going to happen?What is the overall problem? Ninevah is under judgement. They need a call to repentance, the Lord to grant them repentance, and it needs to be true repentance, and lasting revival. Jonah needs to assume his prophetic role, preach faithfully, and rejoice as the Lord does all according to his Holy and Merciful will.We need to ask: Do we resist God’s Word, do we remain dead in our sin?And if we have sorrow for sin we can ask is it godly sorrow or temporary? We need to remember God graciously grants repentance through His Word and shows saving mercy in Christ to all who turn to Him. And it is vital that we are enfolded into the covenant community as members of God’s multi-generational body.Read Jonah 3:1-10Prayer of Illumination#1 Jonah: Deja Vu 1-4#2 The People and The King 5-9#3 The Lord Relents 9-10#1 Jonah: Deja Vu 1-4Look again in vs..1-4 [1] Then the word of the LORD came to Jonah the second time…Introductory Illustration: How often do we get it the first time? What about in the bible? When we do “get it” are we perfect?? When you are young you often think I’ll do this the first time, or if I get it right once then I’m good to go going forward…I infuriated my mother because I assumed if I understood the words she was saying about Math, then I would be able to do it my first try, or…after I did it once I thought I was done with math! No, drill, repetition, some successes, some failures…Jonah has had a failure. Now a success is coming…but does that make him the perfect prophet going forward? Is this how the Christian life works?Deja Vu![Retell Jonah 1] The Word, To Jonah, Ninevah, Call out against it! (Chapter one) The Word, To Jonah, Ninevah, Call out against it! (chapter 2).And here we are, Déjà vu! Its not subtle…second time…hear we go again.Once again, the Word of God, calls the prophet of God, to speak the message of God. Remember, “no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” – 2 Peter 1:21What does God desire in response by Jonah?Whole-hearted obedience is wanted…second chances are given…not earned or deserved, but mercifully given….God gives Jonah’s grace instead of the death penalty of a soldier abandoning his post. Grace is undeserved mercy.And now here we can say, Yay – Jonah obeyed – he’s been converted. Some Christians believe in “perfection” after conversation. But Jonah makes it not that simple.I think it is simplistic to say, Jonah was or was not a believer in Chapter 1,2,3, or 4.Maybe he was a true follower of God in Chapter 1Maybe he truly converted in chapter 2.Yay Chapter 3 seems good.But hmmm…Chapter 4 he is grumbling and wishing to die …because god shows mercy…But then again – we have the book of Jonah, which seems like a first-hand detailed account given by Jonah…Quite simply, all believers are battling indwelling sin and growing in obedience.Paul in Romans 7 Says, “I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.” (Rom. 7:15) “I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.” (Rom. 7:18)We are going to see reluctant obedience from Jonah throughout. This is not good. We ought to have Joyful obedience and not resist the mercy of God. But this is also the normal experience, to some extent, of believers throughout the bible…Reluctant hearts need the grace of God to come to them again, and again, not just willpower. The Christian life is a lifelong growth in obedience.AND Jonah doesn’t excuse himself. He honestly rights of his mistakes and the ways he falls short in this part of his life.SO keep following Jonah’s ups and downs. And remember, you hold a full and honest account of his sin and failures in your hands…I suspect that some age and wisdom helped Jonah pen his many failures here.Remember, the Christian life is a gracious, Spirit-empowered, Long obedience. The Christian life is a long obedience in a Godward direction. Jonah’s prayer is his cry of distress; his obedience to go to Ninevah does not make him now a “super Christian” one who’s heart thought rightly, felt rightly, and acted rightly.Going into the exceedingly great city, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!Population? Size? A city God had set his sight on. The three days is likely the differences between the city proper and the metropolitan area, or the administrative district (e.g. 500K Atl proper vs. 5 Million large Atlanta Metro)What does God want us to do with ultimatums of Judgement? _____ (Appl)There are several Insufficient responses to the wordApathy and no action taken when we hear of our sin or our conscience is pricked.Panic – And temporary response with no knowledge of God or love for God no trust in his mercy or covenant promises. Just I heard of fire and brimstone and I don’t want to go to hell.As Jesus says, of the parable of the seed and the soils, some hearts are unresponsive, some temporarily respond, and some seeds fall on good soil and bear fruit 100-fold in keeping with repentance.What of us and our lives being overthrown?Will your life be overthrown if you do not heed Jonah’s warning? The Lord’s warnings to you in the word:Yes, He who seeks to gain his life will lose it. If you live for yourself and seek life in this world. Either in apparently sinful things, or just the selfishly “this life is all there is” life you will lose your life.What does it profit a man to gain the world but forfeit his soul?40 Days God says….No one is guaranteed 40 days.This is a merciful warning. Remember.Today, Today is the day of salvation. (Heb. Quote).Remember God is reconciling sinners and enemies of God and man to himself in Christ Jesus. And his word preached is me acting as his ambassador to say, “now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.”“Today, if you hear his voice,do not harden your hearts…”(Hebrews 3:7–8; also 3:15; 4:7, ESV)2 Corinthians 5:21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. The apostles and prophets in the word of God on behalf of God appeals to you not to receive the grace of God in vain.Transition: The people of Ninevah heard this warning, and with much less certain offers of grace, much less light and information, they responded in repentance of their sins. Look in verses 5-9.#2 The People and The King 5-92A The People, v. 5[5] And the people of Nineveh believed God. They called for a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them. [What does it mean “Nineveh believed God”]The people Believed GodJim McCarthy says, Jonah did not know it, but the Holy Spirit was tilling and softening the rocky heart-soil of the Ninevites to receive the seed of the God’s word…”That is they heard the message as from God: He is Real. This message is from him. I have offended him. I am cut to the heart and sorrow and turn away from my offending sin.It is a repentance in which God does Relent. So something of it is commendable.It fits with what Jesus says Matt. 12:38-42…Matt. 12:38-42 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.” [39] But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. [40] For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. [41] The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here. [42] The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here. (See also Luke 11:32)How much greater should our faith and repentance by now that the Light of the World has come, Christ the Great and True Prophet has come, now that the Holy Spirit is being poured out on all nations and we have the whole counsel of God in a whole and entire word from him.Jesus has the same message of urgency as the “yet 40 days” and he cites them to call the men of his do to Believe to not Ignore the warning. Jesus says, The men of Ninevah on judgement day will witness against you if you delay in repentance and trust in HIM to save you from the condemnation of your sins and the evil of your heart.The revival, the groundswell of sorrow and fasting makes its way to the ears of the king.2B THE KING, v. 6 and following.6] The word reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. [7] And he issued a proclamation and published through Nineveh, “By the decree of the king and his nobles: Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything. Let them not feed or drink water, [8] but let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and let them call out mightily to God. Let everyone turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands.----Off the throne, off with his royal robes, on with the clothing of the poor and mourning - Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs in the kingdom of God.The people called for a fast…the King both responds to what is happening to the people and then he formalizes with a decree what is already happening.There is a positive feedback loop: Right a microphone picks up the speaker, which get loud and screechy, which the microphone picks up, and it gets louder and louder.The people > the king > the people > the king and the nobles.John L. Mackay points out that it does indeed seem that response of the people cause the stirring of the action of the King!Entrusted with particular care for the well-being of his city and he took God’s warning as a real event that would happen if he did not repent.Do you view things this way for yourself and your family?Family members each of you in your role within the family can encourage spiritual growth and revivalMy Father contributed to my spiritual growth, my mother did certainly in bible reading and catechism…But my brothers in my bedroom at night we sometimes had spiritual conversations and we encouraged each other…My siblings walking with the lord I’m sure has encouraged the faith of our parents through the years in a way that is greater than if we had grown spiritually cold.So young people encourage the next generation and be encouraged. Older people use your position to encourage the next generation!Second concerning the king and the people what did both groups repentance look like? Here are a few traits:First, External acts in keeping with repentancePrayer, on the floor, in tears. (my story).But these things must match the heart.Second, Public Call for revival. It was not a private keep-it-to-yourself religion with no zeal for the Lord.Derek Thomas – Story: Saved listening to Billy Graham on the radio…Told his mother that he had been saved in the morning. Kept on her the whole day. Mother called the doctor, the doctor told her he was suffering from trauma, prescribed tranquilizer…Praise God he survived a liberal minister attempting to shake his newfound faith, got connected with brothers and sisters who taught him the word and to love the Church.Third, true repentance Turns from “General” to “specific” sorrow for sin.V. 8 – evil way, the violence that is in his hands.Ninevah is confessing particularly Ninevite sins.Jim McCarthy tells the story of the impact when the bible truly strikes us to confess our sins.When our hearts are specifically and particularly exposed he says, “It was the summer before my eighth-grade year and my parents sent me to an FCA’ camp on Black Mountain in North Carolina. One night, we were gathered in the great hall. It was the first time I had ever heard a man preach about sin. Though hundreds were in the room, I felt like I was the only one there as this man told me all that I ever did’ John 4:29). He lifted the hood of my soul and exposed the secret sins within. He declared that the wages of my sin is death because God is holy. And I knew he was right. I knew I deserved hell. But then he finished the verse, ‘but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord’ (Rom. 6:23). Now, more than twenty years later, I don’t remember the preacher’s name or anything else he said. I only remember that was the first night I believed the Lord.” (Mccarthy, 44-45).So for a time it was acceptable, popular, even expected by the King of Ninevah to turn to the LORD. TO reform the cities injustices and to have a reverence for the God of Israel.But will it translate to a deep rooted abiding in Worship of God alone. Absolute monotheism? A worldview of singular devotion and fear of YHWH and recognizing others so-called “gods” are false idols…Nahum’s letter is the context for where this will go in 100 years. [in January…]Because more than these things is repentance accompanied by Faith, Hope, and Love. Faith, Hope, and Love for God.A prizing of God. A lifelong communion with the living God in prayer, sitting under the word, in fellowship with others who share the same direction of life.It is why Christians MUST Marry in the Lord. You must have a common horizon of pursuing God and you pursue God you grow closer togetherSorrow for sin that remains unjoined with Faith, Hope, and Love for God will fade with the years.Sorrow for sin unaccompanied by fellowship with believers. By meaningful membership in Christ’s church will fade.The devil attempted to tranquilize Derek Thomas’ newfound faith, his sent a Wolf-In-priests garbs to intellectually destroy it, but God by the Spirit enfolded him into fellowship with fellow believers. We must prize the body of Christ and meaningful church membership which the Lord’s supper is pointing us to later this morning.Consider…Large scale revivals can be good, mixed, or sometimes detrimental (First great awakening good, second great awakening…well it less so great and mores so “ok to not so great awakening.” Those regions of constant manipulative style revivalism are called the “burned over regions” and are among the most godless regions of America.Remember: The stronger grounded the visible church and faith of the church the more equipped we are to enfold people into her.Revivals that have centered around religious fervor and emotion that reject the Church and gathering with God’s people for discipleship fade quickly.How does God respond to this revival:#3 The Lord Relents; look in verses 9-10[9] Who knows? God may turn and relent and turn from his fierce anger, so that we may not perish.” [10] When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it. (ESV)The question: “Who knows?, God may turn and relent that we may not perish”The Response: God relentsBecause he see they truly turn from their evil way.God knows the heart the external fasting, sackcloth, and signs of mourning and remorse for sin are true and not just skin deep.God is merciful and relents.The ultimate reason God can be merciful is not because he winks at sin, tears doesn’t absolve us from sin. The mercy and salvation of God ultimately for all people comes from : Christ’s work as our prophet and high priest and king. WSC 24-26.Christ calls us to repentance and turning to the Lord as our father: He does this as prophet by his Word and Spirit making the will of God for our salvation known to us.Christ promises us that when we turn from sin we are turning to him as savior and God as Father.He does this as priest: by offering himself up as a sacrifice to satisfy divine justice, and reconcile us to God; and in making continual intercession for us.His pleads on our behalf. He does not grow tired in being our merciful priest. He does not grow old or weary. New morning mercies are found in Christ Jesus.No Disaster shall overtake those in Christ Jesus.He does this as King. The decree Christ makes for us in not in sackcloth as ashes for he is a risen and a righteous king. Christ righteously in our repentance subdues us to himself, rules, defends, and conquers our enemies.Nothing can snatch us from the hands of our savior.When God relents. He relents for the sake of the perfect work of Christ on your behalf, and his ongoing reign intercedes for you all the days of your life.PrayerCommunionBenediction This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jamesensley.substack.com

Good Evening: It is Fall. I love the Fall…Yes I do get my Pumpkin Spice Oatmilk Latte every year…Just one because they are $8 after tip… The stores though are already Christmas themed. I’ve seen Lights for Christmas. But what about Thanksgiving? Hold the line. It is the week before thanksgiving and it is appropriate for us to ponder below the surface of turkey, gravy, and pumpkin pie. So 1 Thanksgiving sermon followed by 4 advent sermons.READ: Matthew 6:25–33 (Not page 61…beginning on page 811).[25] “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? [26] Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? [27] And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? [28] And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, [29] yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. [30] But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? [31] Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ [32] For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. [33] But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.Pray#1 The Problem – We live in an anxious disenchanted world. (vv. 25)#2 The Solution – Re-Enchanting Providence: (vv. 26-30)#3 The Priority – Seek the highest good and then enjoy the ordinary. (vv. 31-33).#4 Practical Implications for A Re-enchanted Thanksgiving Day.#1: THE PROBLEM: We live in an anxious worldOne of the reason, One of the reasons this is a very anxious world is that we’ve lost sight of PROVIDENCE· Because we have lost a view of Providence, we are anxious and fearful for things outside of our control.o We fear THE BIG PICTURE. We fear where HISTORY is going.o And such fear harms our Gratitude and Thanksgiving to God and his providence. This mode of living makes Thanksgiving an inconsequential and unpleasant Holiday to most modern Americans…Put a pin in that I think there is a reason why American currently Obsess over Halloween in October and then Jump to Santa Claus Christmas in December and have a smaller, stressful little “Turkey Day” and Macy’s Day Parade in November…· We are anxious and by and large americans live in a disenchanted world and we fear for the Big Picture.o Writer Aaron Renn says, “I think a large part of this angst is the feeling that we don’t control our own narratives anymore. Everything’s run by big political or corporate forces. It’s out of our hands…we’re stuck in this pervasive sense of catastrophe fatigue.§ In a disenchanted world …We rightly realize we don’t control the big pictures. There are 300 Million people in the U.S. And common worldviews and beliefs are highly fractured. We are out of control…And if there is not a God is who is in control…Our Fears…Our Anxiety as we scroll twitter and social media is only going to increase and increase….o We fear for tomorrow…many feel impending doom… Renn continues “This is born out by the data on Americans’ greatest fears…In 2014, Americans’ top ten biggest fears included public speaking, heights, scary animals…flying, strangers, zombies, and darkness.o But by 2023, that had wildly shifted. Instead, it was corrupt government officials, economic/financial collapse, Russia using nuclear weapons, the US becoming involved in another World War, people I love becoming seriously ill, people I love dying, pollution of drinking water, biological warfare, cyber-terrorism, and not having enough money for the future.§ There is some overlap…But there is a clear shift….§ “What many of these [new items] have in common is the shift from being afraid of things you have some degree of control over (like public speaking) to things you have a lot less control over (biological warfare, the economy, war, or loved ones dying….” End Quote.§ Economies made up of millions of people…Death, Dying, the Unknown….Powerful people in our world who hold our lives in their hands…whether The Roman Empire….The Feds…§ Why these anxieties? Americans are the least equipped to suffer than they ever have been. To make sense of their suffering. To have strength and courage of Body and Soul…[1]o And I believe this is because people have lost Providence. Lost a heavenly Father.§ People do not believe Jesus’ teaching, here in Matthew 6…we don’t talk like we believe it, do we?…we don’t celebrate holidays that conform to this…Or celebrate our holidays consistently with Providence, and we often don’t live our family lives like we believe this.§ As a people, We have lost Providence. We have lost a Heavenly Father. We have lost the Gospel with the promise that there is a Kingdom with a King who has promised Certain salvation of our Souls.· And this is a Thanksgiving sermon…It could easily sound like booo secularists, godless progressives… Thanksgiving is going to be a pain with my unbelieving family and friends.· No – there is broad societal suffering that comes from disenchanting Providence.· We, like Jesus should have compassion, Pity and sorrow for the anxious and fearful, for their lostness, for lives cut off from having a heavenly Father. Pity and sorrow for the lost. They are Orphaned. To be an orphan is a fearful and anxious thing.· Thankfully, Jesus’ words, his teaching, his solution to this problem offers encouragement to the lost and an explanation of their misery.§ The world we live in is a far better. Far more Transcendent. A Far more Spectacularly Enchanted world than the anxious one people think they are living in.§ We have a heavenly Father and having a Heavenly Father who is Sovereign changes everything.o ILLUSTRATION: Who do you call when you have a car wreck? Everything is out of your control. Your Father….o Having a higher authority who loves you changes everything.o But When you have no higher authority…No ultimate Faith, Hope, and Love, no Kingdom. No King. No God our Father with the Holy Spirit in your Heart. When suffering and scary things happen in the world you are Alone….Jesus rebukes such functional atheism…And offers the Antidote of a robust Fatherly Providence.We need to believe in and remember God’s active presence, reducing life to mere mechanics or chance feeds anxiety. Re-enchantment invites a return to a worldview that embraces God’s intimate, wise, and involvement in all aspects of creation.[2] An enchanted interest – definitionally, feeling greater pleasure and delight, the pleasure and delight of Providence.And My prayer is that it will address both your very close daily fears. What about my food, my body, my life, AND Big Picture fears, all those big scary forces of human history that I have no control over those things will doom me.· Vv. 25. Jesus says, I tell you, do not be anxious about your life. And he asks Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Yes. Yes it is.o And from the outset we must say, Jesus is not forbidding, future planning, hard work, even a stress response to a difficult circumstance that gives you focus and care for some weighty and important matters.o But there a disordered care, an over-concern that leaves God out of the Picture. That Disenchants God’s providence in your life.oJesus continues in v. 26…[26] Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? [27] And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? [28] And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, [29] yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. [30] But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?In (vv. 26-30) Jesus is saying, Consider Your Father’s smiling providence towards the Birds & Lilies and remember you are made in his image, you are loved and cared for, you are more valuable to God! Then any of these things.· It is true but so easy to forget. But if we do believe it…would not much of our anxiousness would be removed?· So I exhort you (and I preach this to myself) to Re-enchant two areas the Ordinary and the extraordinary your Salvationo re-enchant ORDINARY Happinesses (what we call blessings) and Ordinary Sadnesses (difficult providences, or miseries of this life),o And the extraordinary: God given rescue from sin and misery as we are caused to hate sin, and trust God in a fallen world, and have joy in redemptive grace being brought into the Kingdom of God, the Church.· Our Culture struggles to do this. In common American conversation, we talk frequently of: fortune, fate, or luck, or chance.o The Reformation study bible reminds us that§ Fortune is Blind – God in his fatherly care watches over us.§ Fate is impersonal God is “my Father” “our Father” in heaven.§ Luck is dumb luck. It cannot speak. God says, I have made you, I have called you by name and you are mine!§ Providence says, you may not know how, or when, or why but both the frowning providences you cry through and the smiling providences you rejoice in and in Both of these; Give thanks! For God is over all!§· And so we must wrestle to Talk like we believe in providence.o The you know that the youth do not have Potluck’s we have: “Pot-providences”· Why would people talk like this! Because they are well taught from the bible! And they are Presbyterian & Reformed to the core of heart, speech, and exhortation towards eachother· Oh and we don’t just talk like this WE SING LIKE THIS!· We sang these truths earlier as all good hymns doo We Gather together…. Sing praises to His name, He forgets not His own Beside us to guide us, our God with us joining,ordaining, maintaining His kingdom divine;so from the beginning the fight we were winning:the Lord was at our side- the glory be Thine!· We Write Documents that talk like this.o WSC 11: What are God’ s works of providence? God’ s works of providence are, his most holy, wise, and powerful preserving, and governing all his creatures, and all their actions.o WCF 5.1 God our great Creator upholds, directs, disposes, and governs all his creatures, actions, and things, from the greatest even to the least,) by His most wise and holy providenceaccording to his free and immutable counsel of His own will, For what purpose? to the praise of the glory of His wisdom, power, justice, goodness, and mercy.· What glorious shining jewels of Truth.o Teach your children the golden truths of Providence.o How much better than our Current cultural Creed: “YOLO” “vibes” “luck” “privilege”o instead we have: A Heavenly Father, Covenant Faithfulness, God’s provision to us, and we in gratitude and praise offer provision to others.o Providence not chance. “Lord willing,” Gratitude to their creator and Father. Every good thing is a Gift from God to be stewarded and cultivated.· It Changes how you interpret the Events of your life.o STORY: My Dad how he viewed Jobs and gifts from God not economic downturn and upturns. …Once processed through providence it wasn’t “people” it was God’s provision for the next thing. He took an enchanted interpretation of providence. (though I’m sure my Mom got the less theologically processed version that the kids got in the end).· The world is re-enchanted when God’s wisdom, his meticulous and good care for us is our reflexive thoughts.·o A Car nearly hits you on the highway – not phew that was lucky. –vv. 28 which of you by being anxious can add an hour to his life? No that life event if you are spared means God in his Providence still has a plan for your life a calling.· On the other hand….When the Car wreck happens…We encounter difficult Providence right.o And our theology does not remove trials and weightiness…It does not remove tears or mourning.o but it does tell us where to reach for, for the solid rock, the firm ground, the Person, a heavenly Father to cling to in the good and the bad.o The Hymnast write…Whate’er my God ordains is right:here shall my stand be taken;though sorrow, need, or death be mine,yet am I not forsaken.My Father’s care is round me there;he holds me that I shall not fall:and so to him I leave it all.o And though sung with tears….We have the antidote to despair.We’ve looked at the Problem. The Solution. And now Briefly #3 The Priority. (vv. 30-33).30] But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? [31] Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ [32] For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. [33] But seek first [prioritize] the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.· Seek the Kingdom of the Lord Jesus… particularly make sure you don’t have a a little Jesus. Make sure you have him who enters down into the pit of your sin and shame and lifts you out. Who calls you by name. Jesus is a King, with a Kingdom, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.· Christ’s Kingdom is forever. And his kingdom is your priority.· We are members of that Kingdom but we are placed to live here and now. And I believe with Jesus’ teaching on God as our Father who exercises Providence over all things we are equipped to live in the midst of an Anxious generation, and an anxious country· And so My prayer is here locally we may be a trusting congregation, a courageous people, who Excel in Thanksgiving.· Paul in his letters often gives 2 or 3 Chapters explaining a great theological truth and then you get this one chapter where he lists rapid fire implications of it…That is what I want to suggest…I not Paul or the Lord ask what are implications for#4 How Shall we than live: The New Testament is filled with examples of how to have a mindset that seeks first the kingdom of God. That puts on the mind of Christ.And this is after all a thanksgiving sermon so that is how we will apply ourselves. But this is also a timeless sermon because I would argue every family meal is an opportunity to return thanks. Every Christian conversation. Every holiday. Every life event births, death, healing, and sickness offers many of this things.So to Close in Pauline Fashion 15 Or so Exhortations.Practical Advice for Thanksgiving.1. Psalm 145:15-16 The eyes of all look to you [God], and You give them their food in season. You open Your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing.a. Take time to give thanks throughout the year but especially appropriate is Harvest time, and at thanksgiving supper. To consider Providence and Return Thanks.2. Be thorough about what you are thankful for. Do not make it perfunctory, fathers and mothers perhaps write down a list so as to teach your children and give them ideas. Warn people ahead of time, or search for a list of questions to HELP people be thorough.a. Ephesians 5:20 always giving thanks to God the Father for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.3. if you have had trying and weary year and Ask God to be your shield and defense in it, but thank him for his comfort. Give thanks for the Lord for his steadfast love, and faithfulness in the midst of it.a. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 Give thanks in every circumstance [Every means every], for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.4. Acknowledge thanksgiving is difficult. Rejoice with the who rejoice and weep with those who weeps.5. Give thanks to the Lord for his smiling providence if you have had provision.6. Give thanks in the name of Jesus. Praise for your salvation.a. always giving thanks to God the Father for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. – Eph. 5:20b. Which is short-hand for faith in Christ and trust in his holding you fast.7. Spend time in Prayers of thanksgiving after having heard them around the table and pray for the coming year.a. Something like…”Heavenly Father, thank You for the abundant blessings You have bestowed upon us. As we gather around this table, Bless this food, the hands that prepared it, and the hearts that share it. May our gratitude extend beyond this day, reflecting Your love and generosity in our lives. Amen8. Sing Songs of thanksgivinga. Keep your Bulletin from Today and look at all the preludes and hymns sung and meditate on the lyrics. They will instruct your heart and mind this coming week.9. Exercise Christian Hospitality beyond your immediate family: If you are in town and you are alone, I know, I know for a fact there are families with open homes, and open tables. If you are in town and have the large table and the extra space, consider opening that invitation up.10. Be intentional with your STORY and Traditions of Thanksgiving…Its not just Turkey Day.a. The Westminster Directory for Publick Worship Give this direction to Churches for “special days of thanksgiving.” That mostly have to do with the worship service but I think it is helpful to the church and the family: When God gives a special providence and we ought to return thanks then it is appropriate to designate a day for Thanksgiving, Prayer, Singing, and to seal the memory of those events in the current and next generation.b. So I would encourage Families to in miniature to not just let people lounge around the house the whole day (I said the whole day, I will be on the couch napping part of the day) but my encouragement is for Father’s to give notice that a the Meal or at 3PM we will pray, sing a hymn, and I will tell of the mercies of God to our families. If its not planned for it won’t happen.i. The Directory for Publick worship says, Let him then make some pithy narration of the deliverance obtained, or mercy received, or of whatever hath occasioned that assembling of the congregation, that all may better understand it, or be minded of it, and more affected with it.ii. Do you believe truly, that magnifying God’s providence in your family and over the events of history and his Fatherly care will help stem the tide of our “anxious generation” this generation of young people is more anxious than any before it?1. I firmly Believe that reclaiming Providence, Thanksgiving, A Family history and fostering true belief in a Merciful God will help stem the tide.11. Lastly, #11 the Westminster directory for publick worship says, At one or both of the public meetings that day, a collection is to be made for the poor, that they poor may bless us, and rejoice the more with us. And the people are to be exhorted, at the end of the latter meeting, to spend the residue of that day in holy duties, and testifications of Christian love and charity one towards another, and of rejoicing more and more in the Lord; as becometh those who make the joy of the Lord their strength.a. I think for americans this happens all in the lead up to thanksgiving, but do remember the poor in the lead up to Christmas as well. God in his Providence has provided for your family, do not anxiously hoard up treasure on earth but out of love, out of charity make a provision for the poor. The outreach team has a host of ideas for this I am sure.- V. 33: But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.o You have a King and Kingdom, a promise and a great salvation. Do not be anxious. Fulfill your calling with courage and conviction, and your food, your home, and provision will be added unto you.- PrayerBenediction[2] Note also re-enchanting providence allows us to take sin and the problem seriously again. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jamesensley.substack.com

Introduction: LOTR Sam sinking into the river until Frodo arm grabs him and pulls him into the boat.So (1) Jonah is hurled into the ocean (2) the sailors rejoicing…(3) simultaneously Jonah Sinking, down down down, and the question becomes will anyone or anything reach down and save his life.First time reading 1:17…spoilers…what if you had never read Jonah before? 1:17 and the last verse of 2. Form excellent bookends.…v. 17 says this anticipates: Christ dying and Rising…]Recall the Captain in chp 1 saying call out to your God. Pray to your God…. Jonah Never does, until he sinking down down down. [Never too late to pray] We can mock, we can think why did it take so long to repent or turn to God, but at the end of the day. It is Never too late so long as you have breath in your body…or thoughts in your head to turn to the Lord in PrayerRead Jonah 1:17-2:1017 And the LORD appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.2:1 Then Jonah prayed to the LORD his God from the belly of the fish,2 saying,“I called out to the LORD, out of my distress,and he answered me;out of the belly of Sheol I cried,and you heard my voice.3 For you cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas,and the flood surrounded me; all your breakers and your waves passed over me.4 Then I said, ‘I am driven away from your sight;yet I shall again look upon your holy temple.’5 The waters closed in over me to take my life;the deep surrounded me; weeds were wrapped about my head.6 To the roots of the mountains I went down,to the land whose bars closed upon me forever.Yet you brought up my life from the pit, O LORD my God.7 When my life was fainting away,I remembered the LORD, and my prayer came to you,into your holy temple.8 Those who pay regard to vain idols forsake their hope of steadfast love.9 But I with the voice of thanksgiving will sacrifice to you;what I have vowed I will pay. Salvation belongs to the LORD!”10 And the LORD spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah out upon the dry land.Prayer of IlluminationOutline:The Prayer of DistressThe Reservoir of PrayerThe Prayer of Salvation.Everything is calm above the waters. We see the sailors make it to shore [expand]. And then the camera sinks down below the water and we see Jonah, sinking down, down, down the fish is coming but Jonah for a little while is drowning.Sinking, seaweed, then a fish, swallowed, Jim Mccartney says he is in the warmth of the guts of the fish, hearing its heart beat.Look throughout Chp 2: [Images in the prayer tell the story]#1 Jonah’s Prayer of Distress (follow along in v. 1-4) Can we cry out to God in our distress?This section shows reflex of the believer in distress. Jonah Prays, The Problem, the depths of the situation (v.1-4a)Jonah prays: Prayer is talking to God.God is not a stranger. He is all caps LORD, YHWH, Jehovah God who is HIS God.Generally, God is your creator, your maker, he made you and you owe him your allegiance, but God also draws close, makes promises, says, I will be your God and you will be my people.Jonah has God as HIS God by right of covenant as an Israelite, who was circumcised, worshipped in the temple, and probably knew his Westminster Shorter Catechism….Of Course this didn’t stop Jonah from attempting to Run from God.He Prays. He prays to HIS God.He prays From the belly a Great-Fish, which in this moment is the place of salvation. Life itself.Because Jonah is Crying from Sheol – land of the dead….He feels as good as dead.The Lord heard him even in the belly of death. What does God hear? The cry of distress. The cry of distress.Throughout the bible God’s people find themselves in distress.Hagar Genesis 21:16–17 (ESV): “And she lifted up her voice and wept. And God heard the voice of the boy…”JosephRuthIsrael as a whole in Exodus “groan and cried out for help”Elijah, Job, The disciples in the STORM. Peter.Hannah – 1 Samuel 1 – she has no child, cries in distressDavid Numerous timesPsalm 3:4: “I cried aloud to the LORD, and he answered me.”Psalm 18:6:“In my distress I called upon the LORD… from his temple he heard my voice.”Psalm 34:17: “When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears.”Hebrews 5:7: “In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears…”Early Church under persecution Acts 4:24: “They lifted their voices together to God…”REMEMBER: God hears distress immediately; the cry of distress is an act of faith NOT a lack of faith, it is trust.Jesus himself weeps and cries out for us.God wants a people who cry “Abba! Father!” even in suffering (Rom. 8:15).“Only when you have been brought to an end of yourself and made to see your own helplessness will you flee to Christ in the reckless abandon and total dependence of saving faith. Necessity really is the best classroom. That’s why Charles Spurgeon said, ‘I have learned to kiss the wave that casts me upon the Rock of Ages.’ We pray most, and most ardently, when we are convinced of our desperate need for Christ.” – Jim Mccartney, 29.Two take-awaysFirst, God uses distress as an alarm bell to praySecond, If the bible is not afraid to address and show us prayers coming from Great distress.Be confident the same God who hears the big cries for distress. Will he not also hear you from the greatest to the least of life’s troubles?So, cry out to God from school stress, exam anxiety, fatigue, when your sin puts you in a mess, cry out for deliverance, even if you feel foolish or weak for feeling distressed.Look in v. 3; Jonah says you, God, cast me into the deepWait – The sailors did or God did???God is merciful, gracious, and sovereign in the whole of Jonah. He Hurls the wind, he appoints the fish, the plant, a worm, a scorching east wind…The sailors hurl Jonah into the Sea. Equally, In God’s sovereign providence we can say, God cast Jonah into the sea. Nothing is outside God’s sovereign decree.This shows, Jim McCartney says “The lens through which Jonah viewed the world and the good, bad, and ugly details of his own life was not the lens of accident but the lens of appointment.”Jonah describes what he Physically Experiences in verse 3, 5, 6, 7?Go over the images and metaphors of the whole chapter briefly…[ Go over being eaten and the fear of that ]3, 5, 6, 7[#2 The Reserves of Prayer]So Distress. The Call to prayer. BUT…. Second what are the Reservoirs of Prayer? (the source, the fountain, the content, the stuff of prayer, where do we get our Prayer Reserves?What are reserves?Collection of Bolts, now is the time to break them all out and use them…“Like a tree storing sap in winter, ready to send life surging when the spring finally breaks. (Hidden reserves released at the right time.)“Like someone downloading maps before entering a place with no signal.”What you may miss is that Jonah is drawing from a well of Scriptural Reserves in his distress. I’ll tell you what that is in a second…Re-read v. 3 [3] For you cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas, and the flood surrounded me; all your breakers and your waves passed over me. (ESV). THAT IS JONAH 2:3. Beautiful Jonah is a poet right? Jonah is original? He just happens to pray pretty prayers because he is a good prayer-er…?[7] Deep calls to deep at the roar of your waterfalls; all your breakers and your waves have gone over me. (ESV)That is David in Ps. 42:7…Jonah is a plagiarist! Jonah has been hoarding psalms!Flip to Psalm 42…skim read.In PS. 42:7 David said he in his distress felt like this. Jonah literally feels this.I won’t highlight all the places But the images of Ps. 42, 18, 120, 30, 69 have all the images of distress, sheol, the deep ocean, and salvation from drowning. About 15-18 references…They are Thanksgiving psalms. He doesn’t invent the order, it is like one using the ACTS prayer acronym, Distress, Cry, Deliverance, Vow of Praise….The Belly of a whale is not the time to figure out how to pray.So Jonah is Quoting the Psalms of DavidDavid uses the metaphor of drowning, and uses the image of the temple to show us our HEARTS and where worship is directed and salvation is found...God literally drowns Jonah to wake him up to the state of his Heart. And because Jonah knows the psalms his situation snaps into reality for him and he had the words for prayer.Christian, meditate on the psalms, read the scriptures they will reveal your heart.They discern the thoughts and intents of your heart.They give words of Joy and words of sorrow and words of distress and even despair.The bible has words for you no matter your situation!Matthew Henry says, “If ever any man’s case was singular, and not to be paralleled, surely Jonah’s was, and yet, to his great satisfaction, he finds even the man after God’s own heart [David] making the same complaint of God’s waves and billows going over him that he has now occasion to make. When God performs the thing that is appointed for us we shall find that many such things are with him, that even our path of trouble is no untrodden path, and that God deals with us no otherwise than as he uses to deal with those that love his name. And therefore for our assistance in our addresses to God, when we are in trouble, it is good to make use of the complaints and prayers which the saints that have been before us made use of in the like case. See how good it is to be ready in the scriptures; Jonah, when he could make no use of his Bible, by the help of his memory furnished himself from the scripture with a very proper representation of his case: All thy billows and thy waves passed over me.”This is why we have bible reading plans that read the psalms twice a year…This is why we sing the psalms!To work them into our heads and hearts. This is why our hymns are often richly tethered and tied to the psalms, and further scripture in the gospels and epistles.ILL: Rosario Butterfield – her Mother’s Hospital conversation, singing the psalms to her both before and after her conversion.Store up. Read. Pray. Sing.Now go backIf you don’t save the Collection of Bolts, you won’t have it when you need to fix a fence, hang the picture…If the tree has no sap. It will die and never send forth life for new leafsAnd if you don’t download the map. You won’t have it when you are in that no cell-phone zone.You must store up the Word in your heart today, for the day of distressSo now. Pray the scriptures! Sing the scriptures!Jonah has the words to express that he is spiritually Driven from God, Far, Out of his Sight (before his eyes)!But remember last week, where can I go from your presence?The psalms, our prayers, our talking with God needs to begin with a clear profession of Who God is and the Cry of the depths of the problem.And from the depths of your problem, cry out to God!We begin to preach to our souls. Preach to our hearts. Speak promises of life and salvation that God has given us.#3 In Prayer: Speak of God’s Salvation and God as the source of your Life“YET” “Akh” I will again look upon your holy templeI will continue to look toward the temple of your holiness (your holy Temple)“Jonah’s defiant ‘yet’ reaches through his circumstances to take hold of eternal truths and everlasting realities. Though he was cut off from Jerusalem’s temple, he knew that his prayers reached God’s ear (Jon. 2:7). Though he was on the brink of death, he knew that everlasting life and steadfast love are gifts God alone can give (Jon. 2:8). It is true to say that heaven got into Jonah long before Jonah got into heaven. That is why he can give thanks in a living hell: ‘But I with the voice of thanksgiving will sacrifice to you; what I have vowed I will pay (Jon. 2:9)”. – Jim McCarthy, 33.He will experience once again the holy presence of God. That he had been fleeing from.Yet I shall again look upon your Holy TempleV. 6 Yet You brought up my life from the Pit O LORD MY GODI REMEMBERED THE LORD! MY prayer did Come into your presence. You do Save!Idols are VAIN: Idols are Useless, lifeless, and cannot save, the living and true God saves! To turn to an idol is to give up HOPE In this life.Because to turn to an idol is to turn to pride of some human sin or pride in some creature that cannot save.In prayer, our hearts are Wrestling with God. Wrestling with Faith and Confusion. Wrestling with Faith and Fear. Wrestling with Faith and Circumstances.Prayer always has the hallmark of wrestling with our hearts to trust in God’s salvation.To turn away from sin, idols, and other things that falsely promises life to the one who actually gives LIFE.Capital L life.Jonah is saying in the moment I finally believed this despite:The battering of my soul and body.Despite, Floods taking my breath, my soul to the depths, the Abyss.Despite, being Surrounded! Seawead was wrapped about my HEAD.Despite, bottoming out at The roots of the mountain on the sea floor.This was like a prison of bars forever closing around me and I was about to perish forever.Kind of claustrophobicWe could forgive Jonah for not praying in the moment. For his thoughts to be occupied with the wall of flesh and belly around him.We too can be forgiven for our circumstances overwhelming our awareness of God.Christians in conversations with the hurting your job is to remind them of the goodness of God, the goodness of the gospel, and the hopelessness of their idols. Draw their eyes to Christ. Draw their eyes to the vanity of sin and idols.Restore a sense of Holy Glory. For Jonah this is a literal memory of the Glory of the Israelite Temple. For us it is a Knowing of the revelation of God in Christ Jesus.In the New covenant Jonah might pray, my prayer came to you, Christ Jesus, on your heavenly throne my great high priest who loves me and ever lives to intercede for me.A son of God by your Holy Spirit united to you In Christ.V. 7 says Prayer enters God’s Holy Temple.Can we be confident God hears our cry, our prayer in his presence? Does he see? Does he hear?Matthew Henry again, “He that has Christ dwelling in his heart by faith, wherever he goes carries the altar along with him, that sanctifies the gift, and is himself a living temple. Jonah was here in confinement; the belly of the fish was his prison, was a close and dark dungeon to him; yet there he had freedom of access to God, and walked at liberty in communion with him. Men may shut us out from communion with one another, but not from communion with God. Jonah was now in the bottom of the sea, yet out of the depths he cries to God; as Paul and Silas prayed in the prison, in the stocks.”Jonah cries out promising,I will Sacrifice with the voice of thanksgiving.I will keep my vowsSALVATION BELONGS TO YHWHBelow the waters Jonah worships.Above the waters the Sailors worship.Here and now we Worship:Much of this chapter is captured in this song Before the Throne of God above by Irish Hymnist, Charitie Lees Smith.1. Before the throne of God aboveI have a strong and perfect plea:A great High Priest whose name is Love,Who ever lives and pleads for me.My name is graven on his hands,My name is written on his heart.I know that while in Heav’n he standsNo tongue can bid me thence depart, No one can tell you you cannot cry out to God in prayer in your distress!2. When Satan tempts me to despairAnd tells me of the guilt within,Upward I look and see him there,Who made an end of all my sin.Because the sinless Savior died,My sinful soul is counted free,For God the just is satisfiedTo look on him and pardon me,3. Behold him there, the risen Lamb,My perfect, spotless righteousness,The great unchangeable I AM,The King of glory and of grace.One with himself I cannot die;My soul is purchased by his blood.My life is hid with Christ on high,With Christ, my Savior and my God,With Christ, my Savior and my GodJonah has spoken in prayer, the Lord speaks to his creature, And the Fish spat him back out on dry ground. Jonah must pick himself up and begin his journey again across Israel actually up north to Ninevah this time.Remember 1:17, Christ’s death and resurrection is the sign of what our sin deserves but the fulfillment of the promise of Jonah’s prayer and Jesus’ Trust – “YET YOU BROUGHT MY LIFE FROM THE PIT”If you do not cry out in prayer you will continue to drown and you will die.If you are in Christ Jesus your soul is purchased by his blood. Your life is now resurrected, risen, reigning, and HID with Christ on High.PrayerBenediction This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jamesensley.substack.com

· Intro Have you ever fled in response to what you heard? (parent to child. Me, Great Book Tutorial High School exam…)1. Themes in Jonah vividly speaks to: Creation. Mission. Word & Spirita. The use of creation is stark: Winds, waters, whales, worms, and plants…b. Missions: Sneak preview of Matt. 28:19 (the mercy of God to Jonah, the sailors, and the ninevitesc. God’s Word and Spirit changes the hearts of a king and his people.2. Mccarthy argues: The core theme is, “The gospel is for all people.”a. I agree, all people, the sailors, the king, the people, implications for the cattle, for Israel….And even for Jonah himself.b. All people and all creatures everywhere are called to worship a gracious God.i. The unrepentant and wicked have a clear pronouncement, without repentance all sin everywhere will be judged.ii. Many respond and receive the gifts of relationship, mercy, and graceiii. Some have stubborn hearts and hardened hearts… and the book may be named after just such a stubborn heart.iv. Lets read about a stubborn heart. And maybe see our stubborn and wayward hearts…3. Read: Jonah 14. Prayer of IlluminationOutline1. Called by the Word (v.1-2)2. Fleeing from the Word (v. 3)3. Fleeing from the Word is a Bad Idea (v. 4-6).4. Finding Mr. Bad Ideas (v. 7-11)5. Fixing Mr. Bad Ideas (v. 11-15)6. Fearful Salvation (v. 16-17).#1 Called by the Word (v.1-2)[1] Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, [2] “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me.” The Word, Arise, and Go (The call of a prophet)1. Who is Jonah? A real historical prophet mentioned in 2 Kings 14:25, he has a happy message of prosperity to this king despite him living around (780-755 BC After Elijah, Elisha, King Ahab, this was during the years of Assyrian Empire when it was exacting tribute on the north, Israel.a. Jonah worshipped the LORD, but in a country that had mixed in Baal worship. And many had turned from God to worship Idols.2. But God is still living and active in his prophets. God calls and sets apart prophets by his word and spirit.a. Prophets do not call and proclaim themselves to be such.3. Prophets are called to confront kings, the Lord’s people, to remind them of the covenant God had made with his people…4. Jonah had a nice commission before go say Israel will prosper for awhile…So it cames as a shock to him…this Less popular call, God says, go to a gentile city, go into the world and bring a word of the lord to another nation.5. Nineveh: A Great Citya. A huge Assyrian city-district.b. Against them, Why?c. Their Evil is a Stenchi. Smell is offensiveii. Evil is offensive to a Holy God.6. You have a prophet, a problem, and how does Jonah feel about this call???The unwanted call: Ill: James McCarthy: The Chaplain asked to serve as chaplain for all the high ranking Nazi officials…7. To where was he called – Ninevah – A City of Blooda. Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians (Mean > Nice empire progression).b. During Jonah’s day Assyria was dominate and exacted tribute, taxes, making the North a Vassal state.c. Two Reasons this is unpopular for Jonahi. He cites later he was afraid that God would show mercyii. Second he is going into the capital of a foreign power and calling them dirty rotten sinners who need to repent.1. Should you go to Moscow or Beijing and call out against Russia and China? Might cause some problems for your lifespan and political relations.8. Why now? Ninevah’s stench to the LordAn uncomplicated but difficult application God being God. God being the creator and sustainer of the world, meaning he made it, he owns it, we are not our own but belong to our heavenly father and in this passage he places, John Mackay says, a “personal demand mode on the prophet. God requires individual obedience, even when the task is one which we do no understand, or with which we are out of sympathy.” (Mackay, 8).· Jonah needs to align his heart with God’s word simply because the Word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Ammitai. Ninevah will need to align their hearts and mind with God – You are a wicked stench in my nostrils repent. What of us? Where do our hearts struggle when we encounter the Whole Counsel of God’s word to us from Genesis – Revelation. Every Attribute. Every historical action of God. Every aspect of salvation in Christ and then his call to our daily lives.· One aspect of sanctification of course is to understand the mind of God (which scripture is God’s mind revealed and written for us) and not only to renew our minds so that we understand, agree, and can give our amen to God’s direction in our life and in the bible.o But throughout the bible Abraham, Jonah, Peter among others are called to the Lord to tasks they do not initially have a gut agreement with.§ In Jonah’s case he says in chapter 4, what his gut disagreement was, God is too merciful to sinners. He flees to Tarshish because he just knew God would be merciful to the Ninevites…§ In every culture and every era we may have a gut disagreement with God’s revealed will to us in the bible…§ Do not flee the word of God to Tarshish. Wrestle with it. Meditate on it. Obey it and seek to come to understand It from an eager posture of obedience.Transition: And Jonah listened and obeyed the Lord even though he hated the Ninevites, the End…No…Verse [3]#2 Fleeing from the Word (v. 3)In v. 3 we are supposed to get in a Hebrew narrative get either the brief “and Jonah did all that the Lord said…” or the longer version where you the montage of him doing all that was said…So it is jarring when you get to verse 3 and it says, Jonah gets up and Runs away in the opposite direction…· Jonah took the first boat in the opposite direction of Ninevah, Tarshish… If God said go to Washington D.C. He is headed for Dallas.· He gets on the boat…and hides in the bottom of it…curls up and goes to sleep.o Jonah explains in chapter 4 he does this because he fears the Merciful nature of God· Twice the point is emphasized He is fleeing the presence of the LORD.o Forgetting the words of King David Ps. 139: Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I fleefrom your presence? 8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you arethere! 9 If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea….o God is not a little trible deity…you cannot ever fall off God’s radar.o You are allowed to chuckle at the irony here.o Tarshish isn’t off the grid for God. The Ocean isn’t out of God’s control.o And Yet…And Yet…finish laughing at Jonah.§ We do the same thing…its exhausting to flee from God.§ Two thoughts I want deep in your memories, covenant children, believers in Jesus. And you are right now if you are still fleeing from God.· First, It’s exhausting to flee from God.· Jonah was fleeing God because he might be merciful…last verse of Jonah: He gets on the boat…and hides in the bottom of it…curls up and goes to sleep.§ My prayer is you remember this as a covenant child, If you move cities…and somehow failed to connect with a church…if you were ever to stop worshipping on Sundays…and find a deep dark corner of shame…and think I’ll just go spiritually to sleep, God’s presence is far from him, he’ll leave me alone.§ I dearly pray like Jonah in fact that he will not. If you are a child of the covenant he has placed his name on you. God will not be done with you.· If you are just tired…in the middle of family life…in the middle of retired life, and feel like you are hanging by a rope that you are seeing the threads snap off one by one…do not bow your head and think you will just go to sleep…you have fled the presence of God and the covenant land of God and the covenant people of God.o Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? 8 If I ascend to heaven,you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! 9 If I take the wings of the morning and dwellin the uttermost parts of the sea….even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,” 12 even the darkness isnot dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you. 13 For you formed myinward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. 14 I praise you, for I am fearfully andwonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.§ And Jonah…Jonah fled a merciful God…”Should not I pity Ninevah…120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left…§ You might feel you don’t know what is left or right or up or down. But God Knows! And God will be merciful…if he will offer mercy to those outside the people of God how much you who have shared in belonging in God’s covenant.§ His word calls you to return in moments like these. He will place the train back on the tracks…he will cast you another rope….§ He MAY, He MAY Hurl a great wind and nearly kill you…He may use you as the world’s worst evangelist to call people to Fear and worship the Lord.§ Maybe we are a bit like Jonah. So Chuckle at Jonah. Tarshish is a funny city name. But God remembers, the Lord, Jesus knows his sheep by name.Verse 4…#3 Fleeing from the Word is a Bad Idea (v. 4-6).[4] But the LORD hurled a great wind upon the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship, she threatened to break up. [You know you are in trouble when boats start making threats…I’ll do it, I’ll break up and we’re all going down…that’s how bad the groans and creeks were…][5] Then the mariners were afraid, and each cried out to his god. And they hurled the cargo that was in the ship into the sea to lighten it for them. – You know you are in trouble when the pagan sailors…are screaming, and crying, and throwing all the things that make them money away….But Jonah had gone down into the inner part of the ship and had lain down and was fast asleep. [running from God is exhausting…In fact, yes ][6] So the captain came and said to him, “What do you mean, you sleeper? Arise, call out to your god! Perhaps the god will give a thought to us, that we may not perish.”- the captain unintentionally echoes God’s command earlier to Jonah, “arise, go, call out to your God.· Perhaps your God will give a thought to us.o Note the themes. Presence. Mercy. What might save them is the very traits Jonah is fleeing from.o Sin leads to spiritual apathy. After the initial sting of your conscience, sin sings you a lullaby to sleep.o But God so often echoes his words, the gospel, his teachings to you and in this case it was a pagan captain.o Awake O sleeper, rise up from the dead, and Christ will shine on you… - Ephesians.o But Jonah still needs to be backed into the corner…#4 Finding Mr. Bad Ideas (v. 7-11)[7] And they said to one another, “Come, let us cast lots, that we may know on whose account this evil has come upon us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. [8] Then they said to him, “Tell us on whose account this evil has come upon us. What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?” [9] And he said to them, “I am a Hebrew, and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.” [10] Then the men were exceedingly afraid and said to him, “What is this that you have done!” For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the LORD, because he had told them.· The interrogation, who, what, where, when, why?o A Hebrew prophet fleeing from YHWH the Lord of Heaven and Earth.o You’ve doomed us!o The Lord in his providence allows them to know accurately the cause of their distress. Mr. Bad ideas flee from the presence of God.o So when they are spared, they know it was the Lord God of heaven and earth. Not a small Trible deity. A greater claim has been made.o The Transcendent God.o Creator of all things. [Expand and Riff…]o Therefore, Fear the Lord. The sailors will soon fear the Lord as well. True reverence of God, leading to true worship.o The question we should be asking, will Jonah live up to his essentially citing the Apostles creed here “I believe in God the father almighty, maker of heaven and earth”.o It’s a nice creed…good orthodox words… But will he be Christian in name only or will he turn to the Lord and be true to the confession of his lips. Will he turn into a dead orthodox man.o If a pagan asks him, yes I’m a Christian, I know Jesus…But his words don’t control me, I’ll keep living in disobedience to how I know I am called to live. To the missions and call of God…That question will be resolved in Chapter 2. Dead orthodoxy or living faith…???o God through the sailors, is saying, “remember who you are son of the covenant.”o Today. Will these sailors be spared? Yes, Jonah gives them the way of escape.o And to their credit they don’t just immediately throw him overboard…§ Can you imagine, [airplane in middle of ocean, parachute, ocean, throw me out]….o Hear these next verses once again as a stinging MERCY from pagan sailors…Jonah did not want extended to Ninevah…#5 Fixing Mr. Bad Ideas (v. 11-15) [Summarize story][11] Then they said to him, “What shall we do to you, that the sea may quiet down for us?” For the sea grew more and more tempestuous. [12] He said to them, “Pick me up and hurl me into the sea; then the sea will quiet down for you, for I know it is because of me that this great tempest has come upon you.”· Hurl / God Hurled they hurled, its just fun word choice in the way Jonah chose to write this for us[13] Nevertheless, the men rowed [the word the men dig. They tried to dig their way back. Rowing…Sorry I just love Hebrew idioms…] they hard to get back to dry land, but they could not, for the sea grew more and more tempestuous against them.· They extended sweat, and risked their life for a foreign man. God’s law written on the human heart, holding them conscience bound to avoid murder.· Mercy of Sailors / Jonah’s worry Ninevah would receive moercy[14] Therefore they called out to the LORD, “O LORD, [this is a new name on their lips they don’t know YHWH, the LORD] let us not perish for this man’s life, and lay not on us innocent blood, for you, O LORD, have done as it pleased you.” [15] So they picked up Jonah and hurled him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging.· They don’t want to be murderers. Once again. They rowed, they then cried out to this God they do not know and said, LORD we don’t want the blood of your prophet on our hands…But he has told us to do this. So even the Lord hurled the storm on them they hurled Jonah into the sea.· Quiet. Peace. Ceased. Stillness. Where else do we see this?· Jesus, the sea immediately ceases from its raging…Why? Because God the creator of the universe the lord of nature told it to….When else does a sea immediately CEASE, Still…because Christ Jesus, the very God and very Man, begotten not made, the Lord God, the second person of the trinity is the Lord of creation. When Jesus speaks the creator is speaking.#6 Fearful Salvation (v. 16-17).1. [16] Then the men feared the LORD exceedingly, and they offered a sacrifice to the LORD and made vows.a. Feared – Worship – Vowed.i. They moved from fear of the storm to fear of the Lord of Heaven and Earth.ii. Accidental first-fruit converts of gentile men. That williii. He’s a horrible prophet…its almost like salvation belongs to the Lord.iv. You are probably not a worse evangelist than Jonah.v. God continues to save and if you live long enough you know he saves through people throwing bibles out of trains, and people quoting scripture at plays means to mock God and the bible…The word of the Lord cuts the heart and changes heart.vi. Because God not only preserves our life but our Lives – our souls…Look in 17.2. [17] And the LORD appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. (ESV)a. Jonah was rescued. He fled God. He thought his life was over and not worth living. But God spares him in mercy, and will restore him for ministry…b. God, “appointed” He is sovereign over creatures, creation, and history: Jonah is a wonderful anticipation of Christ’s being thrown into death and chaos only for God to after he had gone down into the grave to be raised again to life after 3 days and 3 nights.c. Christ is risen for you! If you are in Christ you to have died to sin. This means you are no longer fleeing from God’s word. And you have been made alive again to now pursue God and pursue God’s word in your life.d. God in his intricate overseeing of History worked hundreds of these details thoughout the Old Testament…the serpent in the wilderness lifted up like Christ on the cross…Jonah descending down only to be raised again after three days and three nights..e. When the apostles who witnessed Christ in the flesh bore witnesses to the reality that Christ died and is alive again, they do not preach the truth that Jesus, being the God man died and was made alive again into a vacuum.f. The preach it into the context of a string of beautiful references to the messiah and what he would do.g. When the disciples first hear of the resurrection it’s like a movie flashback of all that Christ said and the Old Testament anticipations of this climactic eventh. Jonah 1:17 is Another pearl In the neglace of evidences that makes the resurrection plausible and persuasive.i. It is taking this small pearl of anticipation and placing and stringing it together with all that is said of Jesus, born of woman, born to be the new prophet, priest, and kind, of the tribe of Judah, in the line of David, in Bethelehm, in humility, and on and on that you step back and see what the apostles understood in a thunderclap of clarity. Christ was crucified an he is risen again!i. Jesus said in the parable of the rich man, “they have Moses and the Prophets let them hear them” let them read and believe them.ii. God saves sinners through the Resurrected Jesus.iii. Do you believe this? How will you respond to the Word of the Lord? Flee from it? Or hear it with joy. Christ died. Christ is risen. Christ is reigningiv. PRAY.v. Benediction. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jamesensley.substack.com

Last week, we saw that divine grace, divine mercy, is found in a simple prayer of trust in the mercy of God. This week we will go to Jesus’ crucifixion and the brief conversation of Jesus and the thief on the cross will show how divine mercy is found in Jesus and his saving work alone…Salvation for sinners is found in Christ.Read: Luke 23:39-45[39] One of the criminals who was hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” [40] But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? [41] And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” [42] And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” [43] And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”Prayer of IlluminationOutline:#1 Context: What are these two criminals seeing? (v. 32-37 Briefly)#2 What The Argument Reveals? (v.39-42)#3 The Request & The Promise, The Proof (v. 42-43)#4 Guarding the Truths of Christ Alone against Common Errors#1 Context: What are these two criminals seeing? (v. 32-37).[32] Two others, who were criminals were led away to be put to death with [Jesus].This is in fulfillment of Isa. 53:12 “he would be numbered with the transgressors and Jesus’ own self-awareness that this would happen to fulfill the Scriptures Lk. 22:37. Jesus was just, he was innocent, he was merciful, but wrongly condemned and counted among the wicked as our innocent substituted…[33] And when they came to the place that is called The Skull (Golgatha), there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. [34] And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”He loves his enemies. While they pettily condemned the innocent, Jesus prays seeking pardon for his enemies. And the thief heard this…Father, God of the universe, forgive my enemies…And they cast lots to divide his garments [fulfilling Ps. 22:18]. [35] And the people stood by, watchingThe crowd bears abundant witness to the historical accounts of the gospels…It is a testimony to the accuracy of the four gospel crucifixion accounts because they were publicly witnessed events. Real History. And …They stood by and watched as an innocent man was crucified…They will have to reckon with this when Peter preaches the crucifixion and the resurrection of Jesus to them in a few weeks at Pentecost in Acts 2.V. 35 but the rulers scoffedListen to this word for scoff: Blaspheme, blasphemed. This is the word the Greek uses to translate Psalm 22:7-8, which is the famous psalm that Jesus has quoted, “my God, my God, why have you forsaken…” saying Psalm 22 is about me…And it says… Ps. 22:7-8 All who see me mock me; they make mouths at me; they wag their heads; “He trusts in the LORD; let him deliver him; let him rescue him, for he delights in him!”And verse 35 they sneer up at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!”Remember the temptations of Jesus particularly prepared him for, yes, his ministry of 3yrs, but this particular moment. He is laying down his life voluntarily, and how difficult that is when he does truly have the POWER to make the suffering end…But he lays down his life to save us.[36] The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine [37] and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!” [38] There was also an inscription over him, “This is the King of the Jews.”All the events are swirling around the two thieves on either side of Jesus….IS he the king of the Jews? Is he the Christ of God? That has been the claim these last 3 years? That is what all the miracles I have heard about would suggestAnd that brings us to our main text, where Luke highlights how one of them wants in on the action of the rulers, the soldiers, and a dying man to “rail” against him. And sparks an argument between two dying men.#2 What The Argument Reveals? (v.39-42).[39] One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” [40] But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? [41] And we indeed justly [righteously] judged, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.”Hendrickson notes 5 truths here that lead to this man’s conversion“Do you not fear God” – do you not Fear falling unprepared into the hands of the living God (Heb. 10:31). While one mocked, the other said, We are dying! We are dying as criminals! we are about to fall into the hands of a just God who will punish evil. That is us, “Do you not fear, God,” and second, did you not just hear what he said, to God himself, whom he called FATHER. The Son of God just said…forgive them…For this man had in fact just heard Jesus earlier say v. 34, “Father forgive them for they know not what they do” – If he is familiar with Jesus’ teaching at all then he knows that Jesus says, we both pray to God to forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors and now he has witnessed a cry to the Father to forgive his murderers…If they can be forgiven, can I ask Jesus for forgiveness? And would he be merciful and give it to me? Surely he might?But to do this, he must admit his guilt, admit true reverence of a righteous judge; the other gospels tell us both men had been mocking Jesus. This man now shows FEAR of judgement, but more and better than just trembling, he shows remorse and repentance, he turns on his partner saying, “we are justly, we are righteously judged.”To come to Christ is to admit that God is just to judge our sins. To come to Christ is to recognize that he was innocent and was judged in our place. As an innocent substitute.Jesus is merciful; He also has, as Hendrickson says, a “calm and majestic behavior.”He is fulfilling Isaiah 53…Not physical form of beauty and majesty (53:2) No, greater and fuller than that “he was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief….we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted…upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed….He was oppressed, and he was afflicted yet he opened not his mouth… yet he opened not his mouth. There is indeed a calm majesty to Jesus.We capture this truth when we say he suffered as the Lion and the Lamb. The lamb in humility and bearing our sins. But a Lion in majesty…The king who offers pardons to enemies…Who holds court with this thief? The thief is not merely talking to a lamb being slain, he is coming and in spirit and heart kneeling before the throne of King Jesus, asking pardon for sin and presence in paradise before his throne forever.Jesus was not stuck on the cross, he had legions of angels who could rescue him from the cross.He is the King, who lays down his life as a innocent lamb…He humbles himself to death.And the Thief has been hearing of Jesus, his powerful miracles and teaching; he heals the blind, he says he can forgive sins, he says the Kingdom of God is at hand and we must enter by childlike faith….the Holy Spirit works in the thief’s heart to regret his mockery of who is a suffering King, dying to save a people and a kingdom for himself.And all these things swirl in the mind and the heart of this thief to look to Christ in trust, and make a simple…impossible…request, a simple prayer…#3 The Request, The Promise, The Proof (v. 42-46)The Request v. 42: remember me. Remember me when you come into your kingdom…The request Remember of Jesus echoes Exo 2:24 the Israelites call out for mercy and redemption from slavery in Egypt and we hear “God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob…” Remember me when you come into your kingdom.”This is trust that Jesus is the Messiah, that he is the king of his kingdom, and that he can fulfill covenant promises.Christian, today Jesus is ruling, reigning, resurrected, ascended, and sitting on the throne now as King of Kings: Eph. 3:20-21 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, [21] to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.And Jesus gives his promise: verse 43: “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”Jesus will remember him, he is faithful to the covenant promises.And there are at least 3 massive implications in the details of Jesus’ promise.First, he says, Today – NOT the distant future, TODAY!Second: Is it today you will start your soul sleep? Unconscious, etherealness, or today you will fade back into nirvanabecause everything is ultimately one, today you will be happy but no longer you?By No Means –Second, you yourself, still being you, will be truly with me.Where will we spend our eternity? With Jesus, and all who trust in him, with the angels, with our heavenly father,And Third, WHERE? in Paradise. Paradise.Heaven. Heaven, infinitely complex and mysterious and YET…I would argue It’s as simple as the children’s song, “Heaven is a wonderful place, filled with glory and grace, I want to see my savior’s face, heaven is a wonderful place, I want to go there…”ILL: Story: Phone call at Lifeway Christian Bookstore (in the back, people always sent calls back to me) “Will I know other people?”You will be you. You will be loved, and he will be the beloved. And we will be at peace. No more sorrow, no more tears.Now brief caveat: heaven currently is not yet consummated and fulfilled to the extent after Christ returns because then it will be the NHNE, and we will have resurrected bodies, and it will be a heavenly earth, and an earthy heaven. NO sin. No death. No evil. Life. Goodness. Beauty. The glorious presence of God which we will not exhaust in 10,000 10,000 years.The thief sorrowed for his sins, because he saw Jesus was his savior and king, that Jesus was kind and ready to offer pardon, even to a thief, robber, or even an insurrectionist who deserved to die.v. 44-46 as our passage offers a two-fold proof that Jesus can keep this promise.Creation itself is trembling at the event in a publicly verifiable wayAnd the symbol of the veil in the temple being torn in two.[44] It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, [45] while the sun’s light failed. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two (Mark 1:10 heaven torn open). [46] Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this, he breathed his last.Three thingsFirst, the sun fails as the wrath of God is poured out on Jesus assumes the weight of the sins of people from every tribe, tongue, and nation – bearing the sins of his bride, the church.Second, the temple is torn in two, showing that nothing separates us from the presence of a Holy God, if we are in Christ Jesus. Jesus makes his people Holy and able to simply approach the throne of grace. The old covenant passes away with the sacrificial system, and we now worship through Christ Jesus alone.Last, Jesus lays down his life. Jesus has strength—with a loud cry—He commits his spirit, his soul to the Father, and He finishes his mission, voluntarily laying down his life.Three days later, the body of Christ is raised from the dead, reunited with his Spirit, and he spends some time commissioning and strengthening the apostles and initial 70 disciples, giving the great commission, and ascending to heaven, where he is presently physically reigning as Head of his Church.The Church has, from then until now, been filled by the Spirit, proclaiming Christ, and we will stay on mission, in fellowship, and in communion with Christ until he returns.But that day, some 2,000 years ago, that thief died. After repenting of his sin and looking to Christ. And that same day, he was in paradise. It is astounding, and implications abound that guard a precious truth.#4 Guarding the Truth of Christ Alone against common errors.The Thief on the Cross, put his trust in Jesus Christ and believed in him; that in Christ he would be forgiven and brought into the presence of a holy God in heaven.He was accepted to be WITH Christ Jesus and stand Justified before the throne of grace.First truth we must keep Justification clear in our minds from our Sanctification. Sanctification is the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit to make us more and more like Jesus because we are justified and united to Christ. That takes work, effort, and involves in our sanctification the ordinary means of word, prayer, and sacraments…But many people have taken Sanctification and viewed it not as a fruit of salvation but as a root. Sanctification is squashed back into our justification. So first distinguish justification and sanctification. Next, remember the sufficiency of Christ and the simplicity of Christ in the new covenant age.In the New Covenant, in the gospel-age, there is a much greater simplicity to how God works in his people; greater simplicity but also more pervasive power.Greater Simplicity: there is no more sacrificial system or priests or temple or 20 different kinds of feast days, no more ceremonial law (read all of Heb. 7-10).More Pervasive Power: All are now indwelt by the Holy Spirit and equipped with his gifts, graces, and callings.This means we ought to guard 3 areas:First, Always point faith and assurance to Christ alone — not to rituals, leaders, or feelings. Is this ritual scriptural? Are the leaders servants of Christ or elevated beyond scripture? Is faith a feeling or a trust in a person?Am I doing this because I am saved in Christ OR am I starting to believe this IS what saves me? Christ is the center and the motivation of holiness and devotion. This is what Solus Christus guards.We can define Solus Christus this way: “Jesus Christ is the only savior of sinners and his atoning sacrifice is sufficient to save them.” – Dr. James AndersonActs 4:12 “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”The Author of Hebrews drives home that Jesus’ sacrifice as our savior is sufficient to save you.“When Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come...he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption.His work is entirely different from the complex, and repeated OT sacrificial system with its priests and rituals…Heb. 10 says, “Since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come... it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near”… “Every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God” (Heb. 10:11–12). It is finished.You have the bulletin inserts if you want to read some of the other verses and statements on how the covenant of grace is simpler…But Let us plainly state a couple of the ways we can violate this principle. I want a firm alarm bell In your mind to violations of what the Thief was promised by Jesus. “Today you will be with me in paradise.”So Alarm bells:Any Mediator Other Than Christ such as prayers to saints, Mary, or angels. Jesus saves alone. Not Jesus + saints, their merits, or Jesus + prayers through Mary. Christ alone.Adding things to “stay saved” such as penance, indulgences, or ritual acts for forgiveness. Simply go to Christ repenting of sin to him alone. And he will forgive you. Christ certainly gives us the Lord’s supper to strengthen our faith and help us but not to give us extra righteousness.This is very different than Mass as earning grace or in and of themselves conveying grace. Or people that insist you must be baptized not as an act of obedience but as what saves you. The thief on the cross was never baptized… Though certainly if given time he would have loved to have been baptized one day.We cannot says Baptism wipes the slate clean or changes our nature regenerating us. It represents the work of the Holy Spirit it doesn’t do the work of the spirit or automatically cause it. It is a sign and seal and not tied to the moment or automatically rendered by a priest.Mass, baptism saving, praying to Mary as a co-redeemer those are obvious but what are more subtle ways we can abandon “Christ Alone” and not trust in his full and final sacrifice onour behalf, his righteousness…Confidence in prayer, fasting, meditation, or emotional devotion as if they contribute to salvation or are guilt trips that feel like they are re-saving us after we sin…In Christ they certainly are pleasing fruits of our salvation. But when you feel inadequate go straight to Christ in prayer in repentance and asking him for strength not to the complicated prayer rules and emotionally manipulated techniques.As those who love the Lord and what he has done for us let us rememberAlways point faith and assurance to Christ alone indwelt by the Holy Spirit, assuring us we are Christ’s and he is ours and we are sons and daughters of our Father in heaven…in Christ the Son.The thief on the Cross clearly displays Christ Alone Saves Sinners.The hymn writer Augustus Toplady once again proclaims this well:1 Rock of Ages, cleft for melet me hide myself in thee;let the water and the blood,from thy riven side which flowed,be of sin the double cure,cleanse me from its guilt and pow’r.2 Not the labors of my handscan fulfil thy law’s demands;could my zeal no respite know,could my tears for ever flow,all for sin could not atone;thou must save, and thou alone.3 Nothing in my hand I bring,simply to thy cross I cling;naked, come to thee for dress;helpless, look to thee for grace;foul, I to the Fountain fly;wash me, Savior, or I die. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jamesensley.substack.com

Intro“What a man is alone on his knees before God, that he is –and no more.” – Robert Murray M’cheyneWhile our good works, our religious attendance, may be a fruit of salvation, they are not what causes us to one day be able to stand before God and answer the question, “Why should I let you who have committed so many sins into my holy heaven and my holy presence?”It will all come down to what we are trusting in…Are we trusting in our selves or are we trusting in a salvation outside of ourselves. This is demonstrated by what we pray from our hearts on our knees before the Lord in Prayer… Terry Johnson, remarks… “the content and manner of our prayers reveal our true convictions about God, life, and eternity...”And Jesus illustrates this clearly and pointedly for us this morning…what are you trusting in? Is it yourself? What are you living for?Read Luke 18:9–14[9] He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: [10] “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. [11] The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. [12] I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ [13] But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ [14] I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” (ESV)Prayer of IlluminationThe Way Luke tells this parable is like a teacher including the answer key on a test…V. 9 says he told it about those who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and treated others with contempt…Thus 3 questions and 1 Conclusion this morning:How does the Pharisee view Himself and what does this say about Grace and Faith?How does the Tax-Collector View Himself and what does this say about Grace and Faith?What is Jesus’ final pronouncement of the Grace of Justification by faith alone?Thinking Carefully about Faith and GraceFirst Question, How does the Pharisee view Himself? And what does this say about Grace and Faith?Luke answers, The Pharisee “trusted in himself that he was righteous.” This leads to self-righteous condemnation for others because he was not a sinner saved by grace, but supposed, he was a man who was personally righteous. Yes, maybe with some help from God and the help of the law.This leads to a weak thankfulness. The prayer of thanksgiving in v. 11 is actually a prideful looking to himself and his characteristics and traits, Not a thankfulness for God’s sovereign gift of grace and God’s loving him while he was still a sinner.In his view, the Pharisee is loved because he is good….NOT that he was first loved, forgiven, cleansed, and had Christ’s righteousness and the gift of the Spirit poured out in his heart…He does not believe “blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of God.” He does not believe the church is a hospital for sinners. Nor does he believe that “nothing in my hand I bring simply to thy cross I cling.”And as Terry Johnson remarks, an inflated view of self brings a deflated view of others.Let us look more closely at this pharisee, What does it mean to be a pharisee? What does he highlight in his prayerHe is thankful, he believes, that he is Not like other men and their sins,Are these other things sins in v. 11? Yes, certainly. – Though, he does seem careful to avoid sins of the heart like coveting and pride…he lists the EXTERNAL sins he avoidsAnd He lists his External good works: Fasting and Tithes.Very particularly, he is trusting in religious good works and religious rituals.Can we say these are good things? Certainly from a humble heart, and if actually obeying the law of God for his people who have been REDEEMED BY GRACE, then these are pleasing to the Lord....But not done by this man. This is a heart of legalism. Specifically, a legalism of going beyond the law of God, and a legalism of believing these works were the grounds of salvation not the gracious fruit of salvation.Terry Johnson remarks, “In each case, the Pharisee goes beyond what the law of God required. The law required only an annual fast, on the day of atonement (Lev. 16:29). He fasts not weekly, but twice weekly. Tithing was required of only some income, not of all. Yet he tithed ‘all,’ as did many Pharisees (Deut. 14:22; Luke 11:42). This all sounds good, doesn’t it? (Terry Johnson, Parables, 115).But there is no mention of sin. Of Need. Of humility. Of the Mercy of God on him, a sinner. He only stresses what Luke calls the point of the parable, Jesus calling out those trusting in his own righteousness…The bible consistently says good works are a pleasing fruit of salvation, a fruit of grace, and the fruit of faith. But Works are NOT the ROOT. Of justification, not what brings about forgiveness of sins, these are not things being added to the scale of justice tipping us towards being acceptable to God.We do not have a few little sins that we need to throw some good works on top of to make ourselves pleasing to God.The Pharisee needs to learn from another former Pharisee, the Apostle Paul, and recognize that he is dead in his trespasses and sins, walking according to the passions of his flesh and by nature a child of wrath, like all mankind (Eph. 2:1–3) ... none is righteous, no, not one; no one understands or seeks God, and all have turned aside, so that by works of the law no one is justified (Rom. 3:10–12, 20) ... everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin, and apart from Christ cannot break its bondage (John 8:34; Rom. 6:20) ... the natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God and cannot understand them because they are spiritually discerned (1 Cor. 2:14) ... the wrath of God is revealed against all ungodliness and unrighteousness, leaving men without excuse (Rom. 1:18–20) ... yet God demonstrates his love for the helpless, sending Christ to die for the ungodly while we were still sinners, so that while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son (Rom. 5:6–10)... therefore, apart from grace, the Pharisee is spiritually dead, blind, enslaved, and under God’s righteous judgment, entirely dependent on God’s mercy and the gift of Christ for justification and life (Eph. 2:8–9; Rom. 3:24).The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. [12] I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’The Pharisee needs to see the actual nature of his sinfulness…And if he does he will see the weakness of his supposed righteousness.Jesus calls this kind of righteousness a white-washed tombThis man’s righteousness is early 2000s CGI, it looks good and shiny until you pause the movie for closer inspection.Human righteousness fails on closer inspection.This is why the tax collector is so amazing in this parable. He gets his spiritual poverty. He sees his spiritual need.You see, Jesus says, he who is forgiven little loves little. He who is forgiven much loves much.But all human beings, all of us, when we look to Jesus, are actually forgiven MUCH. We are all in great need, so every last human being is in need of great forgiveness.All sins cause a need for forgiveness.This doesn’t mean all sins are equal. Some sins are more heinous in the sight of God than others. (“WSC 83). But all sins great and small are against an infinitely great and holy God. WSC 84; Every sin deserves God’ s wrath and curse, both in this life, and that which is to come.If this is true we can see the importance of us being disillusioned of trusting in ourselves that we are righteous.We need a better example of what to say to God when it is just God and us in prayer…Transition statement: Let us look at the prayer and example we need…Verse 13 But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’#2 How does the Tax-Collector View Himself and what does this say about Grace and FaithNote four actions of the tax collector.First action, He stood far offHe felt far off from God; he felt far off from the religious people.And indeed, tax collectors were traitors to Rome, unclean, and corrupt in the minds of others…but not an untrue reputationBut what should we take him standing far off to mean? It means that He is wrestling in prayer about his worthbefore the Lord. He feels unworthy to approach God’s holy presence.Second action, He wouldn’t even lift up his eyes to heavenYou can feel this; he didn’t dare “meet God’s eyes” if you will. He is ashamed, low…because unlike the pharisee, he is dealing alone with himself and God, not comparing himself to others…The Pharisee looks at God only after going through his comparison with others. This man is looking at his own heart through the eyes of God.Third Action, He beat his breastHe is grieving his sin; he is mourning the state of his soul.This is accurate. And you know it is accurate for every one of us in this room.At night, between us and God, in our sane moments in considering the sin in our hearts and lives, we feel low, unworthy, unclean, mourning, and wondering if we can lift our heads up to meet the gaze of God into our hearts and souls…And the Answer, very simply, is we ARE all those things; IF God does not show love, mercy, acceptance, cleansing, restoration, lifting up, restoring us as sons and daughters.Fourth action, in prayer, the Tax-Collector speaks of mercy, not earned righteousness.“God be merciful to me, a sinner.”The form of this mercy is specifically the mercy of propitiation, the mercy of God in covering over sins. to be propitious, be gracious, be merciful by a sacrifice to cover sins. This man knows his sins are as scarlet and that for him to be declared Just, another innocent must take his place. The Word does not allow any merit or saving work from the tax collector.He knew he was a sinner. I won’t re-read the verses…but the tax-collector is correct. He doesn’t suffer from low self-confidence; he has been broken by guilt and shame.[1]And Jesus is a merciful savior. Jesus shed his blood, taking our guilt and covering over our sin.Richard Sibbes says, “There is more mercy in Christ than sin in us; there can be no danger in thorough dealing. It is better to go bruised to heaven than sound to hell.”(Sibbes, The Bruised Reed)#3 What is Jesus’ final pronouncement of the Grace of Justification by faith alonev. 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”Justified: That is to be declared righteous and accepted in the courtroom of God.And it is the one who humbly entrusted himself to the mercy of God.Note the contrast “rather than the other man.”It is impossible for man to exalt himselfHumility, humble faith, entrusting our exaltation to the grace, power, and mercy of another.Humble-Faith, Is the posture in which God pardons us and accepts us as righteous in his sight, only for the righteousness of Christ imputed (credited) to us and received by Faith Alone.So this morning, if you have never before, acknowledge your sins before God. Entrust yourself to the mercy of God provided for you in the death and resurrection of Jesus for sinners.Entrust your sin to Christ to be covered by his blood and trust that if you cry out for mercy in prayer to the Lord Jesus,he will cover your poverty in his righteous robes, calling you son or daughter. [PAUSE]This wonderful truth needs both protection and recovery every generation. In the protestant reformation, the Roman Catholic church of the time took on numerous parallels to the Pharisees in Jesus’ day. God’s grace was seen as working in cooperation with human accomplishments (human merit); Or God’s grace mediated through the merit of religious ceremonies, pouring out grace into our hearts.So let us carefully state what we believe about Faith and Grace and then see what some key scripture passages have to say to us.#4 Thinking Carefully about Faith and GraceThe slogan Sola Gratia, or Grace Alone, simply says, “Our salvation is not earned in any part; it is the free gift of God from start to finishThe scriptural evidence is clear and straightforward in three truths of scripture.We are fallen in sin and all our best moral efforts are corrupted by sin.Therefore, we cannot earn God’s favor and eternal life by our moral efforts.Therefore, we can obtain God’s favor and eternal life only by divine grace.Paul clearly tells us these three truths in Ephesians 1-2, but particularly in 2:8-9 “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.The scriptures teach us that we are declared in a right relationship with God, that we are Declared Just by Faith Alone:“For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law (Romans 3:28) ...(Again) to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted/credited as righteousness (Romans 4:5) ... a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ (never faith in faith, it is TRUST in Jesus) (Galatians 2:16)... not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ Philippians 3:9) (why he was the one who took our sin and gave us his righteousness…Not our moral efforts…Jesus’ perfect moral efforts…Jesus succeeds where we fail…where Adam failed…)( ... since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God (Romans 5:1) ...he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy (Titus 3:5–7) ... whoever believes him who sent me has eternal life, and has passed from death to life (John 5:24) ... by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous (Isaiah 53:11).”So we are saved by faith, by believing on the name of Jesus…But What is this Faith, this believing, that Jesus and Paul speak of? (4 quotes who said it?)“Faith is a firm and certain knowledge of God’s benevolence toward us, founded upon the truth of the freely given promise in Christ, both revealed to our minds and sealed upon our hearts by the Holy Spirit.” John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, III.2.7“Faith in Jesus Christ is a saving grace, whereby we receive and rest upon him alone for salvation, as he is offered to us in the gospel.” (WSC Q.86)“Faith is the hand that receives Christ, the empty vessel that is filled with his grace, the mouth that drinks the living water.” - Herman Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics, Vol. 4, p. 116Faith is not work, nor merit, nor effort; but the cessation from all these, and the acceptance in place of them of what another has done—done completely, and forever.” (Horatius Bonar, The Everlasting Righteousness)Faith is the moment when you are on a climbing wall that you swing your body over the wall and believe that the rope is ABLE to hold you, and you actually rest your full weight on it, doing just that. But for a moment your weight is swinging over the wall…you can’t go back…you are committed, but its nots yet holding your weight do you trust the nature of that rope? Trust Christ and believe he is who he says he is. Repent and sorrow for your sin, knowing that he accomplished what he said he did in his life, death, and resurrection. YOUR SINS are forgiven, you are a child of God, you have the righteousness of Christ, and you are declared Just!The Scriptures are clear that salvation by faith alone is because of God’s Grace Alone.For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus (Romans 3:23-24) ... he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy (Titus 3:5) ... ‘I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.’ So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy (Romans 9:15–16) ... who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began (2 Timothy 1:9) ... for from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace (John 1:16–17) ... so too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace. But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace (Romans 11:5–6) ... for you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich (2 Corinthians 8:9).”What is this grace? “Grace is the undeserved favor of God, rooted in his eternal good pleasure, revealed in Christ, and bestowed by the Holy Spirit.” - Herman Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics, Vol. 3, p. 523Remember, God saves sinners by Christ Jesus as a gracious gift. And Jesus says in our passage today your walk with Christ begins with a humble prayer.So in prayer, like the tax-collector look away from your sin, hating it, and turn to Christ for mercy and covering by his blood…When we do this know you are pardoned, cleansed, accepted, and loved by the Heavenly Father, and the Holy Spirit in your heart will begin to bear good fruit in keeping with being a son and daughter, and you.If you have done this before then keep your eyes on Christ, delight in the forgiveness you have received, remain humble, and do not forget the wonders of his mercy to you. Do not forget the grace of Jesus and fall into pride of your own righteousness. That righteousness is but the gracious fruit of the Spirit worked in your heart, so humbly delight in the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit in your life, delight in the Heavenly Father’s love for you, delight in knowing the Angels of heaven rejoice to see sinners receive grace through Jesus our Lord.PrayerBenediction This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jamesensley.substack.com

We are in Matthew Chapter 4 this morning. Where we will see Jesus’ teaching us to forsake trusting as a final authority in anything else besides the written word of God. God’s written word alone as the full, final, and sufficient guide for our faith and life.The context for Matthew 4 is that Jesus has just been baptized by John, The Father has spoken from heaven that He is the beloved Son of God who has left heaven, taken on our nature, and now stands as our righteous Messiah.Jesus is going into a confrontation with Satan, but as one anointed, indwelt by the Holy Spirit who rests on him. It is going to be a confrontation with Satan based on Jesus’ role as our representative, doing what Adam, and Israel could not do, living a perfect life. Jesus says in John 4:34 “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to finish His work.”So Jesus enters this fight clear on who he is, what his mission is, and we will see he will contest Satan with the Sword of the Word of God illuminated by the work of the Holy Spirit.Read: Matthew 4:1-11[1] Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. [2] And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. [3] And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” [4] But he answered, “It is written,“‘Man shall not live by bread alone,but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” (Deut. 8:3).[5] Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple [6] and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written,“‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and“‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”[7] Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’”[8] Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. [9] And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” [10] Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written,“‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’”[11] Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.Just two questions this morning#1 How does Jesus Use Scripture Alone to guide his response to temptation?#2 How should this inform Our Use of Scripture Alone to guide our lives?Our passage says Jesus was driven by the Spirit into the wilderness, where he fasted for forty days,And [understatement] he was hungry…Jesus had a true humanity and true natural desires and responses to hunger.Verses 1 says it was the Holy Spirit that led him there in order to be tempted. The word can also mean trials or tests. This echoes Israel’s 40 years of testing in the wilderness, where they were provided manna in the wilderness and the Lord there tested their hearts to see if they would trust in their own hearts, minds, desires, and instincts on how things ought to be.Would they live according to the instincts they gained in pagan Egypt? Would they live according to what popular leaders said was, ok?Or Would their hearts be receptive to God’s Word and God’s leading them? Would they trust their lives to God and his every word to them alone? Well spoilers, it was a very spotty record for Israel, and for the Christian church down through the centuries.Jesus will be quoting Deuteronomy 6 & 8 so Jesus will be quoting individual verses but hear the passages he is thinking about, First Deut. 6:4–9[4] “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. [5] You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. [6] And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. [7] You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. [8] You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. [9] You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. (ESV)Deuteronomy 8:1–3 “The whole commandment that I command you today you shall be careful to do, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land that the LORD swore to give to your fathers. [2] And you shall remember the whole way that the LORD your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not. [3] And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD. (ESV)So Jesus will be doing what Israel ought to have done. But Second, Jesus is also doing what Moses did – but Better.Remember, Moses spent 40 days up on Mount Sinai. But what was Moses doing during these 40 days?· Exodus 34:28 So [Moses] was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights. He neither ate bread nor drank water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments.Will we from our hearts respond to every word of God or will we listen to Satan “has God really said?” will we listen to our flesh, our culture, or to God?Look in verses 3-4, How does Jesus Use Scripture to guide his response to temptation?3] And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” [4] But he answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” (Deut. 8:3).1. What is Jesus’ Situation: He is hungry. He has a very normal and good human need. Food. And a normal question will God provide for me in my need?2. Satan comes to Jesus and says, well “We have studied the situation and common sense says, you need to act this way to address the problem.3. Scripture supplies a sufficient interpretation for how I should respond to my human desires. In this case completely natural and even good and God-given desires.4. But Jesus is not just hungry. He IS the son of God. He does not need to prove that to Satan. And God has already spoken by the Holy Spirit to tell him where he is supposed to be and what is he supposed to be doing.5. Satan appeals to natural desire and challenges Jesus’ identity and what he knows of his mission; Satan challenges God’s Word.a. Jesus answers Satan with Scripture as the final authority. 3x It is written.i. Jesus is saying, God’s Word sustains life; reliance on Scripture, not self, governs obedience.ii. Satan BEGINS with the obvious problem and need and the OBVIOUS solution without consulting any scripture!b. What about Us? We are not the messiah, we are not Jesus, but we are told by the mouth of God who we are, our place in the story of History.i. We must start with a scriptural view of creation, God, humanity: made in God’s image with value and dignity, the fall; sinners in need of forgiveness, redemption; a savior who died for our sins, grace; a savior giving a free and undeserved gift, and now we are sons and daughters living for God’s glory.1. Do not begin with the problem, and then allowing the world to define the words used to talk about the problem, giving the world’s definitions control of the solution.ii. In our passage, Jesus recalls Deut. 6 in order for Jesus to step back and remember why he is there. He is in a spiritual trial. He is watchful. He knows who God is and who he is, and he will apply scripture as the Son of God.iii. So for you in difficulties, you must go back and begin again and talk with the bible’s words for your situation, the bible’s diagnosis, and the bible’s solution. As Jesus does here.1. Why the trial? Who are you, who is God? How should we then live in submission to God and his word?2. Jesus is not simply a hungry man, or just suffering. No, he is the Messiah going through a trial in order to redeem Israel. You are not simply a random person as you go through life if you’re following Jesus, then throughout your life, there is a spiritual backdrop to your job, your marriage, your relationships, so your diagnosis of your trials and the solutions must be seen that you are a son or daughter of God going through the situation with your spouse, children, or coworkers around you3. Or you are a lost sinner who needs to repent of your sin and confess the name of Jesus as your savior and so become a son or daughter of God.4. Deut. 8:3 “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” Bread from heaven reminds us of the bigger perspective, as we need food for our souls and that only comes from the Word of GodAh But Satan gets trickier…Satan can quote scripture too in v. 5-7. He uses scripture but twists it; now his uses Jesus’ identity as the messiah but attempts to get him to misuse his identity.The Second Temptation: Throw yourself off the temple. (5-7)[5] Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple [6] and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, “‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and “‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’” ((Psalm 91:11–12))[7] Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” (Deut. 6:16).Satan can quote the bible too…but he is twisting Scripture to Hide the higher principle of Faithfulness to God not prideful self-displays.Think of it this way, Satan is asking Jesus to commit insurance fraud, Ps. 91 is a guarantee…Might as well test that car insurance…Jesus recognizes that Satan is seeking to stir up a prideful testing and display of his identity as the son of God that had nothing to do with his mission and so reminds Satan to one both quote scripture faithfully and not misapply it but second to compare scripture with scripture.a. Do not let circumstances or the need for extraordinary wonders. Signs. Or the need to force an act of God causes you to find ways to force God’s hand.b. The bible would direct you to ordinary faithfulness: scripture, prayer, and wise counsel. Let Scripture Interpret Scripture. The Whole Counsel of God informs itself.c. We can ask ourselves “Am I honoring and worshipping God alone in how I am apply this text?” Or am I proudly putting God to the test?”Satan has one more temptation for Christ v. 8.[8] Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. [9] And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” [10] Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written,“‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’”[11] Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.* This Temptation appeals to worldly power and glory.* Satan is offering immediate earthly and worldly power to Christ without him having to go to the cross.* Remember in 1 Peter that humiliation precedes glory, suffering and the cross purchases Christ’s bride the church.* The 1st coming of Christ is one of humility and suffering.* Christ’s second coming at the end of the age is one of glory and power.* Satan seems to be offering a shortcut to immediate rule of the world rather than the long term vision of the gospel going and gathering people from every tribe and tongue and nation.* But the shortcut the prize of the twisted messianic rule violates our exclusive call to glorify and enjoy God forever. And God shares his glory with no other.* Jesus sticks to quoting Deuteronomy.* His Scripture response: Deut 6:13 emphasizes exclusive worship and obedience to God.* Jesus three times uses God’s Word as a spiritual sword (Eph. 6:17) to combat temptation.* Jesus shows that true obedience is measured against God’s Word alone, not circumstances, desire, or misapplied promises.* Every temptation—physical, presumptuous, or idolatrous—is met with Scripture as the decisive authority.We’ve already been applying this to ourselves all along but we can ask#2 What are some ways Jesus’ informs Our Use of Scripture?First, Every time Jesus responds “It is written” he entrusts himself to the written word of God. HE says in Matthew 5 that he trusts every jot and tittle, every letter. He proves this trust throughout his interactions with the pharisees.In Matt. 22 When the pharisees ask Jesus how he knows the resurrection is true he responds quoting Deut.3:6 When God tells Moses that he IS the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and thus the god of the living. He trusts a single ongoing present verb tense God IS not God was, the god of these men.#1 We do not put tradition or church authority over the bible Jesus shows ultimate authority resides in God’s Word.In Matthew 15 Jesus confronts the way the the Pharisees have added man-made laws to the word of God. And yet in other places have created workarounds to the plain commandments of scripture. Asking them why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? verse 4 For God commanded, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ 5 But you say, ‘If anyone tells his father or his mother, “What you would have gained from me is given to God,” 6 he need not honor his father.’ So for the sake of your tradition, you have made void the word of God. 7 You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said:8 “‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me;9 in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’”· If Jesus had used scripture the way the Pharisees had, he could have found loopholes to accept Satan’s call to worship him.· Traditions can be good, the bible even says to hold fast to tradition, but they must not add or take away from the word and commandments of God but be an accurate application of the word of God.#2 We do not put scripture below our personal preference or moral reasoning. Jesus shows obedience to God’s Word above desire. So, when you come to difficult passages of the bible you submit your heart, mind, and will to it, and seek to not only obey the word but to love the word.#3 we do not put the bible below spiritual experiences. Jesus shows Scripture is the standard for testing spiritual claims. We interpret our experiences through the lens of scripture. The bible is the highest authority according to Jesus.Recall in Luke 15, Jesus’ parable of the rich man and Lazarus and the rich man says, send an angel to my brothers…Jesus’ response? They have Moses, they have the bible…if they haven’t responded to the written word of God an angel wouldn’t do it…#4 We should not reduce Scripture to exclusively emotional comfort with no plans to obey the directions found in it. While certainly we do find comfort and encouragement in the word, we should not use it as a therapeutic tool while ignoring its demands for repentance, relationship to God, and relationship to the Lord’s people. Jesus could have turned stones into bread to soothe suffering, but Scripture teaches spiritual sustenance above comforts (Deut 8:3). Now, we will find comfort in Scripture; we can entrust our emotions to God.#5 The bible isn’t a secret code book. We do not treat Scripture as secret knowledge or personal revelation beyond its written, demonstrable meaning. Jesus reads Scripture plainly and contextually, showing Scripture interprets Scripture; no hidden meanings justify presumption.Instead: Jesus believes the whole of the bible reveals who God is, our relationship with God, his care for us, and his wise counsel for all of our lives.In it we not only know how to love and obey God, but we come to know God and can loyally live for him. Because for us when we come to the bible we meet the Word of God in it. Christ, our great high priest who defeated Satan with the written word as the living Word of God.Now through the word we come to know and believe in Jesus. And the bible is given to us that we might know, love, and obey him.“‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”It is spiritual bread for our souls. It is nourishment, and Christ himself gave his life that we might be redeemed.And as his people, he blesses us as the people of the book. We are a people gathered and fed by the word of God. The Holy Spirit uses the word to strengthen and nourish. The word of God strengthens our faith, encourages us and fuels our prayers, our fellowship with each other, and our communion with Jesus.So when you are troubled, turn to your Bible, ask the Lord to by the Holy Spirit work in your heart and mind to be fed by the word as true spiritual food for your soul. And like a child, when we eat our meals. Day by day, the Spirit will use it to grow us.SO my encouragement for you is to daily take up and read, feed your soul, feed your mind, feed your relationship with Christ, and ask the Spirit to work through this simple means to guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus.PrayerBenediction This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jamesensley.substack.com

Intro: Every letter must have an ending…Peter has assured us of who we are in Christ Jesus. He has reminded us that we have been born again to a living Hope, we are the Temple of God, Living Stones built on the cornerstone Christ Jesus. He has called us to Holy Lives, to face suffering as a faith purifying fire and to respond to suffering with upright lives by God’s grace, we are Exiles headed to our heavenly hope but as ones who have a Christian family and home here and now, we have many relationships of authority to government, Husbands, wives, Elders, and ultimately a Suffering, Crucified, Shepherd Savior Christ Jesus, our living Hope seated in heaven…But the Letter must end.Read 1 Peter 5:6-14 “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.By Silvanus, a faithful brother as I regard him, I have written briefly to you, exhorting and declaring that this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it. She who is at Babylon, who is likewise chosen, sends you greetings, and so does Mark, my son. [14] Greet one another with the kiss of love. Peace to all of you who are in Christ. (ESV)Prayer of Ilumination:Points 1-2 are the major ones and Points 3-4 are brief.#1 Embrace Humility (v. 6-7)#2 Embrace Watchfulness (v.8-9).#3 Embrace the Glory of Grace (v.10-11)#4 Embrace Encouragement (v. 12-14).#1 Embrace Humility, look in verse 6[6] Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, [7] casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.Pride and Humility are always in relationship to God. Its not just a you thing. Simon Kistemaker says, “As man must love both God and man, so he must demonstrate humility toward God and man.” (Kistemaker, 197).If Pride is us elevating and puffing ourselves up in comparison to others.Then Humility is a lowering, a down to earth-ness, remembering I am a creature. I have a sovereign creator who watches over me, He is my Father, and HE cares for me.Do you truly see your life as flowing from God? Is he the fountain of your meaning and purpose? Is he the fountain of your soul and life? Is he the confidence and strength you turn to as you leave the house each morning? Is he your hope that when you are brought low by the world or your flesh, that he will lift you up and seat you at his table, that he will raise you up and give you a home? A place of belonging.This is the promise of Jesus to us,Recall Jesus and the Tax Collector [Retell Luke 18:9-14]…I thank you I am not like other men vs. God be merciful to me a sinner…only one left Justified…, those who exalt themselves will be humbled, those who humble themselves will be exaltedConsider Jesus’ words in the Sermon on the Mount Blessed are the poor in Spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of God. The Poor in spirit, low and emptied are raised up and made Sons and Daughters of the King in the Kingdom of the Son.Peter is not being hypothetical or philosophical about this. Remember how pridefully he said, Jesus, everyone may leave and abandon you but I won’t! I will stand by you. Peter was confident. Yet he was NOT watchful, he was NOT prayerful, he was prideful.And so he was brought low…by the questions of a servant girl [Expand on story], and he cursed his savior mere feet away from him. John says he was close enough to look through the window and make eye contact with Jesus. Then he swore He did not know him.Peter is Humbled in his denials; his pride cast him down…But as he is humbled, he realizes he is poor in spirit, but he is in danger of being bruised and broken by sin. So as to Give up Hope.How does Jesus respond to us when we are bruised and broken by our sin and pride? He restores. Peter is restored in sorrow and repentance by Christ, and Jesus asks him if he “loves him” and he is restored and picked back up and made a shepherd of the Church by Jesus.Peter knows if we are under the mighty hand of God then in Humility we can face suffering, loss, and Satan himself.We can face these things because we are in the mighty hand of God. The strong hand that delivered Israel from Egypt. Remember to be in God’s hand to be rescued by him from slavery and darkness.Ex. 3:19 God says “I will stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with all the wonders that I will do in it; after that he will let you go!” When God lifts us up he does not leave us empty but he blesses us. We are freed from the kingdom of Darkness and well supplied for the Christian life, just as Israel left Egypt with silver and gold from the Egyptians.Next Peter call us to entrust our anxieties to God. We humble ourselves by casting our anxieties to GodThe ESV study bible notes that, “Worry is a form of pride because it involves taking concerns upon oneself instead of entrusting them to God.Why should we entrust ourselves to God? Because he is not a disinterested distant deity. He cares for you.V. 7 Because he Cares for you – The word for God’s care for us is actually a word play that sounds like the word for distraction or anxiety….So Peter is saying, Do not be anxious because God is anxious for you…Why should you be anxious when God cares, his mind is occupied with his children and his care of them. If you are a child of God you are not out of sight and out of mind to him.Speak to him of your cares and as a father, he cares for you…[#2 Embrace Watchfulness]Peter has warned of pride and called us to humble dependence on GodSecond, Peter warns of an unwatchful, unaware attitude towards Satan, who can use suffering combined with pride to cause us to be easy prey. Look in verse 8. Embrace Watchfulness.[8] Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. [9] Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.Two part story….ILL: 1980s 90s. movies and tv shows have a common opening trope: In order to quickly show us the movies main monster and how dangerous a threat it is, the movie will open will show a man or a woman running through the woods, clearly fearful. You might hear the alien, or the bear, or some threat searching for them, they hide behind a tree, and you hear it prowling for them. They are fearful, but the fear produces watchfulness. They are straining to HEAR. They are Looking every direction, they are planning their next step…The same is true a team of soldiers searching dark abandoned nuclear facilities and tunnel system as the alien invasion seems unstoppable…every soldier is on watch, alert, Sober….in fact there often are scenes where due to the strain of the events of the movie a soldier snaps and maybe they end up drinking on duty becoming drunk and so dooming everyone (except the main character) because they fell asleep on duty.God tells us that we are on Duty. We wage spiritual warfare. We have an enemy and a foe. And so we must remain awake, alert, WATCHFUL.Man the watchtower of your soul and know your enemy.Everywhere the bible says things like, “watch and pray….the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak…Pay Careful attention to yourselves…Stay dressed for action, keep your lamps burning, testing produces steadfastness…keep your hearts with all diligence, be sober-minded, be watchful, be self-controlled.We are called to Watch over our souls for moral and spiritual decline. Because Satan seeks to ensnare us in sin and devour us. And he hopes that suffering will cause us to respond pridefully or indulgently in our flesh for comfort.Michael G. Brown says, “[ Satan’s]roar may take the form of accusation, persecution, false teaching, or the deceptive voice of temptation. Whatever the form, his aim is always the same: to oppose Christ by attacking the church. The devil is not idle. He is restless, cunning, and cruel. Like a lion stalking its prey, Satan watches for the vulnerable, the isolated, and the careless. He seeks not merely to tempt but to devour—to destroy faith, sow division, and lead souls into ruin.”[1]Pastor Brian Hedges says, Christian Watchfulness means, staying awake both morally and spiritually; BY paying attention to God’s word, to our own souls, and especially to Christ Himself;maintaining vigilance against our mortal enemies: the world, the flesh, and the devil; and hoping in the Lord—in His promises and His return.”What might be signs that you are falling asleep, that the glory of Christ and the gospel is NOT what you are humbly and soberly trusting in? Think of it in terms of being on a boat, if you are supposed to be on WATCH in a boat you are making sure you are headed in the right direction. When you fail to soberly watch you will drift of course. You will drift.So we can ask, Have I been watchful in my spiritual habits, have I been watchful in the way I respond to sinful temptations that the world, the flesh, and the devil me?Satan wants sleepy, cruise control Christians so that he can cause us to drift of course Morally; One area in particular is Conscience “drift”Conscience drift Is a gradual ignoring the moral clarity of a bible filled conscience controlled by the living and active Holy Spirit in our hearts. Where we ignore or downplay the warnings and commands of scripture and begin turning to and tuning our hearts more and more to the standards and norms of our culture.“Conscience” is so often “caught” not “taught’You may be drifting, if your speech, your language has grown harsh, and you find yourself speaking in ways you didn’t used to...Or perhaps you enjoy and approve what used to shock you, whether TV, Movies, Social media, or the actions of your friends.Ask yourself, is it edifying? Is it God honoring? Are you watchfully focused on Christ? Are you feeding your soul, feeding your heart your mind on the ordinary blessings of Christ? Is the Holy Spirit your conscience? OR just your most influentials peers or social media personalities?Christ calls you to man the watchtower of your soul.Ok Second part about 1980s-90s movies with creatures, aliens, Invations, and threats.In the beginning of The Movies, it is always the case where the aliens seem mysterious and undefeatable all around the world. Soldiers are being picked off…No one knows how to resist…until the last 30 minutes of the movie…We don’t know when the movie will end but we know it’s time for the Heroes to start winning. And so yes, finally the heroes find out, oh, they are weak to water, or radio waves, or whatever plot device they came up with….And then you pass the word. You can defeat the aliens; they can be beaten! Peter is reminding us that throughout the world the family of God is both suffering like us and Satan will flee from us.James 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.We humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God. And ask him to strengthen us against Satan. Because in manning the watchtower, we learn that Satan, Our Flesh, and the world is defeatable and defeated by Christ.Look again in verse [9] Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.Jesus has defeated Satan. John 12 says, “Now the ruler of this world, Satan, will be cast out” by the work of Christ on the Cross and his ascension into heaven as King and ruler of the world. Satan is defeated therefore withstand him, resist him, oppose him. Firm in your knowledge of Christ and the good news that you are now alive and united to a church family, a global kingdom of life and light..Ephesians 6:10–16 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. [11] Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. [12] For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. [13] Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. [14] Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, [15] and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. [16] In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; (ESV)Be firm in the faith, and so take up the shield of faith…Be firm in the faith as the last passage said, we have the Apostolic faith given to us by witnesses to Christ Jesus, and witnessed to us in all of scripture, and stewarded by the Church throughout the ages, and as verse 9 says the truth guarded and shown true by the sufferings of our brothers throughout the world.Michael Brown gives us this encouragement, “We are not helpless before the enemy. We can resist Satan by being “strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might” (Eph. 6:10), putting on the whole armor of God. To be firm in our faith means to be rooted in the content of the Christian faith, wearing the breastplate of Christ’s righteousness and wielding the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. Moreover, we do not stand alone.… Our union with Christ also unites us to His people. The roaring lion preys on the isolated, but the flock that stays together under the Chief Shepherd’s care is guarded. …. It is true that we are no match for Satan, but it is also true that Satan is no match for Christ (Rom. 8:33–34; 1 John 4:4).” – Michael Brown).1 John 4:4 Little children, you are from God and have overcome them (evil spirits), for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.#3 Embrace the Glory of Grace: What God’s Grace does in us who humble ourselves, watch, and resist. (v.10-11).[10] And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. [11] To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.The god of all grace…shelters you under his wing, under his mighty hand, and the end of the story is written. Eternal glory in Christ. We have been called to this.In our humility recognize that as we live our lives God graciously feeds us by his word. He will strengthen around the Lord’s table, he will restore relationships, establish families,Humbling ourselves frees us to know the strength and the armour we have in Christ by God’s grace. Grace upon grace. Glory because of Grace. Received Humbly.Samuel Medley, I believe captures the tone of being called to eternal glory in Christ. in his famous hymn, I know that my redeemer lives.1 I know that my Redeemer lives– glory, hallelujah!What comfort this sweet sentence gives– glory, hallelujah!Refrain: Shout on, pray on, we’re gaining ground– glory, hallelujah!The dead’s alive and the lost is found– glory, hallelujah!2 He lives, he lives, who once was dead– glory, hallelujah!He lives, my everlasting Head– glory, hallelujah!3 He lives, to bless me with his love– glory, hallelujah!He lives to plead for me above– glory, hallelujah!4 He lives, all glory to his name!- glory, hallelujah!He lives, my Jesus, still the same- glory, hallelujahRefrain: Shout on, pray on, we’re gaining ground– glory, hallelujah!The dead’s alive and the lost is found– glory, hallelujah[2]#4 Embrace Encouragement (v. 12-14)[12] By Silvanus, a faithful brother as I regard him, I have written briefly to you, exhorting and declaring that this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it. [13] She who is at Babylon, who is likewise chosen, sends you greetings, and so does Mark, my son. [14] Greet one another with the kiss of love.God chooses to encourage his people not by their getting away from other people and finding a rock to meditate on…He uses people; he uses the word by the Holy Spirit. Yes, he encourages us to get apart and pray and spend much time in prayer. But here notice Silvanus (aka Silas, carried the letter to them. And encouraged them to Stand Firm! You have the love and grace of God! You have brothers and sisters in Rome! You are not alone. You have a brother who is earnest to know how you are doing.There is a multi-generational element beginning as Mark is a spiritual Son, the next generation, and Paul has disciples Timothy. And 2,000 years later this is still true for us, Satan is resisted, we are strengthened, and the Faith is beingpassed on from one generation to the next.Verse 14 reminds us that we are a connectional people, so take the opportunity when given to host brothers and sisters from around the country, to greet people with warmth and love, if you are Italian American, then that very well could be with a holy kiss…I suspect we are holy hugging people…and some are holy leave room for Jesus people…But we are connected to brothers and sisters in every place. I hope that gives you encouragement.Brothers and Sisters in Christ Jesus, Christ has Conquered Satan. Hear this promise from you savior Jesus in John 14.John 14:25-27 “These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. 26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.PrayerBenedictionReceive now this good word from the Lord from 1 Peter 5:14, “Peace to all of you who are in Christ.”[1] Watchful and Sober-Minded | Tabletalk, https://tabletalkmagazine.com/article/2025/10/watchful-and-sober-minded/.[2] 281. I Know That My Redeemer Lives– Glory, Hallelujah!, https://hymnary.org/hymn/TH1990/281. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jamesensley.substack.com

Introduction: Well, I feel the weight of this passage for myself…preach to yourself first…Peter has given his instructions and as is common letters end with a word to the Leaders before final greetings…Read: 1 Peter 5:1–5 So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: [2] shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; [3] not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. [4] And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. [5] Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”Prayer of Illumination· Intro: Jesus and disciples “who will be the greatest”o After Presidential primary – Who is going to be the VP?o Alexander the Great’s successor? Some have attempted to mitigate with “Co-Ceasers” with a Sr. and Jr.· The principle of Jesus and the bible is that Jesus is King. Christ is the Head of his Church (Eph. & Col). And that he fulfills the fact that there is a singular king in Israel, he is the Son of David. The only who is sitting on any throne.· The bible calls leaders to be humble, joyful examples to the flock who, as a “plurality, a group” exercise authority.o This means the leadership of God’s church is by more than one Elder, he is chosen from among you, and even Peter and apostle humbly calls himself a fellow elder because he knows this is the normal abiding direction the Church government is headed. As the age of apostles closes, he humbly acts in the ordinary way towards them even as he holds an extraordinary office.o A group having Elders is in many ways a very ordinary thing if you survey the OT; they existed in Israel, they sat in the city gate, they did many things that any town leader would do. And in the synagogues, spiritual leadership involved elders. So a council of mature and godly men giving leadership to the church has continuity in the OT and NT.#1 The Message of Elders (v.1)#2 How Elders Lead the Church (“Mechanics of Elders” if you want the alliteration) v. 1-4#3 Humble Leading and Following v. 5#1 The Message of EldersSo I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed· Being an Elder means continuing to bear witness to Christ by teaching the Bible and by teaching the Gospel.· Elders are to pass on the Apostolic Message of Peter and the other apostles. The message of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus; that Christ will return again.· Elders teach and disciple God’s people; gathering the Church around the word of God which equips the church to be mature, godly, and prepared for the return of Christ.· This is what Paul is saying in Ephesians 4 he gave pastors and he gave the shepherds and teachers. To shepherd the people is to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, [13] until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ· The job of the elders in shepherding is to ensure that we might know Christ, that we might mature in faith in Christ, and so be equipped to minister to one another, and the gospel will be supported and go forth…Jesus expresses this to Peter as “feed my Sheep” in John 21. Word, Prayer, and Sacraments are the tools of feeding Christ gives.· So Elders are guardians of the good deposit. Being a pillar and buttress of the truth. Teaching the whole counsel of God.· Peter the Apostle calls himself a WITNESS. He does not create teaching, he does not invent religion; he WITNESSES to the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the word made flesh, and he writes under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit that the Scriptures might be complete witnesses to the full and final revelation of the Father and the final revelation of God’s plan of salvation.· And so the apostolic witness does not go to a single pope, or a magisterium.· No, it is written in the scriptures for the public to see and for many elders to proclaim to people publicly in their own languages.· So #1 That’s the message of an Elder#2 How Elders Lead God’s ChurchSo I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed Verse 2 shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversightLets unpack the nuts and bolts of the bibles teaching on the office of Elder.Note Peter, humbly calls himself a fellow elder. Certainly he is an Apostle, but he is preparing the way for once apostls cease (Eph. 2:20) for Elders to lead God’s people. Elders who are simply chosen among their brethren because they meet the character qualifications of scripture which are found in 1 Tim. 3 and Titus 1.Peter’s humble appeal to elders plural as a humbe fellow elder reminds us FIRSTLY that, the Church has only one Head, the Lord Jesus: Colossians 1:18 (ESV) – “And he [Jesus] is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.”o Not a pope, not the archbishop of canterbury.o AND NOT, if you zoom in to the local church, I am not, nor is any famous pastor the singular “Head” or little Pope of an Individual Church.o It is clear throughout the new testament, The pattern is, appoint elders, plural in all the churches. You could look in (Acts 14, 20, Phil. 1:1 but a good place is Titus 1:5-9 because it teaches us two things that Jesus calls Churches to have a plurality of Elders & That Elders and Bishops are identical in the Bible…Titus 1:5…This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you—[6] if anyone is above reproach, the husband of one wife, and his children are believers and not open to the charge of debauchery or insubordination. [7] For an overseer [aka bishop], as God’s steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain, [8] but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. [9] He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.o A Church being put into good order has elders in it and they ought to be men of good character, faithful to their wives etcetera.o The Word Elder is “presbyteros” so elders are often called Presbyters, its where we get the word Presbyterian from Presbyterians are multi-Elder lead churches who we see in Acts 15 at the Jerusalem council elders gathered from multiple churches to have form a regional council to decide controversial matters that affect multiple churches.o Both presbyterians and Baptists point out that Paul speaks of an Elder as being an Overseer, which is the word Episkopos or “Bishop” as the same person.· Therefore, scripturally, a Bishop is not over a group of pastors, he is not a man who rules a whole region like a King of Pastors. No, a bishop is simply an Elder (St. Jerome Agreed)§ …And Paul in Timothy basically says there are some Elder who Rule and Teach, and some Elders who labor primarily in preaching and Teaching who we call pastors and minister who are. BUT I do not get any more votes than Kirby or BL.· Recall, the context of 1 Peter 5, Peter is giving instructions for sojourners, for pilgrims.o If you grew up in a town and you are just a native to an area you probably hardly think about who your leaders are; they just are who they have been.o But notice all the TV dramas like LOST where you are in a survival situation. All the TV dramas focus on WHO IS THE LEADER. What should they be doing. How should we structure our leadership? So it makes sense that Peter, who has been talking of suffering and has just mentioned the need for the Household of God to live Holy lives to ask the question what of our LEADERS.o In this situation, we pray for Jesus the great and Chief Shepherd to appoint and gift Under-shepherds.· But you notice that in TV dramas there are many ways leaders happen? Often it is through seizing Power. Imagine if all of a sudden The state, THE Governor was appointing your Mayor, Sherriff, and School board.o Well as Americans you would say – that is not REPRESENTATIVE GOVERNMENT. You want the right to select, your leaders!· So in keeping with 1 Peter, Presbyterians have always said verse one: elders are from among you. Elders throughout the bible have always been selected from the people.o In Acts 1, in order to replace Judas among the apostles it is the PEOPLE who “put forward” and nominate men from among them.o Part of the protestant reformation was the right to raise up and appoint elders from among the congregation and for the congregation itself to select their Teaching Elder (pastor).o You can see how the US as a– representative government mirrors scripture here.o So we see the right of the people to select AND REMOVE pastors is sacred See BCO Chapter 23 and your rights there.What does Peter Call the Elders to? V.2· Elders are to shepherd by pointing to Christ, his sufferings and glory, they are to faithfully teach the whole word of God, to give godly wisdom and counsel and to say difficult truths when needed.· But Elders are not just like a prophet saying difficult truths…· They are shepherd-overseers. (or pastor-bishops).o Very briefly elders ought to know their people, care for, and love their people not because anyone made them, but joyfully, eagerly.o Not because of the money (a constant problem in every century).o Not because of status and egoo Not out of self-righteousness or a need to boss people around and micro-manage their days.· But because of love for souls, to be involved from birth, life, marriage, ups and downs, strong faith, weak faith, seasons of growth in godliness, seasons of rejoicing and weeping, and seasons where sin seems undefeatable, and it looks like darkness will win.o Praise God for men like Kirby and BL who have known and loved you for many years. Who have sat with you through those many seasons.o Praise God for BLs zeal and example to “tolle lege” take up and read and wonder at the whole counsel of God applied to all of life.o Praise God for Kirby’s steady kindness and wisdom.o At our session meetings, I have been delighted to hear him pray. And I know he prays for you. That is an example.· And Christ the Chief Shepherd I know has an unfading crown of glory for many men like this.o One of my delights is as I have moved around the country, is seeing almost these “copy and paste” men who serve as elders. Not because they aren’t unique individuals but because they all have the Same Holy Spirit, have been gifted and equipped by Christ and have followed the same Jesus for so many years of their life.o God blesses with not every elder being the same, but it’s the same Christ.o And this happens all over the world.o Not just for elders but for all believers, you have brothers and sisters around the world, and you can tell they have all been taught by the same Christ, the same word, and the same Spirit in their hearts and minds.o Praise God, he has given us faithful Men to lead the Church.· Now…..The Church is a hospital for sinners…AND we know as we survey the american church landscape that there are men who have become…domineering, arrogant,and false wolves. It grieves me. Men who believe they are infallible. Or they are unable to stumble and fall, and there is an arrogance there.o Brothers and sisters, if you have followed a celebrity pastor and they fell, or even closer…then yes you know, pastors are merely men, flesh and blood.o So remember, Jesus is your ultimate King, he will not fail you, he does not grow tire of strengthening and sustaining you, he is gentle and lowly, and also the king who defends you.o Do not trust in princes…do not trust in an ultimate sense in pastors…o Pray for faithful Elders for Christ’s church…but your Faith, your hope, your love is in Christ.§ In Heaven, you will be before his throne and it will be beautiful and I know many very frail but faithful elders will have much to apologize for§ and there will be many wolves Judged as false men, false shepherds. Justice will happen to the unbelieving wolf, and a reconciling forgiveness will happen between elders and failed flock at times.§ Please remember your Faith is in Christ. He loves you. He will never, fail you.#3 Humble leading and Following: Be Subject to the Elders, giving Mutual Humility Towards one anotherVerse 5 Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” (ESV)Third point…You saw it coming. Young people…I hope you have men and women in your life who have said…Being a teenager doesn’t mean you get to stop listening, honoring, and obeying your parents for five years….Parent and Child in the family is the first authority relationships in life.Your relationship to the Government like a police-officer is the third relationship it is a civil and physical authority…It is much less one of love, like your parents, right?But between Family and Government, there is the Church Family. And God has given you Elders in the faith a relationship of loving authority. If you are a church member, we have actually exchanged vows.Elders vow to believe the scriptures, accept the Westminster standards, the way the church is governed, and Do you accept the office of ruling elder (or deacon, or minister) in this church, and promise faithfully to perform all the duties thereof, and to endeavor by the grace of God to adorn the profession of the Gospel in your life, and to set a worthy example before the Church of which God has made you an officer? Do you promise subjection to your brethren in the Lord? Do you promise to strive for the purity, peace, unity and edification of the Church?Church members answer this vow, Do you, the members of this church, acknowledge and receive this brother as a ruling elder (or deacon), and do you promise to yield him all that honor, encouragement, and obedience in the Lord to which his office, according to the Word of God and the Constitution of this Church, entitles him?Therefore Verse 5 calls us to thisWhat might this look like?A) We Submit ourselves to the purity and peace of the church through the leadership of the ChurchHumility sees there are so many areas of Church life that are wisdom calls and humility goes a long way, and by God’s grace there is real shepherding, oversight, example, and looking to Christ by the Word and Spirit for guidance.B) This might be humbly seeking spiritual input with the elders, discussing way you are seeking to grow in the LordC) This may mean mutual humility to talk through an area of your life to see if it is just a matter of wisdom, foolishness, or even sin. Elders should never go on preference crusades, but if something has the authority of “thus sayeth the Lord behind it” then Matthew 18 applies. Humbly going to someone as a shepherd and reclaiming that sheep.D) Allowing Humble input continues into adulthood. I was a College Campus ministry intern, and I think RUFs bible studies and preaching were pretty amazing…College students wowed by Reformational theology and the connection of the OT and NT are ready to hop ship, and I usually told them to go back to their home church and ask them, “Why do we believe what we believe?” Give first and second chance to the tradition you were raised in that you received from your elders…then…come back and we can talk. Our ultimate allegiance is to what we believe the word of God says, but humble love of our elders means asking, “Why did my parents raise me this way?” “why did my elders, both spiritual elders and grandparents teach and guide me this way?”Again with humility, we test these things not by the world’s judgement but by the WordFinally, notice in verse 5 it is humility to “one another” – the humility actually goes both ways. Humble leading and Humble following. And an awareness that any prideful stopping of the ears to counsel or any prideful and arrogant dishing out of counsel. God opposes.So how should you respond?Prayer…1) Pray for your elders, pray for me, BL, and Kirby, pray for all the officers the deacons as well they have to make decisions to be followed as well, and there are many mercy ministry decisions at times that take wisdom and humility. So pray for your church officers.2) Pray for God to raise of new pastors, elders, and deacons both here and around the nation. Many pastors are retiring pulpits need to be filled.3) Pray for me, I am young, just turned 33 today. But I need strength, wisdom, courage, and the Holy Spirit to ensure both humility and love and boldness to be my Guide and that I would point you to Christ, your faithful chief shepherd.4) Pray for yourself to be able to discern what is scriptural counsel and is good and wise and receive it from your leaders. And the wisdom to discern if there is error, or this is the difficult one it’s the level of OPINION…maybe wise opinion.5) So if the elders have a split vote. That’s the decision and it becomes my decision as well. Pride says how dare we do X instead of Y. How dare we meet at x time instead of y time. And you can slowly raise the level of importance there…a. Which slowly raises our response from, humble acceptance, to maybe a conversation about why a decision was made, to I want to formally ask the session to change that decision, to you have rights and appeal authority to presbytery to say it wasn’t just opinion the leaders are in sin. And you in fact have the right to appeal presbytery to the national court…and then well you just have your conscience before the Lord either way that decision went.b. Mutual Humility and Love covers a multitude of sins…Christ give us grace to know when we are standing on Unity and when we are standing on Truth and Loving Appeal to remedy a problem. There are courts of appeal in Presbyterianism praise God. But even the best systems need love and humility in application.Alright…All that being said. Praise the Lord, that he is our high priest and shepherd, He is our savior who like a shepherd leads us, he does not fail us, praise God he gives the gift of leaders who are all different in gifts but have the same Holy Spirit, and praise God that from the entire context of first Peter we have a living hope, a certain heavenly inheritance, in the words of the hymn write We are Bound for the Promised Land.On Jordan’s stormy banks I stand,And cast a wishful eyeTo Canaan’s fair and happy land,Where my possessions lie.We are bound for the promised land, This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jamesensley.substack.com

Introduction: Peter has just finished encouraging us to love and serve one another with the gifts that God has Given us in Christ Jesus. Gifts that Christ suffered and died to purchase in order to pour out on us by the Holy Spirit. Peter now for the third time discusses suffering trials. He has previously said trials will strengthen our faith, trials unite us to be like Christ as those filled with the Spirit to suffer for doing good and not evil. This is glorious because we suffer strengthened and indwelt by the Holy Spirit. And once more he reminds us that our suffering indeed judgement starting with the House of God vindicates the Spirit of Christ in Us and reminds usRead: 1 Peter 4:12-19[12] Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. [13] But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. [14] If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. [15] But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler. [16] Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name. [17] For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? [18] And“If the righteous is scarcely saved,what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?”[19] Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good. (ESV)#1 Say It Again for those in the Back#2 Suffering as a Christian#3 Cleanup Your Own House First#4 Entrust Your Soul to your Faithful Creator#1 Say It Again for those in the Back v. 12-15 (Running Commentary and Reinforcement).[12] Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. [13] But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. [14] If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. [15] But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler.A) v.12 is an escalation Dan Doriani points out that Peter goes from saying “who will harm if we do good” to “if we should suffer, let us still do right” to Don’t be surprised trials are coming!” Once more because we follow Christ and Jesus himself says, John 16:33 I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” (ESV)B) Jesus has overcome the world, and we can rejoice even in suffering because we have the same Spirit of Glory as He did on Christ in his earthly sufferings. We have this because he gives him to us poured out on his people.So pulling 1 Peter together righteous suffering causes us to share in what Jesus suffered, to be strengthened in faith, to silence evil, to give an answer for the hope in us, and to be blessed because we are honoring the name of Christ, and are indwelt by the Holy Spirit.#2 Suffering as a Christian (look in v. 16).[16] Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name.A) Peter highlights our Identity as A Christian – The term Christian or “Christianus” follower of Christ, it is likely an insult a slur, just like the word puritan, fundamentalist, and bible-thumper is used. And Christians said fine, we do follow Jesus. Just like with these other words certainly there are negatives intended and the ancient world accused Christians of drunken love feasts, of atheism, of being bad citizens, but they flipped it around, Dan Doriani says call me “puritan” Yes, I do aim for purity and integrity” call me bible-thumper, “Yes, I do read and honor God’s word.” - Let him not be ashamed but let him glorify God in that name,Do not let the Insult immediately push you to shame and compromise with Truth and convictions. From a position of being unashamed you may clarify Strawmen and misrepresentations, but do not let reviling immediately drive you to discussing faith and commitments from the unbelievers terms. There is a time for persuasion and discussing terms and such but do not let satan through shame and suffering and persecution and name calling move the entire battlefield from the battlefield of truth to the battlefield of compromise. By your commitment to following Christ Glorify God in the name of Jesus. Be Not Ashamed.#3 Cleanup Your Own House First (look in v. 17-18).[17] For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? [18] And“If the righteous is scarcely saved,what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?”A) This is called an argument from the lesser to the greatly, Peter says if we, the Church, still pass through the judgement of a just judge. How MUCH more will unrepentant sinners be judged. If we stand in heaven on judgement day and it is only being In Christ Jesus that saves us what about the person standing before the throne lost in their trespasses and sins giving account and payment for their wrongs with Jesus as savior and friend.B) God’s Judgement begins with us. Not in the sense of God comes home to the Christian household angry at all the ways we are awful. (Though Jesus in Rev. 2-4 knows how to give a compliment, critique, and warning annual review to those Churches).C) God Justly judges the state of the Church, those in Christ Jesus, beloved by him, and called to accountable living according to truth and integrity.i. “For though God is the judge of the whole world, yet he would have his providence to be especially acknowledged in the government of his own Church.” (Calvin, 138).ii. Scripture frequently wrestles with the seeming prosperity of the wicked and God’s good, ordered discipline of his own children. It shows we are indeed not orphans but sons and daughters.iii. We saw a baptism earlier, indeed our baptisms are reminders that we are in Covenant with the Lord God. This means access to the Word of God to discipleship and being connected to the people of God.iv. It can then be said that grace is the most beautiful in the Church of Christ. With forgiveness there is reconciliation and as we read last week love covers a multitude of sins and Further Repentance brings reconciliation in the Household of God.v. Think of it this way. God watches closely over his covenant people because they have been brought into the House of God.vi. Just as if one of my kids is cursing I am quicker to correct it than a stranger on the street, since they are NOT under my fatherly care accountability is much less.vii. …unless you steal or murder, then to an extent no one holds you relationally accountable for sins of the heart, speech, coveting, or idolatry, you may love money, be promiscuous, and feel there is no accountability for your actions…But in the Church of Christ. We strive for the peace, unity, and whole-hearted integrity of the church, for the sake of the honor and majesty of Christ. The goal is the honor of Christ and the loving restoration and healing integrity for the one who stumbles with abundant grace and forgiveness.viii. The removal of guilt and shame, healing from sin, forgiveness, and relational reconciliation as sacrificial love covers sinix. Peter asks in our passage “What will be the outcome” In the end of this life.1. We will stand in Judgement. Justified in the blood of Christ, The unbeliever will stand in judgement before the throne of God and he will say depart from me.2. To the believer he will say well done good and faithful servant enter into your rest.Oh the beautiful wonders of salvation that we sinners can be forgiven in Christ Jesus and made sons and daughters of God because we have thrown ourselves at the mercy of God and our lives are now lived for him.D) But What will be the fate of those who do not turn to Jesus our suffering savior, the lamb that was slain, and the King who is risen?B2) There is salvation only in Christ. If you are not trusting in Jesus what will become of you without God? You see reality as God has told you it is apart from Jesus you are “ungodly” and knowing in your heart of hearts that you are desperately wicked and Justice will not let you dwell with a Holy God in a Holy House. ….The Christian in Christ with all his promises still falls on his or her face amazed that God would save him and make him a son. Because he know that the Christian and the unbeliever are both unequally deserving one has simply fled to hide themselves in Christ Jesus for forgiveness and cleansing.What shall we then do? Look in v. 19…#4 Entrust your Souls to your faithful Creator while doing Good.[19] Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good. (ESV)A) You are a created being. You were made body and soul meant to be united together, your soul will last forever. In the last day when Christ returns we will be given resurrected and glorifed bodies that will last forever.B) There are a couple truths you need to believe deeply here.B1) God is the wise creator of the universe, and his creation was very good. We were made in his image with dignity and unique value, with dominion over the creatures. Adam and Eve were made to guard and keep the garden, and marriage was given as a gift to increase and multiply and fill the earth. These are good things and gifts from our creator…in addition to the gifts of community, friendship, and fellowship with our God. God’s universe is a very wonderfully physical and spiritual place. Because We have a soul that will last forever. So do you believe creation is good, we were made with a purpose, and that we were made to have fellowship with God? YESSecond truth, we live in a fallen world, you will struggle with death, addictions, suffering, broken relationships, and the temptation to distort how God calls you to live.Third truth, God is faithful to all his promises. If you entrust yourself to Christ Jesus, you will get the down payment on the restoration of everything Good in Creation, but look forward to every even more glorious and wonderful of the NEW Creation of the New Heavens and New Earth. And so you entrust your very soul, your eternal soul that will last forever to God. And now you both have the ability to love God and love your neighbor imperfectly but truly, you have comfort in suffering in light of the ig picture so you entrust your soul to a faithful creator while doing good. Keep Calm and Carry On. Glorify and Enjoy God. Seek godly community in brothers and sisters. Seek the good gifts of creation. Yes, suffer in this life, face death, but God is faithful, as we sing not my first time quoting this but it’s a beautiful 1 Peter hymn:3 The soul that on Jesus has leaned for repose I will not, I will not, desert to his foes;That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake, I’ll never, no never, no never forsake!4 “When through fiery trials your pathway will lie, My grace, all-sufficient, will be your supply. The flames will not hurt you; I only design Your dross to consume and your gold to refine.5 “Throughout all their lifetime My people will prove My sov’reign, eternal, unchangeable love; And then, when gray hairs will their temples adorn, Like lambs they will still in My bosom be borne.”Good is a faithful creator. Entrust your soul, your life, your all to him, Do good, for he IS Good. Remember v. 14, Jesus has suffered on the cross for sinners, he has forgiven your sins, if you are trusting in Christ by Faith. He has given the glorious Holy Spirit to empower you, and as a heavenly Father he has prepared your life’s Journey. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jamesensley.substack.com

Introduction: Illustration There is a whole movie genre about the world ending and everyone panicking and changing their behavior. Is this what Peter wants from us when he says, the end of all things is at hand? (So-called prophets, sell your home).No, it’s about clear-minded, persevering love. Follow the Standard Operating Playbook until Christ returns.Read: 1 Peter 4:7–11[7] The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. [8] Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. [9] Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. [10] As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: [11] whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. (ESV)Outline:#1: The inhale before the final exhale#2 A Mind-Focusing worldview, helps us answer in four areas: “How should we then live?” Four traits of a rightly focused life. He will address our mind, love, hospitality, and service.First, our mind in prayer.Second, our hearts in loving forgiveness.Third, our community life-giving hospitality done sacrificially without grumbling.And fourth, our serving based on the kind of person God made, designed, gifted, and strengthens you to be in word and deed.#3 All these things are for the glory of God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Glory belongs to our Triune God.#1 The final inhale before the final exhale, v. 7 The end of all things is at hand.[Talk about all the things God was doing from Genesis, Abraham, Moses, Exile, Return, 400 years of silence, and then… Christmas, Ministry, Cross, Resurrection, now it is finished, the church, and the gospel going to the ends of the earth is the final inhale before the great and final exhale. That is to say,There are no more significant redemptive historical events before the return of Christ. Of the same nature of going from the Old Covenant to the new covenant.It is simple, but all-encompassing.The word end does not just mean termination, like it’s the “end of the movie”; think of it as the final stage in fulfilling a purpose and goal.It means you are at the final item on the list, which aims to achieve the goals and purpose for the day.If we were to create an oversimplified chart: First Coming ———- Second Coming.· Sorry the Bible’s end times chart in the big picture, is a boring chart. (Yes a few more details can be added, such as the trumpet, judgment, the great white throne, and other features, but it all leads to one grand finale.)Therefore, the gospel being preached, people being gathered into the church, and wise governance—where we seek to live by principles and courageous lives is the mode of living we stay in. So many times people based on a hyper-pessimistic or hyper-optimistic view of the end times, will say that while the New Testament encourages us to focus on the Word, prayer, sacrament, loving our neighbor, building families, and spreading the gospel until Christ returns, they now have fancy charts dictating how we should live the way I the preacher say you should.This world is neither a sinking ship nor a carnival cruise. It is a large, well-equipped passenger-cargo ship, that is well-rounded and equipped with people as passenger, and cargo, and defenses in place.So we simply live in the new covenant with the whole word of God to direct us how to glorify and enjoy him. And this is done in the community of the church which is the kingdom of God in earth which Christ reigns over from heaven.Peter is not saying, that Jesus must be returning in the next 30yrs. For the Lord a day is a thousand years (Which peter says in 2 Peter 3:8).Think of the difference when we say, the final purpose of the world is at hand – imagine, For us if there is just one more piece of the puzzle you have been working on that is happening immediately. I’m finishing that puzzle now.For the Lord a day is a thousand years. we know is he is gathering his elect from the four corners of the world in every generation and we do not know when he says that is it. We do not know when The time of patience will be past and Christ returns on the white horse triumphant and conquering. We do not know.2 Peter 3:7–11 [7] But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly. [8] But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. [9] The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. [10] But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. 11] Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, (ESV)God is patient, the gospel will go forth, Peter says, Keep Calm and Carry OnBut calmly Carry on alertly in lives of holiness and godliness…Because the end is of “all things”the purpose and reasons for all things is wrapped up in what Jesus does in his first and second coming.The first and second coming of Christ is not just an idea, He came in his first coming in time, space, and history. It was real history. Not just a story we tell for therapy, for therapeutic effect. What Jesus did by the Holy Spirit changes your very heart soul and mind and truly affects your relationship to your creator and to others around you.With this context, thinking back in 1 Peter 4:7 we should then ask how should Christians live in light of all the hope we have in Christ, in light of knowing he will return, and in light of knowing we will suffer for Christ and yet victory is already won spiritually.#2 How should we then live?Peter gives four traits for the Christian community to be different from the world.He will address our Mind. love. Hospitality. And Service.Look in verse 7b-10, therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. [8] Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. [9] Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. [10] As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace:So our mind in prayerOur hearts in loving forgivenessOur community life giving hospitality done sacrificially without grumblingAnd our serving based on the kind of person God made and designed you to be. And here he has word based ministry and service based ministry.First, Our mind in prayer – PRAYERV. 4:7 echoes 1 Peter 1:13 Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. (ESV)be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. Remember husbands were told to dwell with their wives with understanding for the sake of their prayers…so too we are to live in light of the end purpose of all things…partially judgement and the return of Christ to strengthen our prayers.If we live in a world with a Creator. With a truly cosmic and universal fall into sin and misery. And we live in a world where Christ is the only hope for lost sinners and he is returning to gather his bride the church and to judge those who have not named Jesus as savior and king….Maybe our Prayers will be a little different right? There might be some clarity and grand-ness to the scope of our prayers.We will see our prayers as thankful for the rescue and redemption, the cleansing and salvation of our eternal souls.Not just “Lord help my knee not hurt and my football time to win.”Now one of those two things is a legitimate prayer…But if the big-ness of your prayers is the smallness of your sports team winning and your knee hurting….Will we be self-controlled and sober-mindedly focused on our Prayers? Probably not.Dan Doriani helpfully says, to be clear-minded is to “see things as they truly are…[and so pray not a generic prayer but] the prayer that calls upon and submits to God in the light of reality seen from God’s perspective.”How do we know God’s perspective…Scripture saturated prayer. Scripture filled prayer. Prayer that covers “all things” Big Picture prayers.Where do we learn a big picture prayer? The Lord’s prayer is our guide…not just a memorized mantra…But the categories. God is a Holy Heavenly Father. His Will from Heaven is done here on Earth. Kingdoms…nations…temptations….deliverances…glory forever….Not “hey big fella in the sky”Read the Word. Pray the Word. And your prayers will be truthful to the mind of God about you and the world. So when you pray leave your bibles open and turn it back to the Lord in grand ways…We are weak here so we may need to pray for the strength to pray.Second trait, Verse 8[8] Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.We have been forgiven in Christ Jesus, so our hearts now in community peter says, “cover a multitude of sins” This isn’t the first time he’s said something like this…1:22-23 By your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from apure heart, 23 since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through theliving and abiding word of God2:1 So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander.3:9 Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing. (ESV)Remember we said, and multiple commentators call it something like “community-destroying sins.” We are exiles to the world, we know where we have been placed as living stones in the church so we strive to earnestly love and forgive each other and not by our response, our nursing of hurts destroy unity, relationships, and create heated retaliation, or cold withdrawal inside the body.And what love does if it is earnest, is Jobes argues, “extinguishes sin and its effects within the community by not retaliating in kind, realizing…the claim of 4:1 that Christians must be through with sin.” (Jobes, 277).Peter applies what this love can look like with Hospitality. Literally how we LOVE, strangers. Philo-Xenia. But in verse 9 its Love- to One Another. Christian hospitality to other ChristiansSo Third Trait, Christians are called to community life giving hospitality done sacrificially without grumblingVerse 9 Show hospitality to one another without grumbling[Stay off Notes]Hospitality, you can hear the word “hospital” there, and you can remember a day with no hospitals, very few hotels, and only a few inns, and a great reliance on homes…But that isn’t primarily what Peter is getting at here.House churches…My background with international studentsOpportunity for Christian Conversation, what is God doing in your life, how did you meet, how did you come to know the Lord, what is difficult, what is good, what is frustrating, and let me answer these things with the gospel and wisdom that is specifically godly wisdomContrast with the grumbling men and women “oh you should divorce him/her”Oh you shouldn’t have to do that much caregiving, or put up with this at work….“Biting and devouring” robbing joy, creating resentment and grumbling…Christian Conversation vs. Worldly Conversation.Now I said grumbling that is in the conversations…What is grumbling in the hospitality itself?CostTimeWho (Unity of Fellowship vs. Exclusive)Its hard, its fatiguingLetting go of southern hospitalityUsing simple fellowship together and Christian conversation to encourage each other.Fourth, And our serving based on the kind of person God made and designed you to be. And here he has word based ministry and service based ministry.Look in verse 10-11, As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: [11] whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—Not each has received a gift. You are gifted by God. The gift is for service. The gift is to be stewarded. And there are various kinds of gifts given by grace not earned or deserved not to be boasted about.Charisma, gk – is a gift from GodHow he made us, how he plans to use us in the body, what are the different ways God has made us? (dispositions)God gives us gifts and Peter distinguishes speaking and serving giftsSpeaking – preaching, teaching, counseling (The officers for this gift are Elders, teaching and ruling) though there are lay ministry teaching occasions as well.He recognizes that the word read and preaches is speaking the oracles of God. The Second Helvetic Confession (an early protestant confession says), “The preaching of the word of God is the word of God” (As much is said in Heb. 13:7 “remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you.”In so far as the sermon is biblically faithful it is in some sense God’s word to his people. TO paraphrase WLC 154-157.We have the benefits of Christ given to us in all his ordinances; especially the word, sacraments, and prayer.The Spirit of God makes the reading, but especially the preaching of the word, an effectual means of enlightening, convincing, and humbling sinners; of driving them out of themselves, and drawing them unto Christ; of conforming them to his image, and subduing them to his will; of strengthening them against temptations and corruptions; of building them up in grace, and establishing their hearts in holiness and comfort through faith unto salvation.The Catechism then states that The Word of God is to be preached by those sufficiently gifted, and also duly approved and called to that office…The people of God are then blessed by the word of God being stewarded by some called and appointed to that officeAnd so God’s people are when as they hear the word they examine what they hear by the Scriptures; receive the truth with faith, love, meekness, and readiness of mind, as the Word of God; meditate, and confer of it; hide it in their hearts, and bring forth the fruit of it in their lives.This means that the sermon should not just be the opinions of the pastor, unanchored from the scriptures or just always finding its way back to whatever the pastor wants it to be about. There are bible studies that are like this no matter what you are studying – some members of that bible study will make it about their pet eschatology, or view of how discipleship should happen, or some such.The main idea must flow from the bible and have the word of God interpret the word of God and studies to see in what way it should be applied to us today.Next, Paul in 1 Cor. Greatly cautions viewing speaking and serving gifts as in competition with each other. Gold medal Christians are missionaries, silver medal are pastors, and bronze is for serving gifts, No, We are all members of one body, and we need all the parts the hands, the mouth, the eyes, the ears.Missionaries and famous evangelists won’t be closer to the throne of Jesus in heaven then the grandmother who prayed for her grand-children and showed hospitality by hosting Sunday Supper for family and friends…We need the gracious gift of people who spot when people are hurting and in need.One persons gifts of service can spot and reclaim someone wandering from the Lord and be the greatest comfort to them. More than a thousand one-liners that I think are really good and biblical.Jobs friends had the gift of gab….it did not help.We all must simply say Am I being faithful to what God has called me to?We need both. Both do the work God designed it to in the body of Christ, so we do not boast in either, but give thanks the The Holy Spirit works through the Word and the Service of the saints.We need people who speak wise words, who speak earnest words, some who speak the truth boldly in love, we need people who speak comforting words.We need people who serve in various ways, officers wise this is the deacons, but service is every member in different ways. We all serve in the body. With mercy, with our prayers, singing, and present.We have people who are very physically capable people, people who drive people to church, who visit and have a ministry of presence.I think we get the idea….thank you for your various gifts and graces. Pray and ask God multiply the fruit of your calling.How can we be fruitful in our giftings? v. 11 It is all by the strength that God suppliesThis both reminds us first, of the need for prayer – asking the Lord for strength, entrusting God in our varies ministry.We are stewards of a gift graciously given…Will not God supply us the strength to fulfill?Recall Moses and Joshua, the Leaders of Israel. There is a frequent phrase that the Spirit of the Lord was upon them and it strengthened them to fulfill the calling God had for them.So when you are tired, say “Lord, I feel I can barely parent, teach, show hospitality, love this person, whatever your calling is and you feel the burden of it and you know what it is – tell the Lord your weakness, ask him for the strength, and steward it faithfully.Now, a caveat, there is a things call Sabbath or Rest. There are times where we say No.We with three small kids attempt, note the word attempt: attempt for quite time, the rest and reset during the day. Quite time. But adults need It as well.So if you serve in various areas in the church, work, and home, it is a legitimate question to ask am I relying on the strength of the Lord to serve with my gifts, or have I fallen into an American business and simply have my exhaustion as a badge of honor, should I say no to an area of service and in order to reclaim a time of rest, prayer, refreshment…..Now I may forget the very words of my sermon and push a volunteer area…But I can be told No. God provides you strength, but he also provides you rest and the word No.For college students work hard all week, do your homework, do your part time work, be active in church life, and I would encourage you to Sabbath rest on the Lord’s Day. So even as you use the various gifts God gives you take the gift of rest and feeding on the word. Of setting time aside in prayer.Our ability to Pray, show hospitality, and to labor in word and service, can actually be guarded by our Rest.And this goes back to the beginning. The End of all things is at Hand, but we do not know the hour of Christ’s return.So I want you to remember this Jesus is already seated on the throne. He is resurrected, your salvation is secure and accomplished.You live by grace in the gospel and forgiven, redeemed, and a son and daughter of the King.You know the end of the story.So the ship of history is not sinking – so you can rest, you can rest secure in Christ, and take time to pray, eat, love, and serve our of God’s power not American busyness.But also it is not a carnival cruise, you should not be the American who has no church commitments, and no prayer, no fellowship, no hospitality, no use of word gifts or service gifts because Recreations and making money crowd out being gathered with the body of Christ which is the context where prayer, hospitality, and service happens. Particularly the blessing of the Lord’s day.So prayerfully, ask the Lord and wise people. How would God have me live in life of the end purpose of all things being verse 11 in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. (ESV)This isn’t cookie cutter. Because Guess what. Everyone is Different. Everyone is different. Everyone is in different life stages and Callings.But the goal is the same for everyone.That God may be glorified through Jesus ChristAnd this is shown when cutting through all the factors.We love one another. And we love one another because we love the King who has glory, dominion, forever and ever.PrayerBenediction This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jamesensley.substack.com

Introduction: Good morning, we’ll be back in 1 Peter next weekToday we’ll be in 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 verse 1Context: 3 Sundays of training….then gone.In this Letter, Paul continues to press home to the Thessalonians what living as a Believer looks like. What the life of the Christian community looks like. A community gathered around a Great salvation is necessarily a changed people. And Paul sees that change and he is exhorting for it to continue and abound: He says things like, “Let there be brotherly love among you”, “work diligently and faithfully so that you might be generous”, and in our previous passage and today's passage Paul reassures us that: for those who die before Christ’s return, there is a firm hope that All of us whether dead or alive at Jesus’ second coming will be fully with the Lord. We do not need to fear His Coming. We do not need to fear Judgement if we are in Christ Jesus. And once we do not fear judgment in Christ – then you are free indeed in this life and the next.Paul is arguing in today’s passage that there is a difference between the Light and sobriety of Christian hope and the darkness and drunken stupor brought about by sin.READ: 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you. 2 For you yourselves are fully aware that the Day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 3 Whilepeople are saying, “There is peace and security, ”then sudden destruction will come upon them as laborpains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. 4 But you are not in darkness, brothers, forthat day to surprise you like a thief. 5 For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of thenight or of the darkness.6 So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober. 7 For those who sleep, sleepat night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night. 8 But since we belong to the day, let us be sober,having [already] put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. 9 For Godhas not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 who died for us sothat whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him. 11 Therefore encourage one another andbuild one another up, just as you are doing.Brothers and Sisters Paul has Three Reminders for the Thessalonians and for Us this Evening:Reminder #1: The Believer’s Awareness vv. 1-5Reminder #2 The Believer’s Assurance vv. 6 – 9aReminder #3 The Believer’s Salvation vv. 9b-11Reminder Number 1: The Believer is fully Aware because he walks in the Light. The believer is fully aware because she walks in the Light.Paul contrast this with the Uncertainty of Darkness: Unbelievers Speculate about or deny the seriousness of “the Day of the Lord” because they are in darkness and indeed cannot escape judgment. Believers watch faithfully with a posture of expectancy and need not fear judgment.A) First be fully aware that in v. 1-5 Paul teaches us that it is unprofitable to speculate about times and seasons.a. Why? Because the timing of Jesus’ return is Unknown. Instead of speculation about the end times we take a posture of preparedness living daily as a member of his Kingdom, ready for him to return as judge on that last day or for us to join him in heaven if we pass away.Look again in your bible verses one 1-5 and you’ll see 3 images that all speak to this.B) Paul says they already know the meaning of these three imagesa. He says, Some sit in darkness saying saying “peace” “security” when sudden destruction is the reality!b. These people get the time wrong by outright denying that the Day of The Lord is coming in Judgment.c. Next Image the thief: The thief, sneaks in and robs at night while people sleep. Thieves do not publish hit list calendars ahead of time like a trash pickup date.i. Our Lord Jesus, Paul, and the Apostle Peter all use this image.ii. The Apostle Peter says, “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar…and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.”d. Next image: labor pains, Labor Pains indicate It is Sudden and Inevitable1. There will be no 2 minute warning at the return of the Lord2. It is like the flu shot where you look away you know its coming but the nurse does not say when.3. It is like the pop-quiz, the tax audit, It is a surprise of when but not that it will come.4. And the stakes are devastatingly high – not peace and security – The Day of the Lord is like a house all to easily broken into. Our sin does not hide behind a locked door and the Day of the Lord will NOT pass you by because you have hidden, denied, and locked away sin. The brightness of Day Incarnate as God-Man is coming as Judge with a gaze that pierces hearts.5. We cannot hide or paper over sins as if there is no Day of the Lord for Judgement on unbelief, Nor can we live indulgent lives,6. Jesus says his coming will be “As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.” – Noah built his Ark in plain view of a world doomed to the Flood. Christ and the gospel is preached in plain view of a world that Christ intends to purify, removing the dross by fire, and renewing life in his Light.ii. Paul says, this by way of reminder and Encouragement: There are many benefits to being a believer but We DO NOT know the Day,iii. What we DO know the assurance that we are Not destined for Wrath but to obtain salvation.iv. …The Unbeliever blinds themselves to the certainty and the nature of Jesus returns.C) What should a clear view that we do not know the day but we do know of the nature of the return do in the life of the Church: A constant state of preparation is created. That is a Constant State of Readiness to use the military term.a. – John Calvin says it aptly, “Christ planned that the day of his coming should be hidden from us, so that, being in suspense, we might remain on watch.”i. All of Christ’s parables of the stewards and servants have us assume a posture of expectant readiness.D) Paul presses his point home in verses 4-5: Don’t speculate about times instead take stock of the fundamental moral and ethical posture you should take as children of the Day. Christ gives the blessing of Light breaking into a people previously trapped in Darkness.”E) Darkness is ignorance and blindness. Ignorance of God as judge, of Sin as sinful, of the grace and beauty of Christ in the gospel. Ignorance of Faith, Hope, and Love of the Christian life lived in the LIGHT.a. Hear this clearly, if you would admit to yourself that you are blinded in heart, mind, and soul by Darkness, Know this: You cannot know the day, that is inevitably coming when you must give account for the lostness and rebellion of your immortal soul, which is forever perishing apart from Jesus. You must act today while it is still today to leave behind darkness for light. For our lives are but numbered days. Our lives are brief.1. All three metaphors speak to the inevitability and inescapability of the sudden and proper Judgement of Christ on all people everywhere God in his word promises through the Apostle Paul “they will not escape”b. But you…You who are in Christ Jesus…Indwelt by the Holy Spirit…Beloved of the Father are not in darkness…The Prophet Isaiah proclaims in Is. 60:[2] For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples;but the LORD will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you.[3] And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.[4] Lift up your eyes all around, and see; they all gather together, they come to you;[5] Then you shall see and be radiant; your heart shall thrill and exult,F) We are Children of the Day through no light and goodness inherent in us but because Jesus has “furnished us with light”G) We don’t need the DATE of Jesus’ return we just need the expectancy of the shining Glory of his return and the shining Glory of his present reign in the Kingdom of His Church, and that in contrast with the relative darkness of the world around us in ANY and EVERY Generation not just a predicted time and date.i. Paul next goes into details reminding the Thessalonians about this Ethical Posture and Character given to God’s people and the basis for their assured salvation.Reminder #2: The Believer’s Assurance, look with me in verses: 6-9a: Believers are called to Alertness & Assurance about Salvation From Wrath towards increasing Faith, Hope, and Love.6 So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober. 7 For those who sleep, sleepat night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night. 8 But since we belong to the day, let us be sober,having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. 9 For God has not destined us for wrath, …· Paul’s Contrast is between a sober Alertness and a drunken slumber§ – Alertness – Is a call to being on guard as a military sentry is watchful and vigilant.§ Alertness can only be maintained if you have– Self-control from Excess.§ Christians have standing orders from our commanding officer and captain of our faith that prevent us from dabbling with and embracing what Paul styles “the night”· Paul speaks to spiritual realities with spiritual reasons behind them but in such a way that he does not ignore that spiritual darkness is seen and linked to our physical behaviors often done in darkness as secrecy.· No says Paul, We must Stand with alertness and intentionality says the Apostle Paul at the Command of the Holy Spirit in him who also lives in us, moderate our consumption of the world, its love, and its priorities so that we do not inebriate ourselves against the light of day. [ 2x]§ So we ask, does this allow me or prevent me from standing Ready and dressed for warfare in the breastplate of faith and love and the Helmet of the hope of Salvation?§ Think of it this way, a sober-minded person with Hope in Christ is not “double-minded” and does not have the double-mindedness or two-faced personality of a person who is one waywhile sober, and another way while drunk.· The Christian is not double-minded but strives to live by the power of the Holy Spirit a consistent life in light of the grace and mercy of the salvation they have in Christ.· And so verses 8 calls us to be Sober-minded armored with Faith and Love and the Hope of salvation. This is Paul’s famous Triad of Virtue. Faith. Hope. Love.· We need to know what these three words mean. Briefly.o Faith – knowing and embrace of the truth of who Jesus is with a relational trust in What Christ has done. Jesus being the object of your faith causes you daily to entrust every area of our lives to him.o Love – You see that you have been loved and shown grace and mercy and therefore you treat others with the same love you received from God our Father, the Lord Jesus, and the Holy Spirit in your and our hearts. You seek others highest good, ultimately based on knowing who their creator is, their inherent dignity, and how he designed us to live.o Hope – Hope is that future certainty that entrusts yourself to a salvation a destiny that is firmly fixed in Heaven just as Jesus is seated in heaven! And that destiny informs and fills your present reality.o These great virtues make us men and women of integrity rather than men and women atomistically living multiple lives such that we are occasionally “spiritual” but are really in darkness with physical excess, and spiritual neglect.o What are the stakes? The stakes are high…We need an assurance.· Verse 9 gives us just such an Assurance. A Promise of safety from Wratho We are Not Appointed to Wratho Appointed: Who makes the appointment? It is a Divine appointment and choice. Paul assures us - God has not, in his divine initiative, appointed the people of God to wrath.· Wrath…we need to talk about God’s Wrath for a minute.o ONLY a great conviction and certainty of the rightness and justice of God’s wrath can produce a great gratitude and awe for God’s grace.Leon Morris writes, “One of the things that gave salvation so full a meaning for New Testament Christians was that they were sure of the wrath of God and had a deep gratitude to Christ for saving them from it. In modern times some take Christianity lightly because they have emptied the wrath of its content. To banish the wrath of God from the scene is to rob life of a good deal of its serious purpose.”§ Deuteronomy 9:7 - Remember and do not forget how you provoked the LORD your God to wrath in the wilderness. From the day you came out of the land of Egypt until you came to this place, you have been rebellious against the LORD… You provoked the LORD to wrath, and the LORD was so angry with you that he was ready to destroy you.§ Well yes, that’s the OT. (**Own the spiritual needs and heart of Israel as your own do not look down on them as lesser or more petty than you…)§ “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; [and we might feel well of course that’s his job] whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.” – John 3:36.§ Webster dictionary - 1828 - because don’t trust anything on the internet when a word can be changed at the push of a button. Webster: Wrath: strong anger & indignation. Wrath: The just punishment of an offense or crime..· The wrath of God is JUST because human Sin goes against a God of infinite Dignity. Infinite Majesty. And wrath is the punishment for the offense, the crime of sin against a Holy God.· And the Thessalonians knew that they needed Saving, rescue from wrath, because they knew they were sinners.· They knew their hearts, their thoughts, their people and culture, the entire human race as one which sins against each other and against God himself, against his Majesty & Dignity.· All of us when we slow down know our own hearts have deeply shameful thoughts. We need rescuing. But surely someone good enough, holy enough, would be too appalled at us to love sinners.o Wrath is not the end of the story of the Thessalonians nor for us: Salvation! Salvation is our last word!§ Properly seeing what wrath is makes salvation all the more dear.§ Think of how small a thing being saved could mean to how amazing being saved might be, depending on the context: “Saved….from taking a test due to snow.” “saved….from a conversation with a person you didn’t want to talk to” “Saved….from being mauled by a bear” “saved….your entire eternal soul and body from death and judgment.” Now that is salvation! Salvation from Wrath!o Praise God, He has not Appointed you to Wrath but to gain salvation through Christ Jesus.o So that we may be Children of the Day not in darknessReminder Number 3: The Believer’s Salvation in Jesus (verses 9b-11):Paul tells us clearly what our only hope of salvation from the just wrath of God is. He says, This is how our need is supplied, this is how our plight is remedied.Verse 9b: God has not destined us for wrath…but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him. 11 Therefore encourageone another and build one another up, just as you are doing.What did Christ do in order for you to be saved from the wrath you justly deserved?A) “He died”a. Hear this word from the Lord: “The sting of death is sin” - 1 Corinthians 15:56i. Jesus was sinless he need never have known death.ii. Jesus was the God-man he never deserved the sting of sin felt in his death. But in him “the wrath of God was satisfied.”iii. We are sinners! and our sin caused the sting of death to be felt by him? Why did Jesus die? It was for sin and for sinners like each one of us.b. Hear this word from the Lord 6 While we were still weak, at the right time Christdied for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—thoughperhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 8 but God shows his lovefor us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since, therefore, wehave now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from thewrath of God. - Romans 5:6-9:B) Jesus died “for us” . I love this wonderful little preposition translated “for” and this phrase “for us” and in the context of the death of Jesus on the cross it makes all the difference in the world.a. Jesus didn’t just die as a righteous moral example, Jesus didn’t just die to create a generic storehouse of grace for potential withdrawals.b. No, Jesus died for the sake of his sheep, Some wordier translations could be: [He Died] on behalf of us, in the place of us, as a substitute in our place, in our stead, and in its theological context even “representing us.” The Apostle Paul is clear: Adam sinned and in Adam as our representative we died and sinned in him.c. Jesus lived a righteous life and when he died he died as our representative in our place.d. This brings great assurance, we know, we are assured that if we are in Christ we are not chosen for wrath because that rightly deserved wrath fell on him in our place and we have his righteousness as our representative, we are reconciled as Sons and Daughters of the Day. And this assurance allows Paul to say “so whether”C) “So whether we are awake or asleep we might live in him” objective assurance no matter our state he is faithful.a. Jesus’ Death is the bedrock foundation and assurance that allows Paul to promise that whether we have died to be with him or are alive waiting for him we have eternal life.D) The only proper response is to be armed with the assurance as a means of: Encouragement and Building-up: Just As you are doing.E) The temptation can be to look at the darkness – what we shouldn’t be doing. But what shall we be found doing when the Lord comes?F) The answer for the Thessalonians and I am pleased to find is true of here and so many other churches is to be encouraging and building each other up in the hope of Christ, in knowing and trusting our faith, and love for each other.verse 11 Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doinga.b. Paul is expressing what John Bunyan calls “Christian Conversation in Pilgrim’s Progress. (Tired. House Beautiful. Refreshed by the Saints).i. Remind each other of what you know you are saved fromii. Remind each other of the source of your salvationiii. Remind each other of the posture and expectancy you should have be alert do not stick it in cruise control.Have table fellowship where you encourage each other to wear the armor of faith, hope, and love, and to take our Sentry post, await our Lord’s coming, and train the next generation and the next generation until the Lord returns with trumpets and Glory.Amen & Amen. Come Lord Jesus Come Quickly.PrayerBenediction: Receive this Good word from the Lord: Now may the Grace of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Love of God our Father, and the Fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all, go in Peace. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jamesensley.substack.com

Intro | Recap1 Peter 4:1-6 Crossing the Pain Threshold: Having the Mind of Christ and Living for God[1] Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm [equip with weapons] yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, [2] so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God. [3] For the time that is past suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do, living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry. [4] With respect to this, they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery, and they malign you; [5] but they will give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. [6] For this is why the gospel was preached even to those who are dead, that though judged in the flesh the way people are, they might live in the spirit the way God does.#1 Suffering Produces Clear Thinking About Sin: Crossing the Pain Threshold with Christ, v. 1-3#2 Suffering Produces Clear Reactions to NOT Sinning; Crossing the Pain Threshold Causes Pain in Sinners, v. 4-5.#3 When and to Who and Why is the Gospel is Preached?#1 Suffering Produces Clear Thinking About Sin: Crossing the Pain Threshold with Christ, v. 1-3Ill: Breaking with Sin and the Mafia.First, just negotiating with the mafia: “Yeah, I’m done; I’m going respectable.”It doesn’t work. He gets pulled back in.Being blackmailed; once the guy publishes it for himself, he is free from it. It holds no more power. Why would he go back to it?Now he has told the world, “I was a gangster; these are the names of my accomplices; it was wrong. I have crossed the threshold; there is no going back.”The former gang may harass him, be angry, not want to be named for what they are. Sin hates being named as sin. But they cannot recruit you back in. The gangster is dead; only death awaits turning back to the old way of life, “the way of your ancestors,” Peter says earlier. You’ve left the family business and now are exiled.This story captures imperfectly what Peter is arguing here. Look again in verses 1-3: Christ suffered righteously for us. He was a substitute for our sin; he purchased us out of the family business, and now we must arm ourselves with the same way of thinking.Leaving the world of Mafia and gangs behind, what is this “same way of thinking” for us?Peter 3:17 – It is better to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. That is the mindset.What does it mean to cease from sin? The Greek word is where we get our word “paused.” Hit the pause button and walk away. But it is even more active. Strong’s Gk says to restrain: “no longer stirred by sin's incitements and seductions.” Why does “crossing the pain threshold” help us cease from sin – but now for the will of God?Answer: “Genuine suffering will always be accompanied by a holy lifestyle” – Beale.Once we have suffered like Christ for righteousness' sake, we are dead to sin and alive to God. We have exchanged our fallen “default” setting for a new singular operatingThat principle asks, "what glorifies God?” and "what contributes to my fellowship, joy, and communion with my Creator and Savior, as I know it from His Word to me? [pause]What is pleasing to God? Am I willing to suffer by rejecting my own sinful desires and rejecting the social sins/social passions, or community-acceptable KJV language “lusts” of my heart and my community's heart – to remove ourselves from sinning for those for whom it is beneficial to see me sinning “like them”? Peter will say if we do not sin like them, we will SURPRISE them. When we cease from sin, it’s a problem. Why? Because it ruins the “everyone is doing it” rationalization of sin.For Peter’s context, the Christians are the killjoys. Jobes helpfully says, “The pleasures from which Christians typically abstain were the popular forms of Roman entertainment: the theater with its risqué performances, the chariot races, and the gladiatorial fights with their blood and gore. The alcohol-fueled festivals of Roman culture were typically focused on devotion to a god or goddess, making them idolatrous to Jewish or Christian beliefs. Christian lifestyle also condemned the ‘pleasures’ of an indulgent temper, sex outside marriage, drinking, slander, lying, covetousness, and theft…”Christians who love God’s good creation are positive about all the good gifts of God in food, marriage, and alcohol in moderation, yet they are often seen as the killjoys…in every culture and era. Because sin never has enough. Sin always wants more. Sin always wants to transgress the bounds of God’s good design for our bodies, minds, feelings, attitudes, and relationships.And when Christians say, No. I have crucified the flesh; it is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me, a powerful contrast is created between light and darkness. The darkness, the flesh, does not like the Light and the Spirit, even if it is filled with Christian joy and happiness. Christian pleasure in God’s good creation.Because now the world can’t say, "Everyone gossips, everyone lives this way in college, everyone watches this TV show or follows these people on Instagram…" And Peter says, if you are already suffering for Christ, you are a spiritual exile; hit the pause button, step back, and cease from autopiloting what is acceptable for you. And we can easily say, ok I will change some of my behaviors.But God doesn't just want our behaviors, he wants our hearts, he wants our loves, our attitudes, our beliefs reshaped by the mind of Christ. So that we love what he loves. So that What the Bible calls sinful, we call sinful. And we don't substitute talking about these things with the jargon and "its ok" type of language our culture uses to talk about cultural sin patterns.And this will become culturally unacceptable and we may be maligned for it. Because we have crossed the pain threshold on cultural beliefsNot affirming what the world affirms as good and moral, not condemning what the world condemns. Wrong speak and wrong thought. This could be in modern university settings, this could be places where jobs are at stake, or even a group of friends have taken an unbiblical stance on a moral area you can be subjected to a sort of "communist struggle session" and saying "Jesus is the Lord of my actions, my mind, and my words. Caesar is not Lord."This society's pet sin and desire is still wrong, and I am not on the wrong side of history. Who is on the Lord’s side? Who will gather under the banner of Scripture?o Perhaps as you follow Christ, you can be a witness to friends and family.o Perhaps as you follow Christ, you will become a stranger to friends and family and suffer loss for the sake of Christ.o But remember, human judgments do not have the last word.Social consensus does not have the last word.The flesh having the last word is dead and in the past, according to Peter.Look in verse 3. Peter lists the same things we’ve been listing… But he characterizes it as over. That time, that stage of your life is the past.For the time that is past suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do: living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry.Verse 3: This time is PAST; living in this way – that is dead and buried with Christ. It has been crucified if you are in Christ.This is sarcasm… you had more than enough time to sin in your former life, don’t you think?What are the traits of this list? Living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry.Peter calls these things a “flood of debauchery” or KJV “excess of riot.”Sin just overflows our hearts because it has a well from our sinful hearts. So it just pours out.And it’s an abandonment, dissolute, profligate, prodigality of a life the world lives in.God, by the Holy Spirit, cuts off the power of sin, the shut-off valve, and he does this—mixing metaphors—he cauterizes the wound of sin with the power of righteous suffering. And what does this do?HOW DO YOU VIEW YOURSELF NOW?Certainly not sinless.But forgiven, a new creation.What are the “pain thresholds” of suffering unjust, undeserved reactions from the world that you need to embrace as a follower of Jesus?Now we know sin is not simply a water pipe valve that we shut off.Peter offers one motivation for being done with sin:suffering. Viewing ourselves now as exiles to our former way of life. Pronouncing that that was the old man, naming those sins, and having crossed that pain threshold, being willing to bear shame and suffering from our former friends. That is certainly powerful.That is a work of the grace of the Holy Spirit if you desire to repent of sin and walk in new obedience to Jesus.That is a work of grace because you are entrusting yourselves to Jesus by faith to have (1 Peter 2:24) borne our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds, you have been healed. (ESV)Having been once for all justified by faith in Christ, we now begin the lifelong journey of sanctification—the bearing of fruit that flows out of our salvation. Justification is an accomplished fact; sanctification is the Spirit’s ongoing work in us. And along this road, the Lord provides us with many motives and helps to encourage us to imitate Christ and to pursue holiness of life. Scripture is not silent on this, but gives us countless helps for walking in holiness.First, we remember who we are in Christ: we are a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17). The old has gone; the new has come. Our identity is no longer in Adam but in Christ, and so our lives must reflect that new reality.Second, we remember that as new creations we desire fellowship with God. God Himself is holy and good, and He hates sin. Because we love Him, we learn to love what He loves and to hate what He hates—including our own sin. Holiness, then, is not merely a duty but a delight, for it draws us nearer to God and away from what destroys us.Third, the Word of God teaches us to know the law rightly. It names sin for what it is. It shows us how sin harms, how it corrupts, and how it robs us of joy and peace. At the same time, it sets before us the goodness of God’s design: that living in the way He created us to live is for our flourishing. Sometimes the law warns us with fear—fear of God’s judgment, fear of earthly consequences that flow from sin. But at the same time, it encourages us by showing the beauty of holiness, the joy of obedience, and the blessing of walking in step with the Spirit.Finally, God gives us examples to follow. We imitate Christ, our perfect pattern, and we also imitate other believers who walk faithfully before us. Much of the Christian life is “caught” rather than only “taught.” By watching the faith, humility, and obedience of others, we are stirred up to live likewise.As the hymnist says, “May the mind of Christ my Savior live in me from day to day, by His love and pow’r controlling all I do and say.”So the Christian life of sanctification is not left to us alone. God, in His kindness, supplies us with many helps: remembering who we are in Christ, desiring fellowship with the holy God, knowing the law and its wisdom, and imitating Christ and His people. In all these things, He is making us more and more into the likeness of His Son, until the day when we are GLORIFIED, perfectly holy in His presence in heaven.Such a vision is beautiful…but the aroma of life to some is the stench of death to others. And Peter warns us of the response we may receive.#2 Suffering Produces Clear Reactions to NOT Sinning; Us Crossing the Pain Threshold Causes Pain in SinnersV. 4–5 With respect to this, they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery, and they malign you; but they will give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. (ESV)And having suffered with Christ, we cross the pain threshold and accept that we may be maligned; we may be accused of being the bad guys because we ruin the “everyone is doing it” line that the sinful heart needs spoken in assurance to it in its sin. The emptiness of sin is revealed.Peter says, “They will Malign you”What happens if you start to hold an opinion that all the polls say—well, 80% of Americans approve of watching this, doing that, and living this way? Maybe even people think it's dangerous to not embrace what they embrace. Parents are suspect. Churches are suspect.They are surprised, but it is the surprise of someone having the light suddenly flipped on and the response: Turn out the light. Light hurts. Come back to the dark where it is comfortable.You are maligned, spoken of poorly. But it is okay, Peter says. Crossing the pain threshold does not mean having a sad, melodramatic persecution complex.Christians ought to be as joyful as our happiest Easter hymns and our happiest Christmas hymns. 1 Peter itself has much warmth throughout it; we may be exiles marching to the celestial city, but we have a warm campfire all along the way. Consider these phrases throughout 1 Peter:We are 1:3–5 …born again to a living hope… an inheritance imperishable…In Christ, we have been …born again to a living hope… an inheritance imperishable (1:3–5). Though we do not see Him, we …rejoice with joy inexpressible and filled with glory… (1:8–9). What the prophets searched for and …angels long to look… into, we now possess (1:10–12). We are …a chosen race, a royal priesthood… called out of darkness into marvelous light… (2:9–10). Once straying, we have …returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of our souls… (2:25). Even in trials, we know we …inherit a blessing… for His ears are open to their prayer (3:9–12). Therefore, we …rejoice insofar as we share Christ’s sufferings… for the Spirit of glory rests upon us (4:13–14). In every anxiety, we …cast all our cares on Him… for He cares for us (5:7). And after a little while, the …God of all grace… will restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish us (5:10).That is what we have in Christ Jesus. If you rest your life, your heart, your future in Him as Savior today.But once again, Peter is a realist.Those who are not in Christ Jesus by grace through faith, v. 5. They will give account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.What does Peter mean, Giving an Account?Peter is arming his readers to suffer human judgment, even judgment by all the important people.You could feel this from Universities, from the TV shows you and your friends watch, even the judges; the laws may be changed to outlaw and thus judge “malign” the Christian ethic..This is the context of verse 6. The maligning judgement of those who are still trapped in darkness. And have yet to give an account for their actions. So verse 6, We ask.#3 When and to Who and Why is the Gospel is Preached?Verse 6. For this is why the gospel was preached even to those who are dead, that though judged in the flesh the way people are, they might live in the spirit the way God does.On first reading of verse 6, Some might be tempted to think of the dead as somehow lingering in a spiritual limbo, honored with offerings and celebrations like in the Mexican syncretism of Aztec and Catholic spirituality of Día de Las Muertos, the Day of the Dead. But Peter is saying something very different.We talk this way – If I was honoring veterans, and I said, “These Veterans stormed the beaches of Normandy” orFor this is why the Championship was won even by those who are retired…They were not retired when they won the championship, but Tom Brady is retired now.Past action: the gospel was preached to them while they were alive.Present description: they are now “the dead.”The gospel was preached even to those who were alive when it was preached to them but are now dead—not to leave them in a shadowy existence,But so that, though they were judged in the flesh as all people are (that is, living people giving judgy opinions against those who believed and lived according to the gospel), they now are free from human judgments and are alive in the Spirit the way God does (1 Pet. 4:6). As with chapter 3, I will say this is the Capital S Spirit of God, alive in Christ by the Holy Spirit.Their life is no longer measured by human standards, by earthly judgment or ritualized remembrance, but by the power and rule of God. The dead are alive in Christ, fully embraced by His Spirit, not by human tradition or sentiment.In the early church, there was great concern when the first few Christians died after having believed the gospel but before Christ had returned. Paul had to reassure the Thessalonians this way:1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, where Paul says that even if we die before Christ returns, we are not lost or forgotten. Those who have “fallen asleep” in Christ will rise first at His coming, and all believers—living or dead—will be united with Him forever. Take comfort; death does not separate us from Christ, and hope in His resurrection assures us that life in His presence is eternal.So Christians might be judged by other people here on earth…. But when they die, God gets the last ruling. And God says, you will, by the Spirit of God, live no matter what you suffer when you are “maligned” and “judged” and called the bad guys for living a righteous life as those who have been born again by the Spirit of the living God.Not because we were better and more deserving, but Christ suffered to save lost sinners who could not save themselves.So also, we must be willing to suffer rather than sin. Be willing to suffer abuse for not sinning from unbelievers. Then compare God’s judgment of sin to human shallow judgment for not sinning.So what about us? What would Peter have us do in response to these verses?Let us close by thinking of action in response to what Peter is telling us.Recall Zacchaeus, who encounters Jesus in the Gospels in Luke 19. Zacchaeus was a chief tax collector, wealthy from exploiting others. But when he encountered Jesus, something broke inside the old life of greed and self. His resolve to follow Christ was sealed not by mere words, but by sacrifice:“Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold” (Luke 19:8). Jesus immediately recognized the genuineness of that costly repentance: “Today salvation has come to this house” (Luke 19:9).Now for us, when we read the Bible, pause and meditate on those very points where you find pain and discomfort with the word, and ask the Lord to help you have the mind of Christ, the attitude of Christ, and suffer the loss of the old man, self, and way of thinking, and put on the mind of Christ until that loss becomes, as Paul says again, until you can count it as rubbish. “We arm ourselves with a willingness to suffer” (Doriani) in order to live for the will of God.Why? Because Jesus has gone before us; He left heaven, was born, suffered all the miseries of this life, death itself, and the pains of hell, to redeem us, to rise again, and give us life in the Holy Spirit, and the joy of being in a living community.Christ’s humiliation and resurrection, offered to us in the Gospel, is also our salvation. He took our place, bore our curse, and entered our grave, so that we might share His righteousness, His blessing, and His eternal life. If the Son of God humbled Himself so low for us, then we may rest assured that nothing in us—no sin too deep, no sorrow too heavy, no shame too great—can separate us from His redeeming love. And as we behold His humility, the Gospel calls us to walk in the same pattern:“Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 2:5).PrayBenediction. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jamesensley.substack.com

This message was preached on the Acts 10 due to this being a 5th Sunday, CPC topically does chapter by chapter through the confession grounded in a scripture text. So we will return to 1 Peter 4. Next week.A brief word on expositional preaching and note the headings of WCF 23. We ordinarily preach systematically through books of Scripture so God sets the agenda, not us. This guards against hobbyhorses, unfolds the whole counsel of God, keeps Christ central, and matures the church by steady, in context, Spirit-applied truth. Occasional topical sermons ensure we address necessary doctrines and issues regularly.Since this is not a Sunday school lesson I will not address word by word WCF 23. I am sending an audio lecture out that does this by Dr. Ligon Duncan.Read Acts 10:1-2, 22A Few things #1 Meet Cornelius (v.1-2, 22).#2 The Goodness of God’s Common Grace – Good Government is a Blessing (WCF 23 Overview).#3. The Limits of Common Grace — Cornelius Still Needs the Gospel (v. 30-33).#4. The Gospel Proclaimed — Christ as Lord and Judge (Acts 10:34–43)#5. The Spirit Falls — True Salvation in Christ (Acts 10:44–48)Lets meet our civil magistrate (our government guy), Cornelius the God-FearerCornelius is an example of what WCF 23:1 affirms: that God establishes rulers and civil order to “maintain piety, justice, and peace”(further citing Rom. 13:1–4; 1 Pet. 2:13–14).Cornelius as a Roman centurion isLike a Ships Cpt. A County Sherriff with 80 deputies. Or think of places like Okinawa post-war where military and policing were closely overlapped.So Cornelius is a key government official, a civil magistrate.He is like another centurion who in Matthew 8:9–10 For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” [10] When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith. (ESV)Cornelius is described as “a devout man who feared God… gave alms generously… prayed continually to God”(Acts 10:1–2).He is “well spoken of by the whole Jewish nation” (v. 22).So he is fairly easy to like. But for Christians, we should note…we honor even the government we do not like. See David and Saul. David honored Saul as king despite Sauls wickedness [NOTE: Spear throwing…twice] and so it repeats throughout the bible.Pharaoh — honored by Joseph. Pharaoh himself was a pagan ruler, yet Joseph honored him as the one through whom God provided to save many lives.Nebuchadnezzar — served by Daniel which is cited by the WCF Daniel 2:37 (ESV): “You, O king, the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, and the might, and the glory…Later, Daniel continues to serve under successors (Dan. 6), while remaining faithful to God.He served through different presidential administrations we could say…And in one term old Chad was crazy for 7yrs of it.But I am interested in Cornelius because I think we can most deeply identify with him here in Western Virginia, where we have many god-fearing spiritual people who are not followers of Christ. But maybe deists like Thomas Jefferson, they like the idea of Jesus generally, we want a little bible, and as we see just because a man donates money to religion, prays, and is loved by his community Acts 10 quite clearly shows they still need Jesus …A full turning from sin to Jesus. That is to say,A person can be deeply moral, socially beneficial, and even reverent toward God – And yet, it is only a skin-deep morality, not measuring up when it comes to the transcendent, Holy God. They can still be outside of Christ.Jesus is still, the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father except through him.#2. The Goodness of God’s Common Grace: Good Government is a blessing (WCF 23.1–2)WCF 23.1: God ordains magistrates to be “under God, for His glory and the public good” — punishing evil and encouraging good (Rom. 13:1–4).Cornelius embodies this: he is a just man, serving the empire, protecting order. His generosity and justice are real blessings to the community.This is what Paul affirms in Athens: “He made from one man every nation… having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God” (Acts 17:26–27).Application: We should honor rulers and thank God for the order and justice they provide, even when imperfect.GI Williamson summarizes 7 points from WCF 23.1,2,4 that should help us understand what honoring rulers means. paragraphs 1,2, and 4.God has ordained civil government on earth, (1 Peter 2:13-17; Rom. 13:1-7)Not just the governments we like, our party being in power. For example from our passage today we may say we like Cornelius, yay a good guy…But Paul and Peter write these things when Nero is Caeser…Jesus says render unto Caesar when Tiberius was Caeser. Not exactly a Christian leader.SO “God has ordained civil government on earth” even when the Ruler is a pagan.“God has ordained civil government on earth” and Christians have submitted to emperors, kings, senators, democracies etc….But regardless of the form the government takes (and some are better than others).Now we may pray for better governments. And we may in an American context vote for better governments. Presbyterians were essential in forming the constitutional system that allows for such representative elected officials in our country. Remember an American constitutional republic and Presbyterianism are two sides of the same coin.So we must pray1) For officials who show wisdom in regard to good and evil,2) People who will vote for such people, and3) Know this can only come through a spiritual revival and special work of the Holy Spirit in both redemption and a resurgence of common grace wisdom to all.George Washington said, Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious People. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”(2) The purpose of it is God’s glory and our good, (right promote the good and restrain evil all of which is defined ultimately by God as the Good, the true, and the beautiful and we can know much of this by the light of nature as Ps. 19 & Rom. 1 teaches us…) Cornelius was a GOOD Centurion. And he didn’t have the Holy Spirit and he seems to only have some partial OT influence from being a friend of the Synagogue. V. 22 “well spoken of by the whole Jewish nation” (3) God has given to civil officers the power of the sword, - The Church holds the Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven / The State restrains evil with lawful police or military power in Just wars as a last resort. Cornelius is in “The Italian Cohort – he is a Soldier-Sheriff-Captain. He was generous and kind to the people.This is similar to another Centurion who in Luke 7:3ff comes to Jesus asking for healing for his servant and he is vouched for by the Jewish Elders. “they pleaded with him earnestly, saying, “He is worthy to have you do this for him, [5] for he loves our nation, and he is the one who built us our synagogue.”Not a Christian yet, but he is better respected than the dishonest tax-collectors, than it even sounds like King Herod or other officials.So there are multiple places where an unbelieving, but by God’s common grace “good” man. Blesses people with his rule in the community.Application – Do we not have that today, certainly, we have Christian officials we love (We can have Christian officials who are not particularly wise or helpful as well), but while we can suffer under wicked or foolish governors and officials. We often are blessed that God has established government and we are praying for a wise yet unbelieving man. And that official is meant to wield the sword to restrain violence, chaos, and wrongdoing. Perhaps even immoral vices, as they carefully consider local regulations.God ordained, 2) for his glory and our good 3) for the sword.(4) Christians may lawfully hold civil office and exercise the power of the sword upon just and necessary occasions, (John the Baptist told soldiers to no longer be corrupt when they converted. He didn’t tell them to cease being soldiers).(5) that Christians are required by God to honor this ordinance and to pray for and be subject to those who lawfully use the office of civil government,(6) that this duty is not exempted because of difference in religion, [So we honor and obey unbelieving even pagan rulers if they are bit utterly tyrranical](7) that the pope of Rome does not have any right to civil power. – [The Church should not try to wield civil power).Ok that’s the thousand-foot view of 23.1,2, and 4.Back to Cornelius.[1] At Caesarea, there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of what was known as the Italian Cohort, [2] a devout man who feared God with all his household, gave alms generously to the people, and prayed continually to God. [3] About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God come in and say to him, “Cornelius.” [4] And he stared at him in terror and said, “What is it, Lord?” And he said to him, “Your prayers and your alms have ascended as a memorial before God. [5] And now send men to Joppa and bring one Simon who is called Peter. [6] He is lodging with one Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the sea.” [7] When the angel who spoke to him had departed, he called two of his servants and a devout soldier from among those who attended him, [8] and having related everything to them, he sent them to Joppa.[9] The next day, as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the housetop about the sixth hour to pray. [10] And he became hungry and wanted something to eat, but while they were preparing it, he fell into a trance [11] and saw the heavens opened and something like a great sheet descending, being let down by its four corners upon the earth. [12] In it were all kinds of animals and reptiles and birds of the air. [13] And there came a voice to him: “Rise, Peter; kill and eat.” [14] But Peter said, “By no means, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean.” [15] And the voice came to him again a second time, “What God has made clean, do not call common.” [16] This happened three times, and the thing was taken up at once to heaven.God is no respector of persons. The Church and gospel goes to all tribes, and times and nations, and we see here the ceremonial law is repealed, and there is a simpleness to the church that allows it to go to every tribe, tongue, and nation. As the bible is translated, and people worship Jesus around the world. And this chapter shows this expanding and Peter is amazed at it. And he is going to a man he previously may have liked, respected, but would never have eaten with, would never had said oh I need to tell him about Jesus.Look in V. 17-28.[17] Now while Peter was inwardly perplexed as to what the vision that he had seen might mean, behold, the men who were sent by Cornelius, having made inquiry for Simon’s house, stood at the gate [18] and called out to ask whether Simon who was called Peter was lodging there. [19] And while Peter was pondering the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Behold, three men are looking for you. [20] Rise and go down and accompany them without hesitation, for I have sent them.” [21] And Peter went down to the men and said, “I am the one you are looking for. What is the reason for your coming?” [22] And they said, “Cornelius, a centurion, an upright and God-fearing man, who is well spoken of by the whole Jewish nation, was directed by a holy angel to send for you to come to his house and to hear what you have to say.” [23] So he invited them in to be his guests. The next day he rose and went away with them, and some of the brothers from Joppa accompanied him. [24] And on the following day they entered Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends. [25] When Peter entered, Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and worshiped him. [26] But Peter lifted him up, saying, “Stand up; I too am a man.” [27] And as he talked with him, he went in and found many persons gathered. [28] And he said to them, “You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a Jew to associate with or to visit anyone of another nation, [ Insert explain 24-28: Cornelius knows there is something Peter has to say that he and all his family needs…God is showing Peter that he intends the gospel for Everyone. And we are culminating what the entire Old Testament has been leading to: The messiah is going to bring the nations into the family of God.]V. 28b...but God has shown me that I should not call any person common or unclean. [29] So when I was sent for, I came without objection. I ask then why you sent for me.”Here is where we move from thinking about how great a Centurion this man is. He, like all of us, need a greater thing than merely good governance. That is a blessing, but there is a greater and a higher blessing we need than to have a good political situation…#3. The Limits of Common Grace — Cornelius Still Needs the Gospel. (Acts 10:30–33).[30] And Cornelius said, “Four days ago, about this hour, I was praying in my house at the ninth hour, and behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing [31] and said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your alms have been remembered before God. …v..32 Send therefore to Joppa and ask for Simon who is called Peter. He is lodging in the house of Simon, a tanner, by the sea.’ [33] So I sent for you at once, and you have been kind enough to come. Now therefore we are all here in the presence of God to hear all that you have been commanded by the Lord.”Despite all his virtues, Cornelius receives a message from God: “Send to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter”(10:5).His prayers and alms “ascended as a memorial before God” (10:4), but they were not enough to save him.WCF 23 does not teach salvation through moral order or government, but insists magistrates serve only a temporary and limited earthly role; salvation belongs to Christ alone. Why do we need more than this?Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”Cornelius’ story proves the need for gospel proclamation, even to the most upright citizen.He is a good Centurion.He seems to pray to god generally every day.But he doesn’t have Jesus.He may be trusting in his prayers. He may be trusting in how good a Centurion he is. He may be trusting in the fact his family likes him. His neighbors like him.He may have a religious bumper sticker. WWJD.He may listen to family-friendly music on the radio, and can say my grandmother went to church.But there they are gathered with Peter Who standing there a little embarrassed and hesitant to say it…Aren’t we embarrassed to say to our good almost-Christian neighbors…that they are dead in their trespasses in sins and they need to take their sins to Jesus in sorrow for the wrong and the hurt and the offense to the Just and living God of the universe.If you searched Cornelius’ heart there is still plenty of violation of God’s good and just standards to condemn him as in some way harming humans made in God’s image and himself having lived as his own autonomous little GodJonathan Edwards - “The smallest sin has infinite demerit, because it is against an infinite God… Nothing short of the righteousness of Christ can answer its guilt.”— Miscellanies, no. 339John Owen “There is no death of sin without the death of Christ… There is no pardon of sin without the blood of Christ.”There are only two ways that God’s justice can be satisfied with respect to your sin. Either you satisfy it or Christ satisfies it. You can satisfy it by being banished from God’s presence forever. Or you can accept the satisfaction that Jesus Christ has made.” - R.C. SproulRight now Cornelius has not yet looked outside of himself to satisfy God.So #3. The Limits of Common Grace — Cornelius Still Needs the Gospel[#4] Look in v. 34 We need point #4. The Gospel Proclaimed — Christ as Lord and Judge (Acts 10:34–43)Peter takes a deep breath and looks into the eyes of all these wonderful neighbors and says, v. 34“Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. As for the word that he sent to Israel, preaching good news of peace through Jesus Christ (he is Lord of all), [37] you yourselves know what happened throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee after the baptism that John proclaimed: [38] how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. [39] And we are witnesses of all that he did both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree, [40] but God, But God, raised him on the third day and made him to appear, not to all the people but to us who had been chosen by God as witnesses [the apostles. Who to a man either died or were exiled for this truth],[those apostles] who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. [42] And he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead. [43] To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”The state bears the sword (Rom. 13:4), but only Christ saves sinners. The state restrains evil; Christ redeems souls.#5. The Spirit Falls — True Salvation in Christ (Acts 10:44–48)The Holy Spirit Falls on the Gentiles (44-48).[44] While Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word [belief comes from hearing the Apostolic Message. Which we now have with the death of the apostles in the finished word the bible].v.45 And the believers from among the circumcised who had come with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out even on the Gentiles. [46] For they were hearing them speaking in tongues [languages] and extolling God. Then Peter declared, [47] “Can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” [48] And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to remain for some days.[To remain to disciple them and teach them the more completely about Christ and salvation in him.]As Peter preaches, the Spirit falls on Cornelius and his household. All true believers are brought into the family of God by being born again and made alive by Holy Spirit who in the new covenant fills his people and produces in them the fruit of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is not just for the Super Christians. And we see Pentecost in Jerusalem and Here as UNIQUE events the bible told us to expect.Now ordinarily all believers receive the Spirit when they are first brought into the family of God.God continues to save by the Word of the Gospel Preached and the Spirit changes hearts, uniting us to Christ.They are baptized into Christ, showing that Faith in Jesus — not morality or civic good — is the true door to God’s kingdom.Faith not in faith. But in Christ Jesus’ death on the cross for YOU.They Respond in Faith.They Publicly profess this faith. And are joyfully and fully brought into the church and visibly signed and sealed as members of the covenant of grace by BaptismPeter goes back and reports on them being added to the church.Once again we are not to delay responding to the Gospel, for the day of salvation is always Today…if you say maybe, or tomorrow, it may be never. For you do not know the day or hour of your death.Our neighbors may be “good” citizens, admired and upright – Even the best government leaders— but without Christ, they remain lost. We must hold together respect for their civic good and boldness in evangelism.Pray: Thank you lord for the good gifts of government and not just chaos and anarchy. But Lord we know they cannot save. Lord I pray that each of us would embrace or be renewed in our trust in the gospel to save. Like Cornelius Lord we need Christ to cover our sins, and to be filled by your Spirit. Bless us as we love our neighbors and give us opportunities to speak of Christ to them. In Jesus Name Amen.Benediction This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jamesensley.substack.com

Peter has been teaching us to rest in our Living Hope Jesus Christ seated in heaven. That we have been born again and are secure in the life we have in Christ Jesus. In Chapter 3 he has been saying that We may suffer for righteousness’ sake “it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will than for doing evil.” Se we are called to live as a family of God, brothers and sisters. Christ will be the Lord of our lives, the Lord our loves, and the anchor of the big picture living Hope that we are both body and soul, and that though we might suffer trials on earth for following Christ he will bring us all the way home.Today we will see that the suffering of Jesus on the cross takes away our sin. And the humility of Jesus gave way as our resurrected Lord to glory. And a glorious proclamation that Jesus is our Lord and our God. The Holy Spirit will be held up as the one who empowers the proclamation of Jesus’ life and victory as well as the proclamation that instead of Judgement our lives can be hidden in Christ. If we are brought to God by the Holy Spirit and united to Christ we will be made alive by the Spirit no less than Jesus is.Read 1 Peter 3:18-22 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, [19] in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, [20] because they formerly did not obey, when God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water. [21] Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, [22] who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him. (ESV)Again Pastor Doriani reminds us, The passage is a cousin of 1 Peter 2:18-25. Both present Jesus as the supreme example of the innocent man who endures mistreatment. In 1 Peter 2, Jesus suffers injustice and entrusts himself to God. In 1 Peter 3, Jesus suffers for doing good and experiences God's vindication. In each passage, Jesus both illustrates and empowers righteous action. Yet whereas 1 Peter 2 accents Jesus' sacrifice, 1Peter 3 calls attention to his resurrection, exaltation, and power over all (3:21-22), (Doriani, 147).#1 Clear: Jesus’ Suffering and Vindication (v.18, 22)#2 Unclear Passages and What to do with them: 3 Views of our passage (19-21)#3 Its Going to be Ok: Jesus Saves Sinners. Jesus Wins. (18, 21, 22).#1 Clear: Jesus’ suffering and vindication[18] For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God[[22] who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God [he has obeyed], with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him. (ESV)‘Jesus suffered – to save us from our sins, reconcile us to God (bring us to God). He was put to death but did not stay dead because God the Father resurrected him as he promised to and Jesus had predicted. And he has finished his work. He has sat down. Ceased from work. Sitting down means its done. (Such as a father when the recliner is sat in…except for earthly father’s sometimes its not actually done.). But for the regal king of the universe when he sits. Its done.[18] For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the [S]pirit,#2 Peter is going to give an Example – and there is a lot of interpretations of it. So we move to #2 Unclear passages and what to do with them: 3 Views of our passageWe can be greatly disturbed if we don’t understand every word. Everything the bible says, but a few considerations.The bible has great clarity as we just saw with who Jesus is, what he accomplished. If you look at the core statements of belief the apostles creed, and great protestant confessions we agree on huge and primary beliefs.And often even beyond that important are precious distinctive insights of protestant and reformational theology that may be agreed on…But even then we may agree on a scriptural truth and yet differ on which exact passages teach that truth.Often God blesses us with a truth clearly stated in 2 or three scriptures.So so when you come come to a confusing passage you can rely on the clear as guardrails on the unclear. Think of bowling with the guardrails up. We have the clear passages of scripture on the one side. We have our confessional creeds and standards on the others side. And 1 Peter do is a 7 10 split. Its ok, bowl you may miss both pins, get one, but you will be guarded from ending up in the gutters of heresies.So for this passage you have at least 2 perfectly acceptable interpretations. Each of which agrees with other clear areas of Scripture.But there is one interpretation that includes teaching on purgatory and second chances after death. Which takes roman catholic tradition and uses an unclear passage as a passage to not get the teaching but as the mold to press a human tradition pressed unnaturally into a scripture passage.This is saying, We have a belief, even a false belief and we’ll find a scripture verse we can make say that.No. Let clear scripture be the guide for unclear scriptures.WCF 1.9 The infallible rule of interpretation of Scripture is the Scripture itself: and therefore, when there is a question about the true and full sense of any Scripture (which is not many, but one), it must be searched and known by other places that speak more clearly.”Its ok to not know for certain what an individual passage means. But it does a single meaning. Many applications and was given for our good.Even Peter says of Paul’s letters, 2 Peter 3:16 - There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures.Ha. Really Peter.The unstable use this passage to teach. Purgatory/Second Chance after death. And Baptism as what saves us. Both are false from clear places in scripture and this passage itself.Dan Doriani encourages us “If we read the passage in context and hold to the essentials of the faith we will at least avoid major error.” – Doriani, 147.Three options #1 Christ descended to Hades to preach to the dead (suggesting a second chance). #2 Christ through the Holy Spirit, proclaimed in Noah’s day to the disobedient and the Lord preserved his people through a type of “baptism” in the Ark. #3 Christ resurrection was proclaimed triumphantly to fallen angels/demons/spirits in prison.View #1 Christ descended to Hades to preach to the dead (traditional patristic reading, but problematic in Reformed theology if taken as a postmortem offer of repentance).The passage does not say Jesus descended. – It mentions proclaiming in the days of Noah, it mentions his ascension to Heaven. So to whomever Jesus spoke it was either in time Proclamation of Judgement and need for Repentance in the Days of Noah. OR A Proclamation of his victory from Heaven.The word for prison phulake – is not Hades, Gehenna so not hell or purgatory meaning.Its orthodox if this is just a proclamation of victory by Jesus.This isn’t a second chance, this isn’t purgatory. Luke 16, indicates a finality to the death of the reach man “a great chasm has been fixed. No second chances. He will be judged on the last day as Heb. 9:27 says, “It is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment” (No mention of probation, paying of sins by saints…two things here).Unbelievers do not get second chances. Believers do not have remaining sin to pay for or righteousness to gain why? The full final work of Christ. Double imputation. I have no more to pay because Jesus paid it fully on the cross. I have no lack in righteousness because Rom. 3:22-24 Romans 3:22–24 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: [23] for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, [24] and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, (ESV)Purgatory is an invention of those who believe our works save us it just might take a few thousand years for us to do it. No. It is Done. It is accomplished by Jesus.Heb. 10:14 “By a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.”Rom. 8:1 there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.The question is are you in Christ Jesus?So Jesus is not preaching second chances, he is not in purgatory, he is not preaching2 Cor. 6:2 NOW, is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.View #2 Christ, through the Spirit, proclaimed in Noah’s day to the disobedient (the most common Reformed interpretation, following Augustine and Calvin).This view observes that the end of v. 18 and beginning of v. 19 that the word spirit can be capital S or lowercase sSo either made Alive in. his human spirit or alive by the Power of the Spirit of Christ, the Holy Spirit.Either works with Greek grammer. And you should have a footnote.This would change the wordsThis means v. 19 can be translated as “In Which” he went or By Whom – In which would mean Jesus’ resurrected body.The word Spirit as the capital Holy Spirit is the NKJV translation. And also the KJV capitalizes Spirit).So Grammar allows for either interpretation?SO what are we to do? Use Context.Such as 1 Peter 1:10–11 Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, [11] inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. (ESV)So already Peter has said in Old Testament times “the Spirit of Christ … the Holy Spirit spoke through the prophets,” and Peter says in, 2 Pet. 2:5 that Noah was a “herald of righteousness.”Futher, Hebrews 11:7 says, [7] By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.So humans lost in sin need a herald like Noah to call them to repentance. Which Jesus truly did by the Holy Spirit. But in this suffering, proclamation only Noah’s family was saved.So we can see Peter telling us, you suffer for righteousness sake, set Jesus apart in your heart and proclaim Jesus to the world like Noah did. Don’t worry God will save you.Why is Peter doing any of this? He wants us to see the riches of grace and our great deliverance by God through the sufferings and resurrection of Jesus. And he wants us to see how it connects.To paraphrase Christ died, but was raised by the Holy Spirit. (We’ve been talking about witnesses to Christ as a righteous sufferer this reminds me that By that same Holy Spirit, Christ preached through Noah to the disobedient of his generation.Noah’s family, a tiny persecuted minority like you exiles, were saved through water while the ungodly perished.Baptism corresponds to this as a sign: it is not outward washing, but a Spirit-wrought appeal to God for a good conscience, uniting us to Christ’s resurrection.The emphasis is of this view is on covenantal continuity between the suffering and perseverance of the Old testament people, Jesus, and us, Why? Christ has always been proclaiming his Word by the Spirit, and baptism is a sign of the work of God to save us through Christ Jesus. There are rescues by arks, there are rescues by Christ and baptism is that sign.What about us: Just as Noah’s small family endured in faith and was vindicated, so too the church under persecution can endure, knowing baptism testifies that they belong to Christ and will be brought safely through final judgment.All these things are true. And we don’t need These verses to know this….BUT maybe the S in Spirit should be lowercase and maybe it is not by whom but by which.And Peter is saying…View #3 Christ’s resurrection was proclaimed triumphantly after his resurrection to fallen angels/demonic spirits.Christ suffered and died in his human flesh, but was made alive in his spirit, his resurrection.In that risen state he proclaims victory to the “spirits in prison” and many believe this means hostile angelic powers).Spirits plural usually does not refer to humans which would be souls such as in Revelation which mentions the human souls under the alter.Imprisoned does not mean Jesus has to travel anywhere rather than make the proclamation to the bound and imprisoned fallen angels.Matt. 12:28-29 – if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you…or again, how can anyone enter a strong man’s house and carry of his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man?Jesus has proclaimed his victory. Satan is bound in some manner that he was not before the cross of Christ.We know from Jesus’ conversation with the thief on the cross that he ascended to Paradise for this proclamation (Luke 24:34, 46).And the Holy Spirit is part of the resurrection power and proclamation of victory.So then why the Noah Analogy?Just as Noah and his family were saved through water when judgment fell, so believers are saved through baptism into Christ’s resurrection life and victory.Baptism “now saves you..Not water on the skin but… through the resurrection of Jesus Christ” (v. 21).This reminds us less of the work of the Holy Spirit but of Baptism pointing to our union with the risen Christ.And with this view we can say isn’t a theme of Peter’s already been in chapter one about our living hope in the resurrected Jesus?So how does this apply to you? In this reading.Suffering Christians can be assured that the Christ who triumphed over all hostile powers will likewise bring them safely through judgment into resurrection life. Baptism is God’s seal of that promise.Peter says in 1 Peter, There are some things in paul’s writings that are hard to understand…But we conform ourselves to the whole teaching of scripture. And it is beautiful that even if we are unsure that we know that Jesus wins. And in fact that either of these second two views have teachings that are clearly scriptural.For my Part I think Peter means that Jesus was resurrected by the Power of the Holy Spirit. And by this same Holy Spirit he preached in the days of Noah and those who ignored this preaching are imprisoned in judgement after having died in the flood…Look in v. 1 One caution, a final twisting of scripture that can happen is taking this little phrase “baptism which now saves you” and stopping reading….If you are confused in your bible often the answer is keep reading. And then re-read carefully.1 Peter 3 v. 21. Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you,… not as a removal of dirt from the body [not the ceremony] but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, [right faith in Christ] through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, [22] who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him. (ESV)The flood was an old covenant example of being saved by God’s sheer grace. And Noah as a representative head included his whole household in this this picture. Remember Heb. 11:7 , in reverent fear [Noah] constructed an ark for the saving of his householdSo you have a large scale examples like the Flood and Ark, Exodus and Israel through the red see. You also have covenant signs like Circumcision. And Baptism.Baptism is a water example …But the water and sign, which might symbolize cleansing by the removal of dirt doesn’t save you. According to vs. 21 if we keep reading what actually saves you?What does save you is an appeal to GodWhat is a good conscience? The one who has repented of sin and looked to Jesus for salvation.God has accepted the death of Jesus and sealed it with his approval by the resurrectionV. 22 is saying that Jesus has gone before us making the way as our living hope seated in heaven. He becomes the fore-runner, the prototype, the one who is able to “sit down” showing it is “Finished” it is down.Now all spiritual authority is Christ’s. Satan has been defeated. The Kingdom of God has been purchased, and we are being brought into it.If like Noah, we entrust our salvation by faith to Jesus, we will be brought through the flood of judgement.Therefore, baptism is placing us under the sign of judgment trusting God to bring us through the judgement safely by his sheer mercy because we are united to Jesus by faith and are a part of his covenant people.We see this sign of needing to individually trust in God being applied to the covenant community inAs we said to Noah and his household.To Israel as a community in Exodus with the Red Sea Crossing (1 Cor. 10:1-2 “For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea.”).Circumcision is a sign of this as well (Abraham believed God and received the sign of the covenant, and it was placed on the covenant community as a sign) But Isaac, Jacob, and all the children needed to exercise individual faith. and this sign becomes baptism in the New Testament. Which Col. 2:11-12 teaches.So does Baptism save? No. It is a sign of salvation, not the washing of water but faith in Christ.Because #3 Jesus Saves Sinners. Jesus Won.[18] For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God,Verse [22] Jesus has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God [he has obeyed], with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him. (ESV)Jesus Saves Sinners by his work on the cross, by the work of the Holy Spirit in Proclamation and Application of Jesus’ work. The Reality of the sign of baptism not just the symbol.What is the reality? Regneration being, re-alived-again. Before the work of the Holy Spirit you were dead in your sins. Sin spiritually kills the human heart and our fellowship with God. To be united to Christ we needed to be regenerated by the Holy Spirit. We needed to be born again.If you have not repented of all the wrongs, the sin, the shames if your life then today, You need a cleansed heart and forgiveness of sin you need the finished work of Christ and him seated in heaven.Titus 3:4–7 [4] But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, [5] he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, [6] whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, [7] so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. (ESV)You must appeal to a loving heavenly Father of perfect Justice against sin by appealing to the finished work of Christ.Then resting in Christ by faith We can be certain it is finished.In the coming weeks Peter will continue in Chapter 4 by saying, saved sons and daughter of God, let’s get to copying how Jesus lived his humble life on earth before the glory of Heaven, the glory of sitting in victory.God will raise and vindicate us. It will be by the power of the Holy Spirit. And we will bear the signs of a covenant community, brothers and sisters in Christ. Baptized. Eating the Lord’s Supper together.Peter likes to circles back again to how these truths of our salvation and the work of the Spirit transform how we suffer and interact with the world. He is shuffling a deck of cards (gospel left hand), (transformed lives by the HS, right hand). The best way to live a joyful life of transforming grace.Prayer |Benediction This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jamesensley.substack.com

Peter moves from talking about people in very particular circumstances, servants, husbands, wives, authorities, back to talking about all believers generally. Peter is teaching us how people saved by Christ ought to resemble Christ. This affects both how we treat people within the Church and the way we answer questions about our Faith to the world.1 Peter 3:8-17 [8] Finally, all of you, have unity of mind [spirit], sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart [compassionate], and a humble mind. [9] Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing. [10] For“Whoever desires to love lifeand see good days,let him keep his tongue from eviland his lips from speaking deceit;[11] let him turn away from evil and do good;let him seek peace and pursue it.[12] For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,and his ears are open to their prayer.But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”1. Family Traits: resembling Christ (v. 8-12)2. The Heart that cannot be Harmed: Shielded by a Holy Hope (v.13-17).How do you know someone is part of a family?Family Traits, may be physical traits, habits, attitudes, or accents. Some traits we are born with, any parents frequently answer oh they were born loving music, or quiet, or whatever personality givens the Lord shaped them to have. But other like what genre you listen to are often inherited from a parent. SO certainly we all are a combination of how God created us, and yes are fallenness, given sin struggles, we are family patterns, and habits, but at the end of the day usually there are traits that set us apart as a member of a family, or as is sometimes the case, a member of a region of the country…A particular sub-culture.vv. 8-12 Says there are Family Traits for those who belong to the Kingdom of God. The Family of Christ, to the Church. Let’s unpack positively what those are and negatively what those are NOT in vv. 8-12. Together these traits will be key to fulfill our call to a life of blessing others.Look in v. 8. 5 Traits that form A United and Humble Mind that has + Sympathy, love, tenderness, and humility (v.8)A united humble mind -is lowering ourselves off our high pedestal. Philippians says this is a willingness to consider others before yourself. This is the mind of Christ that unites us in the Holy Spirit. And 1 Cor. 2:16 promises that We HAVE the mind of Christ.We are humble because Christ was humble. We love because God first loved us, we offer sympathy and tenderness because that is our God and that is Christ’s response to both sufferers, sinners, and his disciples.We have A sympathetic tenderness. We care when brothers and sisters suffer. We feel for and are responsive to others sufferings..Now, this is not simply empathy that is willing to abandon all conviction, and be easily manipulated by the squeaky wheel. This isn’t consensus community where we only do something if everyone feels good about it. Christians can and must act with conviction, flowing from the authoritative and sufficient word of God.And given how opposed Christian morals are to society, occasionally our stance must cause discomfort. In others. We must be willing to cross “the pain threshold of societal shame, the being unashamed of the gospel, unashamed of christ, and unashamed of the bibles teaching.All communities have guidelines for what sympathy is beneficial and what sympathy is nursing harmful sin patterns.So sympathy towards suffering. Sympathy towards the suffering caused by sin, but not sympathy that shelters sin. we do not harbor sin in our sympathy.In general, there is a willingness to as Peter David’s says, “to care deeply about fellow-Christians so that the suffering of one becomes the suffering of the other. Christians are emotionally involved with each other.”Even if emotions shouldn’t be the deciding driver. Sympathy is in the context of unity of mind and love. But not just any love this actually isn’t agape love. It is Philadelphia love. Not the city. But as its named the city of brotherly love aspirationally. With brotherly love, we can say “seeks the others highest good ultimately.”But there is true and warm-affectionI use the word affection sometimes to say like a warm emotion, but more permanent and less fleeting.affection is a permanent bent of the mind, formed by the presence of an object. a settled good will, love or zealous attachment; as, the affection of a parent for his child. – Webster 1828Dan Doriani helpfully says of this love that. Romans 12:10; 1 Thessalonians 4:9; Hebrews 13:1; and 1 Peter 3:8 all bless and command brotherly, affectionate love. The apostles blessed tender affection between friends and family members. When Christians say that agapè is the highest form of love because it is Godlike and dispassionate, they probably mean that love for enemies is noble and amazing, which it is. And agapè is often the term for God's love for unattractive sinners. But God wants, even expects, us to feel affection for each other. And we can show affection in a warm embrace and in acts of kindness. In short, love is not essentially dispassionate. (Doriani, 1 Peter, 127)Look in v. 9 again. – Restrains: evil4evil; revenge reviling (v.9a)Christians are not in the revenge business. (Distress of the amount of “anti-heroes” now instead of arch-type aspirational heroes. The Christian must ask in humility am I seeking revenge and my own pride or am I humbly defending a principle, person, or place? Am I repaying evil for evil? Or Am I defending good from evil? Ask the Lord for the wisdom and humility to discern.Similarly? When are you speaking up for yourself? Vs. When are you flattering others, and when have you started, reviling that is abusing, and insulting?The hint is probably from v. 8 – revilers are not feeling sympathy or empathy for other person, they are not speaking eye to eye to a brother or sister from a humble heart. No, they are winning. They are in verbal combat and in the words of Davy Crockett it will be “no holds barred”Every blow repaid in kind. Every angle to hurt considered. This manner of response is off-limits for the Christian. If you want to “get even” as a Christian you only have one route reminds Pastor Ed Clowney “This is how Christians 'get even'. They pay back evil with good, insults with blessing. This, of course, was the teaching of Jesus, as well as his example (2:23). But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven' (Matt. 5:44-45). Christians are free from vindictiveness because they trust God's justice; but they are free for blessing because they know God's goodness. (Clowney, 1 Peter, 111).We may defend. We may even answer evil we will see. But we seek a bigger picture than any individual spat. We seek to bless the other person and bring them to conviction of sin and to a relationship with Christ Jesus. And so we may win the fight but lose the soul if it becomes about us and not others.You teachers have probably experienced A moment where your anger drove your response and discipline, not the wisely thought-through class policy, but a reviling (insulting) student gets you reviling (insulting) in return.As with other cases, the answer is not simply “don’t do this” It is instead the expulsive power of a greater affection. A higher goal in our minds. We need that higher goal of turning a natural moment to berate into a moment to bless…Now this may very well be receiving repercussions and justice and discipline of some kind as a blessing but not reviling… (Lord help me here).Look in verse 9 again, More than not reviling…on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing.In the Kingdom of God we seek to speak blessings to each other. Peter Davids “[blessing’ is a concrete way of forgiving offending persons and doing good to them, just as God does.” (Davids, 1 Peter).“the words of the fool wound. The words of the wise bring healing.” (Prov. Par.)We have BEEN blessed by God in Christ Jesus. SO we ought to BLESS others with what we have received.Jesus tells us in Luke 6:27-28 “But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those whohateyou, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.Illustration cited by Karen Jobes: Soldier chucking his shoes at the guy in the barracks reading his bible – polishes the guys shoes and sets them out in the morning. He was reviled. He blessed in return. (Jobes, 1 Peter, Brazos Press).Just because the internet and internet comments exists doesn’t mean Jesus stuttered when he gave this command. Just because the other political party is literally Mao or Hitler doesn’t mean Jesus stuttered in Luke 6.We have been saved by christ Jesus and brought into his kingdom his family so bearing the traits of Jesus we bless others with the overflow of the kingdom of God in Christ Jesus. Those are outside of the kingdom and lost but that doesn’t mean the light can’t shine from the city on a hill.Peter ECHOES Jesus’ teaching and also illustrates it with Psalm 34:12-16 on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing. [Then Peter cites Psalm 34 For “Whoever desires to love life and see good days,let him keep his tongue from eviland his lips from speaking deceit;[11] let him turn away from evil and do good;let him seek peace and pursue it.[12] For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,and his ears are open to their prayer.But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”Verses 10 Asks the questions? What is life and good days? – Answer, The eternal life we have secure in Christ. Which we have now as believers.It is verse 12, Knowing – God watches over us in our pursuit of “the paths of righteousness”Knowing – God listens to the prayers of those who are “righteous” (v.12b)Righteous how? Ultimately – righteous in Christ Jesus. Filled with the Spirit. A New creation that is being sanctified to live according to who we were born again to be.Transition. Peter gives an additional reminder that God watches over us. And that ultimately evil will be punished to a conclusion in vv.13-17. That our Hearts are safe in Christ Jesus#2 The Heart that cannot be Harmed, Shielded by a Holy Hope (13-17, we’ll start with 13-15).[13] Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? [14] But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, [15] but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respectWhat is Ultimate perspective of “harm” found in verse 13? I believe it is the perspective of H.C. 1.That I am not my own, 1 but belong with body and soul, both in life and in death, 2 to my faithful Saviour Jesus Christ. 3 He has fully paid for all my sins with his precious blood, 4 and has set me free from all the power of the devil. 5 He also preserves me in such a way 6 that without the will of my heavenly Father not a hair can fall from my head; 7 indeed, all things must work together for my salvation. (H.C. Question 1).Suffering in this life is not the ultimate “harm.” What good does it do a man to gain the world but lose his soul? We take a longer perspective.Therefore, (v. 14) Do not be “troubled” (v. 14). When you do suffer. And we have talked about how we are following Christ. We desire to suffer for good and not for evil. So all the Family traits, the ways to bless others do not garuntee good treatment. So we we do suffer…How do we suffer, when people harm us on earth despite our humble lives? We imitate Christ. We set Christ apart in our heart.One response to suffering. One Response to those who ask our hope verse 15 “Honor you Christ in your heart as Your Holy Lord.” That is as Peter Davids says, “when abuse from non-Chrisian masters, husbands, and neighbors happens you are blessed. And you then respond with the hope in you.”Peter Cites Isa. 8:13 which is about the LORD God. And says, set Jesus as your Lord apartin your heart. That is to say, Peter in this writing quite clearly believes that Jesus is his Creator God. And so gives the building block of Jesus as the divine second person of the trinity. So once again. Our hope is that Jesus is our God. And that he took on flesh a true human nature, died for us, dealt with sin and death, and is alive ruling and reigning as our Messiah and our God who saved us from our sins. That is the Hope that is within us filling our heart, our mind, our loves, controlling what we believe, how we speak, how we live. Because he is our Life itself!Be ready to give a reason (apologia) for the hope that is within you.Be ready to offer Christ as Savior and Lord to others. The gospel as good news. The biblical worldview as your life view that has Jesus at the center of it. Jesus explaining God, yourself, salvation, the bible, the world, and history to you and everyone. Jesus as the Lord of your ethics, your job, your family, your worship, your time, your schedule, your habits, and in and through it all.“the hope that is within you” is simply your faith in Christ. The Gospel. What you believe as the good deposit from the apostles and found in the whole of the bible.Do it in gentleness and love (not arrogantly, seeking intellectual scalps or with a smug spiritual and moral superiority.)Arrogant, cage-stage, young mans sins…or a “how dare no ever have told me these things before” reaction in college when you finally get your Christian intellectual ducks in a row.You need not be intellectually arrogant while being gentle and providing thorough answers. You need not be harsh while standing firm and unyielding to the truthGentleness and love is what Christ asks of our conversations with unbelievers.(Surviving Religions 101 by Michael Kruger is you want an apologetic book.). Or Why Should I believe Christianity are excellent introductions…Look in vv. 16-17 having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. [17] For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil. (ESV)Even if they slander and revile, if they reject your answer for your HOPE, your conviction that this world is more than matter, more than vague spirituality, that you know the broad brushstrokes of history and what God has revealed in his word. Even if all these hopes are rejected…Peter reminds us that Nothing in your actions should dishonor Christ or Bring shame on Christ’s name.He has just been talking to powerless servants, wives with unbelieving husbands, those who are having spiritual conversations with those in authority. Or perhaps just in the marketplace, as dinner, with a neighbor.In all these relationships we as a community ought to support one another to do everything froma humble and loving mind. So that both as individuals and as a body any suffering we have is for Christ not for evil or arrogance from us.Let us not suffer for Arrogance. Evil. Harshness. Nor let us not suffer Ignorance of our hope, Unthoughtful hope.A Christ that isn’t Lord. Scripture that isn’t Holy. Worship that doesn’t express a deeper transcendent hope and purpose. A Conscience that has been corrupted by the morals of the world so that the salt loses its saltiness. The light loses its brightness and no one would view us as being a distinct hopeful people with a zeal for capital go Good. That shows their is a hope that those who have united mind in Christ Jesus distinctly have.All these things are gifts and fruits of the Spirit purchased by Christ and given to us. He ascended in order to pour out the spirit.(v. 16) your good behavior in ChristThis is Gospel fruit not legalism. Therefore, good behavior that flows from spiritual strength in Christ. Therefore, the right and wrong is determined by the Law of Christ.With the result that others will be ashamed if they do revile us because we have not reviled, we have answered kindly, and we have blessed and not cursed. And then we know our suffering is the providential decision of our Lord. Not our own sin bring ruin on our heads. This can only come by being united to Christ and bearing the Fruit of the Holy Spirit.: It is Spiritual fruit not fleshly effort.Galatians 5:22–25 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, [23] gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. [24] And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. [25] If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. (ESV)If we live by the Spirit let us be strengthened as the Body of Christ as a fruitful outpost of the Kingdom of God.· Pray for Divine Appointments.· Pray for Conversations with Neighbors.And until those conversations happen let us be strengthened. And return to all of you, have unity of mind [spirit], sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart [compassionate], and a humble mind, and bless one another.PrayBenediction This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jamesensley.substack.com

First, Broad Credit to Pastor Kevin Deyoung. I have taught on these verses previously and I want to credit everything good to him and acknowledge. Everyone ought to read his articles and books on this topic. Specifically chapter 5 of Men and Women in the Church: A Short, Biblical, Practical Introduction which is an exposition of Ephesians 5.Second, Since it is a singular verse that gives two really broad principles dwell with understanding, show honor, given three principles about your wife. We will pull in broader principles from numerous other bible passage on husbands.Third, if you are not married. We can say, in different areas of your life you have leadership, care, and act as a Brother and Father spiritually. So through the years I have had several godly men and elders who were not husbands and fathers to individual families, but they were husbands and fathers to their Church, the broader church, their place of work, and their community. The Apostle Paul himself seems to fit this category. While Peter appears to have a wife and family. This may be why Peter’s instructions are so brief and practical and Paul reflects to the theological root a little more than Peter.Lastly, Sisters, please see the relevance of thinking about slightly less than 50% of the population. And being able to reason wisely on what a godly man or husband Is.Read: 1 Peter 3:7 Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered. (ESV)Four Questions today.#1 Why Just One Verse?#2 What is dwelling with Understanding?#3 How is Honor shown?#4 How to love like Jesus loves the Church?Why Just one verse? Peter spends 6 verses on the occasion when only the wife is a believer because she was socially vulnerable. Now, because the husband’s position was less socially vulnerable if only he was a believer. Peter is Briefer but this one verse is still necessary because Peter wants the Leader, the head of the home to use his authority wisely and to be a blessing as a believer. So that the watching world could see how the Christian husband leads his home with Faith & Love both when his wife believes and when she does not believe.Kevin DeYoung notes that in Ephesians 5 The Commands are at the specific points of fallenness. That is also our context of 1 Peter 3.So just as Peter sees how a good thing internal and external beauty can become twisted. And instead must be cultivated with godliness.Now Peter shows how a good thing – strength and leadership can become a bad thing, unthoughtful, inattentive, lack of leadership, and instead smug spiritual superiority and uncaring of your wife’s spiritual growth and good.So to correct our fallen distortions of Masculinity Peter, Paul, and Jesus command Husbands to several duties.Husbands are to live with their wives with love & honor. They are to lead, understand, provide, and protect their wives.This positive vision, if embraced, will be the good blessing that expels the curse of the fall.Two Principles of how this leadership and headship is entered into before we unpack this one verse.First, Remember, Marriage is VOLUNTARY, it is a good creational ordinance, it can even be said to be the statistical norm and vision for the majority of people and good. But at the end of the day – As Jesus says, there is no marriage in heaven (Matt. 22:23–33; parallels in Mark 12:25). And Further, some are for a season, or for life called to singleness.For those who have voluntarily taken marriage vows to: to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for rich or for poor, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death us do part, according to God’s holy ordinance; and thereto I plight thee my faithful promise...And the wife takes the same vow but with the addition to obey…reflecting that The husband is the head of the wife. “as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands” (Eph. 5:24)Because of these two realities—the headship of the husband in the created order and the analogy of Christ and the church—the wife should freely submit to her husband.I say that to point out thatThe man is never told to submit the wife unto himself. Instead, the woman is told to submit herself unto her husband. It is a submission freely given, never forcibly taken.1) It is freely entered into in Marriage vows. And so should Always discussed in pre-marital counseling.#2 What is dwelling with Understanding?Peter says Live with your wives with understandingThis is Intentional presence, “doing life together”We neither want work obsessed never present husbands, nor do we want husbands so consumed with home they are unable to fulfill Work, Church, and community callings as well.Family, Church, Work, and Community are apsects…But our wives and families should not be sacrificed to a single other calling that has become an obsession.Further the command is to live - with your wives – You took vows to this one individual woman. So like a horse with blinders on fulfill this.But it is not live with your wives…by hiding away, never talking, helping, having family meetings, going over the budget together, or planning your future, priorities, family policies, or asking how she is doing. No. It is with UNDERSTANDING. Or another translation “Consideration” or “Study her until you understand her.”The old trope of “confusing women,” “men can’t understand women,” can be hurtfulYes, while holding the truth that Men and women often process relationships, problems, and priorities differentlyThis should never be an excuse to lazily not understand your wife or women in general.You both speak English. So study her by observation, Ask good questions, stop to listen, think about what blesses, benefits, harms you can remove, and simply have the conversation with her and other wise people until you have earned you PhD in your specific wife.A Second Component of Understanding means you must be growing in wisdom, knowledge of both the world – so understanding in how to care for and lead the physical household ANDsecond, spiritual wisdom how to lead and care for souls entrusted to you. What is spiritually healthy and sound doctrine. When to say, hey, I know that sounds good spiritually on the surface, but look here in the word, look at the gospel, Christ, sound doctrine.Kevin Deyoung says, Leading “in an understanding way” means taking responsibility to know your wife’s needs, spiritual condition, and context, and making decisions with her good in view. …Even as she seeks to follow as a Helpmate with your good in view.If you do so your prayers together your following Christ together will not be hindered but instead flourish.Right look at the end of verse 7, “That your prayers may not be hindered.”The call to “show honor” demands leadership that elevates rather than diminishes, good leaders both continue to grow themselves. to mature themselves. And as they grow and mature as leaders, they will cause those under their care to grow as well within their calling. This parallels Ephesians 5:23–24’s “headship with Christlike love.”So #2 dwelling with Understanding?Question #3 How is Honor shown?By honoring the weaker vessel.Not exactly the end of year trophy you want “most improved” “best defender” “weaker vessel”This phrase, this Idiom or expression, weaker vessel: Quite simply the phrase contrasts the fine china, a beautiful vase vs. the 5 gallon bucket.Both are beautifully co-heirs of grace. In Christ by faith. Equal in dignity.But you wouldn’t use the 5 gallon bucket to bring beauty, warmth, and the finishing touch to a home.Nor would you use the finer-vessel that vase to cart the water in in order to water the Ox as a farmer.One is for tea, or to serve medicine out of. The other is for hauling water or for when a pipe bursts.This doesn’t declare inherent weakness or a one size-fits all kind of strength in men and women but it does as we said last week create an eager posture to ask how does the good design of both internal and external beauty that can be strong complement the good design of internal and external strength.It is a real difference.It is a natural and scientific difference that is measurable.And when we ignore nature, when we watch 20 marvel movies where black widow weighs 120lbs and takes out 220lb Russian body builders we have left reality for a fantasy.But neither to we forget just how tough a pair a Farming Husband and Wife. Relative. Real Difference.And on the flip side, we kid ourselves if we ever think our good differences, strength and weaknesses ever mean we are not co-heirs in Christ Jesus with souls that will last forever.Two people who have equal value and dignity before their creator.You may go back and listen to what Peter had for godly wives precious in God’s sight last week’s sermon.For the next 15 Minutes are so let us drill down into wisdom for just how to lead and live with understanding.Or Asking #4 How are Husbands to love like Jesus loves the Church?If we are Following and Helping…What do you want? A Good leader.Followership imply? Leadership right? Maybe even worthwhile leadership we hope. Following Means…Responding to his initiative.If the verb for wives is support, respect, and follow. Then what comes to your mind from Ephesians 5, Matthew 19, Genesis 1-2, the various good husbands throughout scripture?The verbs for the husbands are: [1] lead, [2] sacrifice, and [3] care for them as Christ does for the church.This means men should be taking spiritual initiative to lead their home toEat Dinner together, Go to Church each Sunday, worship (pray, sing, read) together. Set the priorities of family goals for the good of your church, community, and family itself.This means men should lead with an understanding of how their leadership impacts their wives. (Talk, Pray, Talk, Pray through decisions. But the final call must be shouldered by the husband.In Ruth chapter 1. Elimelech moves his family from Bethlehem to Moab. He prioritized physical comfort over spiritual faithfulness. His sons married pagan wives, and he and all his sons died. The Lord worked through a poor decision to bring Ruth back, there is redemption, there is grace. But as you read Ruth 1, it is striking that it is considered poor leadership by Elimelech. In modern terms he moved for a better paying Job, but there were no good churches or community in the area. So a bigger house but spiritually poor house. Until Naomi leads her 1 daughter in law to the Lord God and we have redemption.SO #1 Lead: Taking the initiative over passivity.Husbands should always be thinking what the next right and godly thing the family should be engaged in and the spiritual goals for the family. Then the wife should heartily be helping to make it a vital reality.Think of the sadness of Peter in verses 1-6 of the wife with an unbelieving Husband. The unbelieving husband does not lead his family to church, he does not open the family bible, sing a song, pray with his wife and for his children.But in Verse 7. He studies his wife, he sees the spiritual needs as He takes the initiative to have his prayers and spiritual leadership unhindered.If a family is not regular in Worship on the Lord’s Day, and leading the Spiritual conversations of the home, the burden of responsibility falls on one person. (Now I didn’t say, all the factors involved fall on one person just the burden of leadership).Eph. 5:25-27 “Love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish”If husbands take this seriously they will cherish their wife’s growth in godliness & holiness. As well as their children.Caveat: Growing up, our bible time in the morning was pretty regular. 9AM every day. For some, I know car rides are the redeemed time. For some the breakfast table. For others it is immediately after dinner time – 3-5 nights a week…My dad, hugely faithful man. did NOT make family worship each evening. My family, its fits and starts with 3 littles.Joel Beeke has some advice here on how to do this. And I’ll be first in line to say, I am not as consistent as I desire to be BUT there are times and Seasons. God is gracious. We are but dust. And what an opportunity to open up the whole counsel of God with our Kids. Beeke’s Family Worship bible has excellent questions for each chapter of the bible.Alright, but what if you say, I am in high school, a retired empty nester, or not married: Personal government and responsibility before family government and responsibility.If this is not your stage of life bring these considerations ovto your personal bible time and fellowship where you study the word with other believers.A Man should be a blessing and building up the relationships around him while singleand while young. Find a place to be a leader in/and practice being a follower of other godly men!Sacrifice: Jesus died for the church. We practice Self-sacrificial leadershipAt base: doing things while tired but would rather not, but it’s the right thing to do.Come into rooms loving the people in the room by coming in sacrificially smiling and joyful even when tired.A worthy aspiration for Husbands is to with joyful strength bring warmth and safety in the family room in the evenings.Sacrifice is tangibly: being present at home, magnanimous (overlooking offenses), patient, honey-do-lists, co-laboring around the house.Dwelling with understanding means there is a flexible dance with care and chored.sometimes work does mean there are seasons of working long-hours and sacrificing at work for familysometimes there are health concerns. Or seasons with infants or kids with special needsDeYoung: “You may need to forfeit climbing the corporate ladder in order to be a decent husband. You may be called upon to give up your hopes and dreams in order to take care of your wife after she falls ill or is injured.” (71)Chrysostom: “Yea, even if it shall be needful for thee to give thy life for her, yea, and to be cut into pieces ten thousand times, yea, and to endure and undergo any suffering whatever,—refuse it not. Though thou shouldest undergo all this, yet wilt thou not, no not even then, have done anything like Christ.”4 [Lead, Sacrifice, and Care]Care: Cherish her as your own body (Eph. 5:28).She is your other half, your own flesh and bone. You don’t abuse your body; you build up, protect, and nourish it. Likewise, cherish and care for your wife. “Husbands, love your wives, and do not be harsh with them” (Col. 3:19).Implications for abusive husbands? John Calvin, “the man who does not love his wife, is a monster” – CalvinHonorable Men Provide: Food, clothing, security (emotional, spiritual, and physical)“there are worse things than men feeling deep within themselves that women are to be protected, not exploited, defended, not demeaned, and treated with special honor instead of nothing special whatsoever. “ (72)There is a dreadful dismissal of this in our day, seen in videos of men in anger justifying hitting a woman.There is a brokenness to the social contract men and women used to have.DeYoung quotes Mary Eberstadt saying, “the sexual revolution—with its laissez-faire [lax] attitude toward sex and its insistence that men and women are the same when it comes to sex—has left women vulnerable and frustrated. “The furious, swaggering, foul-mouthed rhetoric of feminism promises women what many can’t find elsewhere: protection.”Women, more than ever, need to know that men will treat them by a different set of rules and will seek the well-being of women above their own.” (72)“In the book A Return to Modesty, Jewish author Wendy Shalit comments on the quaint etiquette rules from the past—rules like “a man always opens a door for a woman,” or “a man carries packages or suitcases for a woman,” or “a man rises when a woman comes into the room,” or “if a woman drops her glove in the street, you’d certainly pick it up,” or you never “race a woman, young or old, for a vacant seat.” Shalit acknowledges that “one can certainly criticize these rules as sexist, and many have.” But she continues, “The simple fact is that a man who observed all of the above rules was a man who treated a woman with respect, a man who was incapable of being boorish.” Women were not to be treated like men; they were to be treated differently, like women. Consequently, “in the old view, if you weren’t considerate to women, you weren’t really a man.” (73)This isn’t to defend for all cultures and all times this exact list. But the principle of list certainly.To this point Kevin DeYoung says, “If men in general ought to treat women with special care and kindness, how much more so for our own wives.”D. L. Moody once remarked, ‘If I wanted to find out whether a man was a Christian, I wouldn’t ask his minister. I would go and ask his wife. . . . If a man doesn’t treat his wife right, I don’t want to hear him talk about Christianity.’” (73)Closing argument by Deyoung: Marriage is a picture of Christ and the church. If there is no distinction in how we related to each, no ordering, no self-sacrificing headship, no joyful submission, we are left with Christ and Christ or the church and the church.God is trying to show something in our marriages. If we disallow sexual differentiation, we are not allowing to shine forth the very heart of marriage itself. Yes, God created marriage for companionship and for [intimate union] and for children, but most of all, he created marriage to reveal this profound mystery of Christ and the church. This is a high calling. His plan is for a watching world to look at husband and wife and see such gentle, joyful submission and such self-denying, loving leadership that it gets a picture of the beauty that is the relationship between Christ and his church. Nothing less than God’s full glory is at stake.Let us never view the bible’s commands for marriage, men, and women in both the church and family as a few random and arbitrary rules or isolated verses but as a consistent biblical model for blessing.May our marriages, families, and church be both formed by the Holy Spirit and also witnesses to the work of the Holy Spirit and an accurate reflection of Christ Jesus. And may we resist the foolishness of a world in this area.PrayerBenediction This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jamesensley.substack.com

Recap: Suffering Christ, living as exiles in various difficult circumstances.Read 1 Peter 3:1–6: Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives, [2] when they see your respectful and pure conduct. [3] Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear—[4] but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious. [5] For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their own husbands, [6] as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. And you are her children, if you do good and do not fear anything that is frightening.Prayer of Illumination#1 God’s good design and calling for biblical marriage#2 God’s good design and care when a believing Wife has an unbelieving husband#1 God’s good design and calling for biblical marriage (v. 1).v. 1 likewise, wives[JE1] , be subject to your own husbands …This is the type of verse where on the phrase “Be subject” we could read a 300-page academic book twist it into a pretzel and say that it says the opposite of what it says.Though it does turn out ὑποτάσσω translated as be subject, arrange yourself under the leadership of another…means just that.I do not want to “nuance” the command away (while recognize there is nuance, wisdom, and sinful abuse of any good thing)…Let us lean into the principle. Because it takes place in the context of the entire bible. It is not a sudden and strange statement of Peter. We do not want to do away with the blessing of God’s good design for men, women, and Christian marriages.Peter and Paul are unique in their extensive understanding of moral agency, the need to address women intelligently, as sisters in Christ, making decisions for themselves about how to live godly lives. SO the fact of 6 verses for wives here and 1 verse for Husbands is not an insult but rather Peter saying hey, I see you (cicero, plato, Aristotle 0 verses to wives, and its more complicated for the wives than the men here. So sorry men you get only 1 verse from Peter not 6 hope you don’t feel excluded.Two points before we unpack the big picture:First, notice Peter says to follow the leadership of, Your own husbands, Paul is not saying women should be subject to every man in society. Rather follow the leadership of your husband.Second, this is Ideally a marriage of two believers, a wife following the leadership of her Christian Husband, but, Peter will unpack for us that very real fact that sometimes, your husband who may be an unbeliever - who is not very happy you are no longer following his gods or lack of religion but Jesus. And he gets embarrassed in front of his guy friends that his wife goes to church, and he gets upset…But First What is God’s good design for biblical marriage. For husbands who do love the Lord. Paul expands on this scenario of a believing husband in Ephesians 5:22-33.Ephesians 5:22–33 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. [23] For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. [24] Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.Exact same command but with some added clarification for the better scenario…There is the reminder that the obedience is not absolute, it is to the Lord. The husband cannot command sin. The unbelieving husband certainly could not command sin just as we saw with any authority relationship in 1 Peter 2.Verse 25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, [26] that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, [27] so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. [28] In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. [29] For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, [30] because we are members of his body. [31] “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” [32] This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. [33] However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband. (ESV)So we can ground the principles of Marriage in Christ and the Church. A godly husband loves and leads his wife like Christ does the church. He causes her to flourish holy and Whole. Nourished. Cherished.1 Peter & Ephesians household teaching does not come out of nowhere, both Jesus and Paul cite God’s good creation of Marriage and they recognize Sin really messes up our relationships. So, what was the good design and how does sin harm it?Genesis 2:18 Then the LORD God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” (ESV)God forms Eve from Adam’s Side,“Women were created from the rib of man to be beside him, not from his head to top him, nor from his feet to be trampled by him, but from under his arm to be protected by him, near to his heart to be loved by him.” – Matthew Henry…Co-dignified image bearers. Just as verse 7 says, they are heirs with you of the grace of life…Jesus in Matthew 19 affirms this dignity of God’s good design for marriage in creation against attempts to cheapen it by his contemporary culture by lamenting men easily and quickly divorcing their wives by citing Creational Standards for marriage. Creation. Nature. As Yet unfallen. What God calls “very good.”Our Lord Jesus upholds this creational norm. In Matthew 19:4–6 [4] He answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, [5] and said, (Citing Gen. 2). ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? [6] So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” (ESV)One man, one woman, in a lifelong union.Jesus’ words combined with Paul’s consistent teaching expresses God’s abiding plan for marriage and family in creation while thinking about it in a fallen world.This is a sinful and a fallen world. Jesus had to push back on selfish easy divorces by men ridding themselves of their wives. Paul and Peter both here and in Ephesians must press husbands to love their wives as Christ loves the church and to dwell with their wives with understanding.Jesus, Paul, Peter, and the whole narrative of the bible say God’s design for Marriage is when Men leadhouseholds well, and women follow and support their husbands and families well.This is not a one-size-fits-all cookie cutter look. But it is a consistent Principle. And a consistent principle will be recognizable across cultures and decades yet not identical.Further, the whole bible shows the damage that happens when fallen men and women throw off and disorder God’s design for marriage and family. We see it in the lives of men and women throughout the bible. (Such as everytime polygamy or unfaithfulness to the marriage, or lack of leadership blows up in Abraham’s, David’s, Judahs, Solomon face…And we similarly see disorder in our present culture it just takes different forms. (Bullseye – you can miss in any direction but the principle the goal is still the same). Sin is missing the mark the standard.But Perhaps worse of all is a husband and a wife twisting a scriptural principle to sin against each other in the marriage.Biblical Principles, Wisdom, and Close community are guards here. To address hypocrisy.(HW: Re-read all those 5th commandment questions on sins and responsibilities of leaders and following but as marriage advice).So when we come to Peter and Paul they are not saying new things. They are restating truths they wisely see in God’s good creation and they wisely give warnings for abuses they see in society due to the fall. Because the abuse of a good thing doesn’t make it a bad thing And certainly, the less than two-century-old feminist solution doesn’t solve the abuses. It breaks God’s design for marriage, family, the church, and the posture of society.The Feminist solution flattens out the roles of men and women and ignores physical differences. It is no solution at all but just rebellion against creation and nature. (2nd-4th wave).We already saw that leadership responsibility is for husbands…and wives are to live with their husbands as a helpmeet (an honored term used of God as a helper of Israel), The bible celebrates the life giving, beauty, relational care, and cultivation women give a home and marriage.It’s a beautiful journey when two believers walk shoulder to shoulder towards a common horizon of loving God and loving people and doing it in a clear eyed well-ordered way. This is wonderful in society as well.Pastor Kevin Deyoung in his book Men and Women in the Church gives a good summary of the broad teaching of the bible on the complementarity of us made in God’s image, male and female with implications that are drawn from texts all through the bible but especially echoes of 1 Peter 3 here. As he Often does he has an ABCDE acronym, that he takes in the EBADC order.[Please read Kevin Deyoung’s Article and his entire book on this topic. This Review https://heidelblog.net/2022/08/review-kevin-deyoungs-men-and-women-in-the-church/ and This article is the basis of the quotes and insights that follow: https://clearlyreformed.org/how-are-men-and-women-different/]As men and women we prayerfully ask God how toFirst, Having an Eager Posture – to god’s good design, “At its best, biblical manhood and womanhood is about nothing less than the joyful appropriation of all that God meant for us to be in the garden, divinely fitted for working and helping, for protecting and flourishing, for leaving and cleaving, for filling the earth and subduing it. That’s what God saw at the close of the sixth day, and behold, it was very good.”Second, “Glorify God in your Body. We are “embodied” not brains in vats, we are embodied as male and female. (so beware the way the internet dis-embodies your experience). We need to go touch grass to remember to glorify God in our body).Third, an eager posture to Confidently embody embracing the Appearance of being a man or woman but in a humble way. This may look different in different times and cultures but it’s not just an arbitrary societal construct.Fourth, Embracing a god-given demeanor. Scripture generally describes mothers as “gentle, affectionate, sacrificial” and fathers as “full of exhortation, encouragement, and leadership”Fifth, Character. Scripture suggests that “The crowning characteristic of a woman is true beauty and thecrowning characteristic of the man is true strength.” A beautiful woman is “respectful, pure, and gentle.” Astrong man shows honor, understanding, and caring leadership (MWC 127; 1 Peter 3:1–7).And it is here that Kevin Deyoung cites – 1 Peter 3:1-7. Showing that the bible recognizes the particularly female or male temptations to sin: men abusing their strength and women abusing their beauty….Or anyone manipulating women to only find their value in beauty or anyone manipulating men to abuse their strength.Instead, Peter would say (v.2-6) you are beautiful but nurture inward beauty. And (v.7) Men, you are strong but is your strength caring for your wife or harming her?A True home needs to be structurally strong and made beautiful. It needs soundness and to be filled with warmth.One interesting element is that as our society rejects God’s good design is more and more commonly we see what normally male sin patterns in women and normally female sin patterns in men are increasingly common.For a whole lot of this it can be useful to think of a bell-curve – the two over-arching distributions. And the bible easily recognizes that while still eagerly being male and female of course as humans we have overlap. And men and women may have an abundance of traits that even push past each other as men and women. And modern society would attempt to do its best to push these two bell curves to overlap identically. This is a project that will always fail….And some societies like the 1950s may panic and try to entirely pull the two bell curves apart…[1]Society does best when it calms down a bit. Sees God’s good creation. Sees common humanity and equal dignity with real natural differences and callings as well, and we simply ask God, how can I honor you as a man or a woman, how can I honor God as a husband and wife?If you are wrestling through with this I would say, to talk to a wise, godly man or woman who loves God’s word to help you in this. I know Anna would love to talk about it. I am available, the books in the back are available.#2 God’s good design and care when a believing Wife has an unbelieving husbandIf some do not obey the word: v. 1-2 again, if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives, [2] when they see your respectful and pure conduct.SO remember Peter’s scenario in the 1st century Roman Galatia or Cappadocia, where a husband is still a pagan who is not very happy you are no longer following his gods but Jesus. And he gets embarrassed in front of his guy friends that his wife goes to church and he gets upset….) This happens all the time today. Countless women who going to church or bringing the kids to church is a battle each week while the Husband stays home to watch TV or Fish…The Church ought to comfort and support such sisters in Christ.But How would Peter have this wife win her husband to Christ? Especially in a society where he and all his friends and influential people are embarrassed she has become religious.How should she win him? By showing that Following Jesus has made her a more loving, more respectful and supportive and caring wife towards him, the kids, and his friends than before.Peter’s hope is that he May be won… (GAINED). Gain has a certain sweetness to it over “won.” – What a blessing if he could be gained as a husband who loves the Lord Jesus as well, who delights to have the kids know Christ…Who by the Holy Spirit will embody v. 7 where he dwells with understanding and love towards his wife. Spiritually co-heirs with Christ, praying with and for each other.Application: This is very different from what our culture says. Our Culture says, if you and your husband are not living your best life now. And he doesn’t get something you care about. Well, honey, you ditch him, write about it in a blog and Instagram, and once your lawyer is done with him, go to Greece and pretend you are in a movie and live your best musical life without the bum.What is precious in God’s sight for his daughters in Christ is very different from Instagram, American Girl-Boss self-fulfillment culture Which says, “he’s not perfect? Get rid of him!”Advertisers, movies, and current culture readily say, if your marriage is flawed then he ought to be immediately moved on from as unvaluable, and to upgrade to some other pursuit of self-fulfillment quest, some girl-bossing journey.[You can ask Anna some more of her thoughts on this later, it’s a regularly occurring conversation, because she regularly encounters it.]Peter would say, He is your husband, you have covenanted together, how much more beautiful and precious in the sight of God is a respectful and pure conduct that wins, this unspiritual, spiritually disinterested husband, to take another look at Christ Jesus. To possibly come alongside following the Lord, to grow spiritually, and, Lord willing, to begin to take his lead in loving and leading his family to follow God, love the Church, and operate healthily under his physical and spiritual leadership.Now: Caveat, the bible knows it’s a fallen world, physical abuse deserves a phone call to the police and church assistance through it.Peter’s advice to stay and win the husband is for the person whose husband spiritually is not where he ought to be. But the love and respect of his wife who has her life hidden in Christ can be a wordless witness to him who so far has refused to her the word of the gospel.To do this will take true Spiritual Maturity which means v. 3-6 Which explains what this should not and should look like,It should not look like external adorning, braiding of hair , and clothes/jewelry.STORY: I sent this text to Anna (but I wasn’t asking her to stop being pretty).Peter is warning against a DISORDERED AND Idolatrous concern for flaunting wealth, beauty, and status.Excessively conforming yourself to Instagram and influencer beauty standards and believing this is what makes you a beautiful person is not what Christian women have concerned themselves with.It should rather be clothing yourself in – Your Inward, hidden person, which imperishable (As Peter says our Inheritance in Heaven Is), a gentle and quiet spiritThe easiest way to explain this inward beauty is just citing the opposite from Proverbs.Proverbs 27 says, A wife’s quarreling is a continual dripping of rain…A continualdripping on a rainy day and a quarrelsome wife are alike; 16 to restrain her is to restrainthe wind or to grasp oil in one’s right hand.How different from what Peter says is very precious in God’s sight.A Daughter of the king, stewarding inward gentleness and quiet spirit rather than externalismSo a godly woman sets aside attempts that are skin-deep and manipulative.instead living in a way that is precious in God’s sight AND may GAIN their husbands to ChristProverbs 31:10 An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious thanjewels. 11 The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain. 12 She does him good, and not harm, all the days of her life. (BTW the rest of Prov. show a wonderful portrait of the industrious wife that is both not feminist and not 1950s).Verse 5, These Christian Women follow the example of “Holy Women who hoped in God” – How?Sarah, Hoped in God while following AbrahamSarah, demonstrates this when Abraham, not once but twice was a cowardly and poor leader (Egypt…Fear of Pharoah…just tell them you’re my sister). But the Lord preserved her from getting to the point where she had to Honor God and throw Abraham under the bus.And later through all the ups and downs of a less than ideal marriage when she laughs at the Angels announcement in Gen. 18 that she would have a child she still calls Abraham, “my lord.”The word here is “Lord, or Master” it is Culturally appropriate form of that respect. We say sir and ma’am now in the south. The principle is abiding, be respectful.Even in older books like Pride and Prejudice, Mrs. Bennett, calls her husband Mr. Bennett, which we would view as cold and distant. But for them was public and formal. First names were used sparingly, but were much more affectionate when they were used.This frame of mind is the posture that would insist on – Not gossiping/complaining of a husbands’ faults all around town.Godly women attempt to be aware of whether they are complaining of their husbands to other ladies, diminishing him in their sight. And most certainly do not complain of the husband to other men, especially as a means of building emotional, proto-romantic attachment.The respect and love is still there when two sinners say “I Do.” And lo and behold we sin “but love covers a multitude of sins” (which you can then honestly talk about).What does the phrase “if you do good and do not fear anything that is frightening” mean?I think it is the fear of a new believer having an unbelieving husband.Of Exile, Of being different from society. OF no longer being equally spiritually yolked with their husbandThe wife in 1 Peter 3, She is a chosen exile as a Christian without even her covenant life partner to support her…This probably supported Sarah in those times where she and Abraham were threatened by Egypt because of her beauty and Abraham arguably could’ve done better. But the Lord God cared for them. But how much worse if Abraham hadn’t even been a believer.So Peter is saying, be brave and steward what is precious in God’s sight, do not fear God says, I will be with you I have called you by name you are mine.For this wife, May the church model the love of God the Father, and the love of Christ the husband of the ChurchAnd in a fallen world may Christ be our comfortChrist our final hope, andChrist’s church ready to support and defend sisters in difficult circumstances. But in Truth. Anchored in Creation and the truth. No clever substitutes.You have a heavenly father who loves you and watches over you.You have Christ your groom, who died for his church. And if we are in Christ we are brothers and sisters in Christ. May an eager Posture to God’s good design allow our church families to model the love of Christ and commend God’s good design.PrayerBenediction[1] Note its our “memory” of the 1950s, much can be said about how we only remember the caricature of the 50s. 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[Incomplete sermon outline below. So it is rough in places or misses words spoken in the audio sermon]Recap…1 Peter 2:21–25 For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you [ya’ll], leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. [22] He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. [23] When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. [24] He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds [stripes] you have been healed. [25] For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.(ESV)Before going on to 24-25 let us review 21-23 For to this you have been called.What must we understand about what we are called to?Simon Kistemaker reminds us in his commentary that Peter “wants the Christian who suffers unjustly to look to Jesus from whom the believer receives new strength for body and soul. Looking to Jesus, the Christian experiences a renewal of attitude and disposition.”The language says to trace the footsteps of Jesus. Copy your handwriting to match his.What must you believe for this to be a comfort for you? Believe we were called to suffer after Christ’s example. Believe We are called to take up our cross and follow Christ. So we follow the Savior who loved his enemies, who suffered for righteousness sake, and so as believers we follow the cross to receive the crown. We do not take the crown to avoid the cross.So what must you know about your savior? Believe He really suffered as an innocent humble man….but not just any man. The God-Man. GOD become man, entered the pit voluntarily So Jesus models suffering not because he was out of control, but because he intentionally submitted himself to death in order to rescue us.John 10:11–18 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. [12] He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. [13] He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. [14] I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, [15] just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. [16] And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. [17] For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. [18] No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.” (ESV)So you are suffering? Christ, your Shepherd, came to save you. The example is not…oh be like Christ sinless…No it is that once we are rescued. Made alive, now you can reflect on your suffering in two waysYou have been freely given life. So what is our grateful response? That like Christ, you will strive to by the Help of the Holy Spirit to suffer not for sin but as a sanctified sufferer who does not revile and back bite but who suffers, in this sinful world, as redeemed exiles who though not perfect suffer innocently like Christ did.Peter then says, he is talking about the Christian life, how to live, how to grow in wise, sanctification, being made different from how you were before. As a student traces the letter outline so the Christian traces and follows in the outline of the footsteps of Christ. And as Peter usually does he weaves together a call to belief or action by reminding us of the great redemption of Christ that declares us innocent and righteous in God’s sight. Justified. Everything that follows is only true if we cast ourselves on Christ, hoping only in him for rescue.Four Truths of our salvation Today (If you are looking to Christ)#1 The Wages of Sin are Death#2 In My Place Condemned He Stood#3 Dead to Sin and Alive in Christ: My Savior Makes me whole.#4 Returning the Shepherd of your Soul.#1 (vv. 24a) The wages of sin are death: two things “he bore OUR SINS on his body on the tree. / (vv. 25a) OUR SINS meant - We were straying like sheep (Nature note merely nurture:nthough nurture can be a magnifying glass to our sin nature).(24a) he bore OUR SINS: Our sins…the sins of those who “Sin because we are sinners.”What are OUR sins? What is Sin?Sin is Lawlessness, sin is anything that violates the character and good design of God for how we, his special creation, made in his image in knowledge righteousness, and holiness were made to live.Sin is any failure to love and obey God and to love and live rightly with others, and to honor our own bodies and soul. Sin Is LawlessnessThe biblical IMAGE: Fall Short / twisting the design / attacking, corrupting, devaluing it in others. Sin is us trying to be god and failing at it miserably. And then being mad at God and others when our failure to make a very good god blows up in our face.In Gen. 3 – Adam Attempts to wear the crown, Adam represented us, and so we have a inherited guilt, and inherited fallen nature. (Rom. 5:12-21 In Adam all sinned in Christ the many accounted righteousGen. 6:5 The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. The Result? We are enslaved to sin Eph. 2:1Therefore we have a Radical Corruption: “root” “entire, whole” / pervasively sinful. Not maximally evil. But not Utter, did not destroy but mar the image. Inability.ILL: Our Sin: Poison in a refreshing cup of water vs. a Cup of Poison.That is sin. And our radical corruption.Good news: he bore our sins. Not a general but specific target. (E.g. Targeted insect bait vs. a general bait.) One is effective. One usually alleviates. Our sins – particular redemption, with the sheep and shepherd language….The good shepherd lays down his life for the Sheep…I know my own and my own know me…and I lay down my life for the sheep. The sheep hear his voice…And are called back from their STRAYING. Wanderings (transition to b.). (John 10:14).25a describes us as Straying Sheep which is a quote of : “Isa. 53:6 “We all like sheep have gone astray.”The wages of sin is death…the result of a sheep that wanders is similarly death (5:23). Sins destroys, relationship with God, fellowship with God and Others, and leaves us alone and susceptible to harm. Or Creates a Fellowship of darkness not light. Christ restores the fellowship with God, How? By removing the cause of our enmity and our barrier to a Holy God. Removing our Guilt. Our Sin….And bring stratying sheep back by dealing with the root. (Bringing us into the light).#2 vv. 24a cont…In my place condemned he stood: CHRIST BORE our sins IN HIS BODY on the tree. (24a. cont…)He suffered (for; Hyper) US: Substitute / in the place / in our stead. This means he wasn’t just an example, this means he didn’t just open up a shop for sin relief that is vaguely available. No our sin debt. Our File with our name that God as judge would pull on judgement day was taken and placed in Jesus’ court record. And every one of his sheep had their sinful court cases replaced with Jesus court case. He was FOR. IN OUR place.But this was costly. He Bore our Sins (Once for all action: It is finished). But where did he bare it?; In His Body. Sin was foreign – Jesus had no sin nature – He had not guilt, shame – but the guilt and shame of sin was placed on him2 Cor. 5:21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (ESV)“Bore” is the image of WEIGHT on his Head. [Discuss] Sacrificial Animal laying the hand. It is particular. By name. / DO you feel the weight? The burden look to the cross let that burden roll into the tomb (Pilgrim’s progress: Burden and Tomb).The Incarnation: made Jesus able to take on human sin “that which is assumed is atoned for” – True Humanity…unlike animal sacrifices.The blood of bulls and goats cannot take away sin (because unlike Adam they are not a fitting substitute. They were only a symbol pointing forward to the one who could have his own LIFE take the penalty for our forfeited life. (Real Butter vs. Margarine not a true substitute) Need a genuine human correspondence.WHY? Because 1) His humanity made him a true Second Adam, our representative. Because 2) His deity meant he could make an infinitely valuable sacrifice, so he can represent a new humanity in himself because he wasn’t under Adam (Fallen Humanity). He is before all things and above all things (Renewed, Redeemed Church in Christ).Jesus further, suffered the curse of sin in our place…He bore our sins in his body ON THE TREE (A Euphemism for the cross but an intentional ECHO, “he who is hung on a tree is under God’s curse (Gal. 3:13 citing Deut. 21:22-23). (Shameful – Anti-blessed)#3 vv. 24b Because of Jesus’ work on the Cross we are Dead to Sin and Alive in Christ, we can say, My Savior Makes Me WholeLook in v. 24b again, SO That we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his stripes you have been healedDead to sin, death is dead, the penalty paid, (Like paying off a car payment. You get the car title restored in your name.).The guilt declared removed, innocent (Duplex Gratia)Alive again to righteousnessEnlightened eyes, soul, mind, truth and goodness possess of you again. (Regenerate. Born Again.).The sting, the wound, the shame of death in his stripes and the manner of the criminal cross undone.Us: Shame of a slap? (reverberates). The Shame of wounds? JESUS INNOCENT SHAME PLACED BY SINNERSShame of Betrayal – shepherd struck, sheep scatteredShame of TRIAL – BlasphemerShame of Mock, Scourging, stripes of the 9 tailsSpit. Purple cloth. Carrying a criminal cross….[Cross-is an honorable symbol we put in our building, but for Jesus its an ankle-bracelet, orange jumpsuit chained to other prisoners in a court house….we don’t do the shame of sin quite the same way as in older cultures…Jesus removes our Shame.. Makes us Alive to Righteousness…Upright. Tall.Sin curved us in on ourselves. Jesus uncurls us to stand tall again as we were designed to be.To look in the Eye of Man and God right with each other.Transition…Keep thinking about this Righteous…Alive…Whole…Healed from the effects of Sin. Everything wrong is being undone…The Image of God restored: The power of sin destroyedFree to obey God and not Sin. When previously sin was our master and we a slave to sinPastor Peter Davids says, “Salvation in Christ is not just a freedom from future judgment or from guilt, but a freedom from the life of sin and a freedom to live as God intends.”This intended life is no mystery it is revealed by the light of the word, a Christian ethic clearly shown in scripture. This “endeavor after new obedience in Christ, the obedience of faith is not lived IN order to free us from sin. But SINCE we are freed, justified, alive, we shall live HOLY lives putting sin to death and walking wise with the mind of Christ towards sin…We are debtors to sin no more…we are debtors to the grace and mercy of God and submit as living sons and daughters.Previously We sinned because we are sinners. Now we live like Christ because we are IN Christ.Sin was a tyrant to our souls. Christ will become the shepherd of our souls.We are Healed and Alive to Righteousness: Healed but w/ Scars: The wounds and stripes of sin are through this life healed and diminished, because we are forgiven. (Scar Cream, Eliza Jane) ( Forgiveness is the healing of the guilt, penalty, power, and shame of sin. Bringing us into the light where we have fellowship, community, honor, integrity, and the fruit of the healing is a heart overflowing with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control. As the Holy Spirit takes and fills in the wounds of sin, restoring what sin has destroyed.Living to righteousness is living in wisdom, light, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth. With God and his ways now ours…But we are not only becoming holy in our sanctification. But We are viewed as already Righteous/Holy by God…This means two things that are a little different from what Christians sometimes think…We are saved by grace not to figure out happiness on our own in the sense that right living is a mystery where we follow our hearts: e.g. God wants me to be happy his grace means I will do what remaining sin in my heart enjoys, e.g. the classic, God wants me to be happy so I will leave my spouse…No we see that Grace transforms us to look to the objective word of God.So First, restoring what sin destroyed, and restoring freedom from the guilt, penalty, and power of sin means we listen to the wisdom of Scripture as it tells us the Law of God. Happiness is found living as a lawful son and daughter who continues to put sin to death.Knowing Second, that as we stumble and struggle with remaining sin (and we will fall short).. We are not just becoming holy (subjectively).We are Objectively viewed as Holy.We have the Righteousness of ChristILL> Romans – Righteous rob exchange. Once again, the Judge pulls the file of our Just trial and what he finds is Christ’s Record.Only in Heaven when we are glorified will the Holiness of Christ God sees and our Holiness Align, humanly speaking.Until then there will always be a gap between Christ’s righteousness (ours by grace) and our own earthly lived righteounsness (ours by the work of the Holy Spirit and our own wisely applying the law of God to every decision and area of our life with disciplined grace).But Lord willing we make progress in holiness. Progressive sanctification as the gap between objective holiness and lived holiness diminishes.Know Sin is Dead. You are Alive and Holy. If you are trusting in Christ and not yourself.Now be killing sin and be putting on holiness.Justification produces sanctification. > You have been Justified. You are BEING sancticied. You will be Glorified….But will we make it all the way home? It doesn’t always feel that way….34 Look in verse 25b: For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer [Bishop] of your souls. (ESV)Life from a Shepherd who watches over your soul: First it is Returned and Second it is Watched over.First your life is returned, RETURNED – Creation/Fall Exile & Restoration, Garden, East of Eden, enmity, restored, friendship and care, your soul which will last forever now has a secure him. Think of Psalm 23 images.Second it is Watched Over,As a Father watches over his children, Christ oversees our very life.ILL: [4th of July Pool party, Samuel 3 times in the pool] “No my die” – I am not the infallible bishop of Souls. Christ is. Two reasonsThere is no paperwork error that will happen where you will be lost and Satan reclaims you if Jesus is your shepherd.You are truly and mystically united to Christ’s life and nurture by the Holy Spirit (Visibly displayed in the supper.You are not a stranger in a crowd to god passing him by. You are a son and a daughter overseen with watchful eyes.IMAGE: Rainy streets…umbrella…Just an image but picture a black and white drab seen, each person wanders in death, cold, dark, sin, hearts hardened,but in the midst of the Crowd Christ watches over you suddenly blazing with the light of the HOLY spirit.You are set apart cleansed, alive, his, and you are bright and glorious children of the day.This is the objective reality for the believer…even as in this life we are chosen exiles. We will be shepherded all the way home.One way in which we are watched over biblically is by the Church, the family of God watches over us specifically “bishops, overseers” “undershepherds”Jesus is the chief shepherd (John 5:4, 10:11,14) and he appoints undershepherds1 Peter 5:1-4 (We will return here).Acts 20:28-33 Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.For now the Church caring for each others souls is God’s plan and place for sheep to be fed by not light shows and entertainment. But the word of his grace. The Whole counsel of God. At home, in the car, alone, together, the Word of God meditated on and given you by faithful shepherds.Why? We are suffering, following in Christ’s footsteps, imitating him. We are not lone wolves.We are unlearning the flesh. Unlearning slaveryIllustrations – Learning to be free again (stroke? Prison (walking through doors)?Which is harder, a stroke, prison, or being spiritually dead and learning to be alive and a son and daughter of the light after death…and bondage to Satan.This is why we desperately pray “Lord our covenant Children may the never know a day when they did not know and love you.May the grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ and not wander and stray.The Good Times. And the Bad times are both Best done with others.Best done with others who can remind you of the gospel.Best done with other who can help the word dwell in us richly and we sing these reminders to each other.More on what Shepherds in particular do in chapter 5. For now remember they Feed, Care, Protect…But Here they Watch over. They Gaze intently.The word overseer is “Bishop” which Paul uses interchangeably with Elder. So a bishop is an elder and an elder is a bishop.But we get the word “microsope” and “telescope” from the word bishop.I think its like a Sheep dog and a new baby is born into the family…and they just watch over it. Tracking all the time.So we need Shepherds to guide us and WATCH over us.But while humans are feeble and frail praise be to God Christ and His Word is neither feeble nor frail. He bore our sin. Made us upright. Placed us in the flock.Prayer: Ultimately Jesus is risen and reigning in heavenYou have the Holy Spirit in your heart guiding and watching over youChrist seated in heaven watching over and guiding you through his wordAnd a church family of older brothers and sisters, and overseers to watch over you who Christ has poured out on the church as a gift.May that be our experience of Christ and his Church.As those whose sins are forgiven, born by christ, clothed in his righteousness, made alive, made whole, and brought through suffering all the way home. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jamesensley.substack.com

Audio was lost for 1 Peter 2:13-17 You can find a written version of it on substack.This link is the cited Ortlund article referenced throughout point #1.https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/is-bible-pro-slavery/ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jamesensley.substack.com

Peter has said “this is who you are in Christ Jesus”* If you are in Christ it is because you have received mercy, being born again to a living hope. (this makes you an exile)* Having been born again by the Holy Spirit “be who you are, and you are Holy.”* Since all of your life is now lived before the face of a holy God – vertically* Therefore – love your neighbor, put away community destroying sins in 2:1-4; and live as the new living temple of God.* Today, you are a member of a community that lives and worships in grace and truth. You have received mercy. Now, Consider how living in conformity to who you are in Christ will affect your neighbors. Consider your conduct among unbelievers.Today we are examining how Honorable living as a follower of Jesus– ought to cause people to seriously consider Jesus and the Gospel because they have seen the transformation that occurs in a Christian community.Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. [12] Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation. (1 Peter 2:11-12 ESV)#1 The Reality of “being the bad guys”#2 The Reality & Goal of the war for your soul#3 Moving from Defense to Offense: Good Deeds That God May be Glorified#1 The Reality of “being the bad guys” – v. 12 “when they speak against you as evildoers”Gollum frames Sam for stealing food and “being a bad fat hobbit.” Frodo, shows love and compassion to Gollum…But actually as much as a love Sam. Sam quite possibly drives Smeagol back into being Gollum by his unkind conduct towards him. But at the end of the Day, Gollum looked for every opportunity to say, look he’s the bad guy, I am the good guy trust me.That is how the Romans, the Greek Culture often viewed Christians in the 1st century. They did not worship the right gods, they were anti-social, they were subject to willful misinterpretation. And so Peter gives this warning of the uphill climb, When your neighbor speaks against you as an evildoer, are you going to give them any ammunition to think that plausible? Or will you help them to Glorify God by seeing your light.Peter says in v. 11, “Dear Friends, Beloved in Christ” – You are loved by God. You are secure in Christ…Let us now consider more than ourselves, more than indeed our immediate church Family. Because we live as a Light. A City on a Hill and the world, people enslaved to their flesh and the devil are watching…we are always witnesses and 1 Peter 2;12 says we always stand before “hostile witnesses”And as those who are Free we now are being empowered by the Holy Spirit to honor Christ and be children of light,Ed Clowney reminds us that for the believer, “The dark blindness of sinful selfishness is gone; [believers] are free to love. They are also free to honour unbelievers as God's creatures, and to respect the role of authority given to each one.” – Ed ClowneyLove God. Love your Family. Love Church. Love our believing neighbors….even love the neighbor who thinks being a Christian means you are the “bad guys”Remember, Every generation has areas where they praise Christian virtues but every generation has areas where they strongly reject what is good and true and beautiful. The bible has a challenging all of life encompassing ethic and we must boldly live according to the bible’s definition of “Honor” in both the areas that our culture dislikes and the areas our culture likes.We should not make the mistake of self-righteous PRIDE that is living as Christians just to stick it to the culture. Or COWARDICE: Where we hide our compromise with the world by only living Christianly in those areas our culture approves.So Peter Calls us today: Live Honorably in a society that assumes you are a dishonorable exile. Live honorably to those who expect “societally defined evil” as far as you can. Because you are Free in Christ. You have belonging, freedom, and a true heavenly King so you can in matters of general human society honor earthly authorities. So #1 That is the reality of “being the bad guys.”#2 The Reality & Goal of the war for your soulThe Goal is the salvation of your neighbor. The Goal of our godly living : that they may see your good deeds and so may Glorify God when they stand before the throne on Judgement day.The Reality is that you must wage war against your own flesh if you are to give Honor to Christ. In order to achieve that Goal.How do we wage war against the Flesh?First always remember We are sojourners and exilesPeter Davids makes that point that“remembering we are pilgrims, does not mean withdrawing from our culture, but to take our standard of honorable conduct … from [our] "home" culture of heaven, so that our way of life always fits the place we are headed to, rather than our temporary lodging in this world.” (Commentary 1 Peter).So our standard is always God in his Holiness. Never unthinkingly our culture. But our good and honerable conduct has a kind goal, towards our neighbor.Therefore, We must, in order to achieve this goal, abstain from the passions of the flesh Recognizing they wage war against our soulsAbstain – it is a stronger idea than just abstaining to vote, but active avoidance. This certainly means Self-control. If we lack self-control in regards to sin, then John Calvin Says, this of our soul:“Whenever the soul consents to [the desires of the flesh] they lead to perdition. He proves our carelessness in this respect, that while we anxiously shun enemies from whom we apprehend danger to the body, we willingly allow enemies hurtful to the soul to destroy us; nay, we as it were stretch forth our neck to them.” – John CalvinThis morning I want to give one example of an area where Christians are accused of being no different from the culture when it comes to passions of the flesh. But in fact, when we prize it we honor Christ, guard the Christian community, and it draws unbelievers from unstable and chaotic backgrounds to want the community and lifestyle of the Believer.That is to Call to honor God in our singleness. Integrity in our call when single. Or Integrity in our call and commitment to monogamous healthy marriages. Who has heard this statistic, “50% of marriage end in divorce? And Christians are no different from secular people? Statistician Brad Wilcox would call this the “50% lie.” That Christian marriages are the same as unbelievers divorce rates.When meaningfully measuring believers as not just in name but as regular church attenders: this is untrue. The 50% lie is based on outdated projections after no fault divorce devastated the country. The media often conflate cultural nominal “Christians” with practicing Christians, leading to distorted statistics.And Peter says, of course unbelieving reporters will gleefully speaks against you as evildoers. “See being a Christian does nothing.” But what is a meaningful definition of being a follower of Jesus.Are surveys of Nominal Christians meaningful? Those who claim Christian identity but are not active in faith or church life—often have divorce rates comparable to or higher than the general population.What is signifance is not claim ot the name but actual life. Therefore, Religious attendance, not just religious affiliation, is the strongest predictor of lower divorce rates. Couples who attend church together regularly report: Greater marital satisfaction, Lower rates of divorce, Higher levels of commitment and stability. – Kinda like how complementarian men do in reality more equal household work than egalitarians…also a fun statistic.The follower of Jesus, has the great example of Jesus as the husband of the Church and so Cherishes Honorable family life. So We abstain from the sins of the flesh, we guard against destructive sin patterns as we are conformed to the image of Christ as? LIVING STONES.The Context of 1 Peter would predict what the statistics say, a true living faith, lived out in a community does give us resources to live honorable lives among the wider culture. And Living stones gathered in community will have different outcomes. And greater support and community when we fail and fall short. TO be restored and built back up.And the same is true for our family outcomes, our individual lives whether married or single. I was blessed with a church family growing up filled with young and old, married and single, and when we went on church retreats we were brothers and sisters in Christ and how blessed we were.So when I got to college and the invitations were there to pursue a hedonistic life. And Satan wants sin to sound enticing, how much a poorer and poverty stricken…lonely, life was offered by the flesh compared to the united family of God.I think short term many may enjoy the illusion of the freedom of the flesh when they are young but end up regretting not having lived in the fellowship of a stable community whether single or married over the long run of their lives.J.C. Ryle warns us: “Habits are like stones rolling down hill — the further they roll, the faster and more ungovernable is their course. Habits, like trees, are strengthened by age. A boy may bend an oak when it is a sapling — a hundred men cannot root it up, when it is a full grown tree. … Custom becomes second nature, and its chains are not easily broken…Oh, dread the hardening effect of constant lingering in sin! Now is the accepted time. See that your decision not be put off until the winter of your days. If you do not seek the Lord when young, the strength of habit is such that you will probably never seek Him at all. … Every fresh act of sin lessens fear and remorse, hardens our hearts, blunts the edge of our conscience, and increases our evil inclination…Young men, you may fancy I am laying too much stress on this point. If you had seen old men, as I have, on the brink of the grave, without any feelings, seared, callous, dead, cold, hard as stone — you would not think so. Believe me, you cannot stand still in your souls. Habits of good or evil are daily strengthening in your hearts. Every day you are either getting nearer to God, or further off.” (Ryle, Thoughts for Young Men).Peter and Ryle speak with one voice: I urge you abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul and live a life of honor in the family of God.In a word anything that promises happiness now but makes you pay the price later. The pleasure now but pain to your soul in the long runI’ve spoken in generalities. I think it is helpful for both Peter and Paul and the whole Counsel of Scripture to remind us from God’s holy inerrant and inspired word what we are abstaining from. (Please note the role of the community to help each other here. Not individuals. It is a War with comrades. Not a 1v1 WWE match with Satan.Galatians 6:1–2 Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. [2] Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. (All references ESV).Galatians 6:7-8 Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. [8] For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.Galatians 5:13–14 For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. [14] For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”Galatians 5:19–24 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, [20] idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, [21] envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.Note how many of these are sins of not just the body, but the mind: envy, anger, enmity, strife. Community destroying sins of a fleshly mind. Not just the obvious ones of a degraded culture.Remember the Goal: Simon Kistemaker says, the believer abstains from these desires. By his conduct and good deeds, he shows unbelievers the way to God.”My hope and prayer is that we trust Peter’s words that this is keeping our conduct HONORABLE among our unbelieving neighbors. In the short run in modern political terms, the immoral left may call you a bigot or intolerant because we refrain from celebrating so-called pride month, sexual immorality, impurity, and sensuality.In the short run you may be accused of not being staunchly conservative enough if you don’t employ what are actually Marxist advocacy methods to achieve a conservative end because you refrain from sins of the mind and attitude, from “anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, etc…” e.g. saying We need the good guys to win using the bad guys play bookAt the end of the day, these are sins we put off…We are not looking for the middle ground, we are looking for biblical ground to stand on. The mind of Christ.We are not just putting off sins. Peter would have us put on Honorable fruit of the spirit…honoring practices that win over our neighbors for Christ.Look in verse 12 againv. 12 Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers,[they what?] they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.#3 Moving from Defense to Offense: Good Deeds That God May be GlorifiedWe live in a glass house….we not only refrain evil, we put on honorable good works. We Celebrate the good physical gifts of God.This is not Monasticism. Instead, We build a compelling community, culture, and landing place for people to be brought into. We don’t just live in fear of sin lists…of messing things up. No! We are joyfully building churches, families, and communities.Christian’s love the joys of marriage, family, food, fellowship, joy, laughter. That is the man or woman being recreated after the image of Christ has such joy and pleasure in the holy and good gifts of God given in creation that satan is jealous of holy goods enjoyed by mankind, Christ’s church going forth with Joy.Sin hates to see the happy marriage. Satan hates the Hollywood adventure movie that everyone enjoys, but did not need to employ explicit scenes …but rather showed valor. Courage and Honor as the victors. That light wins and darkness loses. Forming an honorable heart not debasing and desensitizing our mind.This does Not make anxious do-gooders. Busy citizens. Never able to do enough guilt ridden people. No in various seasons and capacity, we do good to others as we are able, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. (1 Tim. 2:2).But the good is good virtues that even the unbeliever can recognize as VIRTUE. How can the unbeliever answer to the faithful marriage of 50 years? But yet what we have here is also a tension. It seems that Peter has in mind that the accusation of evil is inevitable.Every generation has some areas of easy agreement with believers and some areas where they call good evil and evil good. We must be consistent from generation to generation. And to do that we must be consistently biblical.What are the hoped for results of following Christian Ethics in all of Life and putting to death the world, the flesh, and the devil?“When Peter tells his hearers to live good lives, he uses a word that can also mean 'beautiful' or 'attractive' The high holiness of fellowship with God must also produce observable conduct, admirable in its consistency and integrity. This theme of luminous goodness runs like a thread through all of Peter's exhortations. It reflects the word of Jesus, 'Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven' (Matt. 5:16)” ( Ed Clowney, Emphasis mine).The hoped for further result is Silencing the accusations, that people would be saved, that God would be Glorified, and that God would be worshippedSo The Accusation: Christians are evildoersBut Our Testimony of Honor: Believers are actually those who work good deeds and its beautiful.And here’s the kicker. Where is Peter going in Chapter 2. The beautiful community, out of gospel love and gratitude (not legalism and anxious fear) is following the 10 commandments. Specifically, the honorable and good conduct, the beautiful conduct Peter starts to zero in on, I think in the following passage is the 5thcommandment. Honor your father and your mother. Peter gives a call for honoring authority and what Peter is beginning to think about that in regards to how Christians live among unbelievers.As we continue These 10 good deeds1. Honoring Public Authorities and Human Institutions2. Honor Everyone3. Love the Brotherhood4. Fear God5. Honor the Emperoror6. Be Subject to those over you such as employers7. Endure suffering well8. Do not revile (Internet people)9. Entrust ourselves to God10. Remember JesusWhy this list? Peter Knows the likes of Nero and his persecution is coming. The Christians being fed to the lions is comingEd Clowney says, “Peter knows that the opposition of the Gentile world will not be limited to gossip, …and fantastic lies. Christians will be accused in the courts; false charges will lead to imprisonment and death. Peter had escaped the sword of Herod, but he would not escape the perverse hatred of Nero. Yet in spite of pagan injustice, the impact of the Christian witness will not be lost, in Peter's day or ours. The surrounding world will see the good deeds of the Christian community (12). They cannot avoid it. For some, unbelief will turn to belief as they behold the obedience of the people of God. Unbelieving husbands will see, and be touched by, the godliness of their wives (3:1-2). On the day of God's 'visitation' (RSV, ASV), even those who misrepresented and hated the good works of Christians will glorify God for them.”To close, What is the goal? If in any way we can be a light and witness to the fact that there is forgiveness and mercy in Christ Jesus. The Light will show the darkness. And the Christian can show the unbeliever that their darkness can be forgiven and that they can become children of the day. Sons and Daughters of God in Christ Jesus.The good and honorable conduct of the Christian ought to both provoke a reaction from sin, and hatred of the light that gives way to a longing for forgiveness of the sin and a possession of the light.May our light win our neighbors for Christ. So therefore put the flesh to death and put on Christ. And may we be a people who are quick to forgive and welcome people out of darkness into his marvelous light.Next week Peter will continue to hold out a vision of honorable living that will be a light to a world lost in darkness. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jamesensley.substack.com

This passage presents a picture of the various ways people respond to Jesus. Especially given salvation in Christ is brought about by simple, Humble means. Humanly speaking, there is some foolishness to the Cross as the foundation of our salvation. How are we to respond, and what are some implications for us as a Church?As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For it stands in Scripture:“Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,” and “A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.”They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. (1 Peter 2:4–10 ESV)We’ll be answering three questions this morning. There are no clean verse divisions because Peter states his points and then supplies his scriptures verses and then restates everything a second time. Basically, we are asking 3 things:* What does it mean that Christ is our Cornerstone?* What does it mean to stumble over Jesus?* We are called living stones, so as living stones who have received mercy, How then do we live as God’s people?Let’s answer these things in Summary: These verses reference many places in the scriptures where we have the image of Christ as this anchoring cornerstone. A Cornerstone is the first stone that is carefully laid in a building’s foundation. The entirety of its foundations, the stability of its walls all depend on the quality, the strength, and the presence of this stone. The entire building is being entrusted to this precious stone. So it is a wonderful image of Jesus, and it naturally leads to the image that in Christ Jesus, we no longer come to physical stones and temples to worship. But instead, we, in Christ Jesus, are the body of Christ, the living temple of God, indwelt by the Holy Spirit. So we gather not for sacrifices but for Spiritual Worship, especially our prayer, praise in song, and the Reading and Preaching of the Word. And further, the new testament church is now the true and spiritual fulfillment of all the promises, names, and titles for physical Israel, the physical temple, nation, and priesthood find their fulfillment (continuation) in Christ and the Church, according to this scripture text.Back to the first question: #1 What does it mean that Christ is our Cornerstone?Peter is doing good biblical theology here. First, he knows that Jesus’ death and resurrection is the true fulfillment of the entire temple and sacrificial system. And so, both Jesus and his people fulfill these things.In John 2:19 standing next to the physical temples says,“Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” [20] The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?” [21] But he was speaking about the temple of his body. [22] When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.Ok, So Jesus says, I am the true temple And Further, eventually Paul and Peter say you are the true Israel, the true temple in Christ Jesus as well. That is God’s presence with his people on earth, for worship, and to proclaim salvation that sin is atoned for. No longer by a physical sacrifice and priesthood but by Jesus and simple spiritual worship (See John 4 and the woman at the well, no longer a physical temple? But what? Worshipping in spirit and in truth.There are Three References Peter quotes (if you have a reference bible you should be able to spot these), Isaiah 8:14, 28:16, and Psalm 118:22. First the two chapters of Isaiah speak of how the both the houses of Israel the north and the south ignored the word of God, ignored calls to repentance, and specifically mocked the simplicity of the call of the prophets to repent, turn back to God, and to trust in his teaching and protection of them. All these references show how the people and The leaders were believing or trusting in human rescue, trusting in the wisdom of alliances with Egypt, the security of the physical city of Jerusalem.Ed Clowney says, “God declares that their pride is no refuge…only one [thing] can stand against the storm of destruction: God’s building, established upon one sure foundation stone.” Whom both chapter 8 & 28 follow with wonderful promises of the sure foundation of the Messiah, of Jesus. And then Isaiah and Psalms go on to make messianic promises about Jesus as the cornerstone, the Child born, the son of David, the prince of peace etc…All the Christmas promises that sayCease trying to save yourself through manmade ways, rest in the rescue of God that is coming by the Christ, the anointed Savior..In the Psalm reference Psalm 118:22…The Psalmist speaks of the REJECTION of the Cornerstone.…Despite The LORDS wonderful works to save his people…some still rejected what the Lord was doing and ultimately they would reject God’s people, and God’s salvation.Jesus quotes from this psalm in Matt. 21:33 in the parable of the vineyard and of the wicked Tenants. (Note: Israel’s leaders historically killing prophets)Jesus talks about how they beat the servants, and want the vineyard for themselves, and eventually the owner will send his son, and they will in turn kill the Son of the owner of the Vineyard…And the pharisees knew Jesus was talking about them.All these references are warnings not to trust in ourselves, to not trust in human alliances, human wisdom, human striving, trying to work our own way out of our human messes and sins. Even by external religion.But it takes us removing our gaze from what we are physically trusting in, to trusting in something that externally appears physically, philosophically, and religiously foolish, but in reality is spiritually certain.Acts 4:11-12 says that Jesus is a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious,[12] And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.The Pharisees rejected that. He was too humble, he dined with sinners, he didn’t agree with their wisdom and human driven efforts to be saved. If they followed Jesus their reputation would no longer be attached to the glories and splendor of the physical temple, the physical priesthood, the ceremonial laws that externally made them appear holy, separate, and clean. They should’ve been looking for the messiahAnd instead, their salvation is shown to have always relied on Christ who came in humility, who died, who humanly appeared weak and defeated.Jesus being our cornerstone is founded in his death. He left heaven. He humbled himself. Ransomed us with his precious blood by dying on the cross and being laid in the tomb.The cornerstone image is foundational. It is chosen and precious but at the same time the most humble and lowly of the stones being sunk down into the ground in order for everything else to be built on it.But if Jesus had to be humbled in his death for us. We also must be humbled and die a kind of death if we are to experience becoming living stones, members of God’s family.Take encouragement here…Peter is writing to living exiles he is saying, if Jesus can suffer being rejected by men when in fact he is precious to God. Can you not also accept exile and rejection by others if it means your life is founded on Christ Jesus?But what about Jesus makes some reject him?Question #2: What does it mean to stumble over Jesus? To be offended by him. (See verse 8 stumble and v. 4 – rejected).Why do we stumble over Jesus? Remember The Foolishness of the Cross.The Cross makes us admit that it was our sin that held him that. That the wages of sin are death, and that Christ had to die. (If just for my sin alone).That is to say, The Cross of Christ means we must admit that we cannot save ourselves, Jesus didn’t come as a self-help coach, he didn’t come so we could, like the Pharisees, live somewhat improved lives. He came to bear our guilt and our shame and the true consequences of our sin: Death on the Cross. The Wrath of God in our place.So we stumble over admitting the depths of our sin and that our righteousness is actually filthy rags. To come to Jesus we must die to ourselves, admit our sin, and turn from it.We remember the foolishness of the cross in our Membership Vows here. This is the reason our church membership vows are they way they are.1. Do you acknowledge yourselves to be sinners in the sight of God, justly deserving His displeasure, and without hope save in His sovereign mercy? – Yes.2. Do you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as the Son of God, and Savior of sinners, and do you receive and rest upon Him alone for salvation as He is offered in the Gospel? – Yes.3. Do you now resolve and promise, in humble reliance upon the grace of the Holy Spirit, that you will endeavor to live as becomes the followers of Christ? – Yes.4. Do you promise to support the Church in its worship and work to the best of your ability? – Yes5. Do you submit yourselves to the government and discipline of the Church, and promise to study its purity and peace?This is the earlier implication of Chapter 1 we are rescued so we will be holy. And Peter will begin explaining this and what living in a church family looks like as we move through 1 Peter.This says that if we are to be living stones founded on Christ the cornerstone, we must humbly admit our sin and need for grace, look in trust and Faith in Christ alone for salvation, and in dependence on the Holy Spirit for Christian living in a community.Therefore, we recognize that the Church is not a building; we are the living stones. And we need each other to grow.Dr. Karen Jobes points out that we are not stones scattered around a field that we are not so much individually the temple of God. But that the Christian view is always of us together forming this spiritual house. Every member matters. Paul here would remind us that Christ is our Head and we are his body.” Coming to Christ means coming into relationship with others, not only in one generation but also by being united with believers of every generation.” (Commentary 1 Peter).#3 This brings us to our final question: Who are we now as living stones and how does that mean we live as God’s people? What are some further implications for us: if we are in Christ look in Verse 5, 9, and 10?[5] you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ[9] But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. [10] Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.First, We are God’s People a people for his own possession – because we have received MERCY (when we were once not a people). Partly this means that God has called people from every tribe, tongue, and nation to be his people.It is what Paul argues in Ephesians 2:14-22 For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility [15] by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, [16] and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. [17] And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. [18] For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. [19] So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, [20] built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, [21] in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. [22] In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.God has enfolded everyone who has faith in Jesus as spiritually a part of his people. So no longer a physical temple, priests, and nation. But all who have faith in Christ Jesus have the faith of Abraham. It is all because of the mercy of God.This means that no longer are we to look for a future physical temple in Israel, but instead for the gospel to go forth to every tribe, tongue, and nation. Now, there is a living Temple of God where people hear the gospel of Jesus. And build their lives on the word of God, proclaiming Christ Jesus as their cornerstone.This gives a great simplicity to being a follower of Jesus. Everywhere the word of God goes forth and people repent of their sins and follow Jesus. That gathered group of people is gathered by the Holy Spirit, and they don’t need to start building a temple, and following the ceremonial laws, and finding a descendant of the Aaronic Priesthood, no.The only question is how have they responded to Jesus and his word? Remember, the great commission: Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, [20] teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20 ESV)What Paul and the New Testament show is not priests offering sacrifices. But ministers of the Word. That we all are gathered around the Word, the sacrifice of Prayer, the fragrant offering of our singing, the Table Fellowship of the Lord’s supper.All you need for a Church is the Word read, prayed, preached, sung, and seen in the Lord’s Supper with some bread & juice from grapes in some form…And Water. This means that while God certainly gives Teachers, Elders, Deacons, various gifts and callings. There is a much greater and active participation of every member of a Church than there was in the Temple.So how can you apply that? We are God’s Spiritual temple: Living Stones, A Living home built on a living foundation. Therefore, Every member matters. Everyone together forms the living stones of the temple. We serve each other with our gifts and graces.We are now a spiritual house. You no longer take a back seat to a priest who does it all, giving physical sacrifices. (verse 9). No we believe in the priesthood of believers. That we all offer from the heart, indwelt by the spirit, our prayer, our singing, and our adoration of God in worship and that it is holy and acceptable in Christ Jesus.We are built on the Cornerstone of Christ. We avoid stumbling by admitting we are sinners of need of Grace. We continue by being joined to our brothers and sisters as fellow living stones, and the kingdom of God goes forth in simplicity as those who have received MercyKeep looking in in Verses 5, 9-10 Again there are a few more traits of how we are called to think about the various ways people respond to Jesus.They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do. (Verse 9) But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.Verse 5 and verses 9-10. Have a difficult contrast some stumble and disobey the word as they were destined to do….And some are v. 9 chosen, verse 10, were not a people but now are because they have received Mercy. The reason Peter is saying these things is not because he is overly philosophical and wishes to debate election and predestination.The reason the bible usually mentions the Election of God is either to defend the Justice and Honor of God or to showcase his mercy. Because Mercy is available in Christ Jesus, and he is freely offered. All people will either accept the mercy found in Christ…and Peter wants the Christian community to call many more to Christ…Or people will stumble over Christ, not admit their sin, not admit their need. They will disobey the word. But Peter says that this stumbling disobedience is destined or appointed.The reason Paul mentions that some disobey the word as they were destined to do is to give sober warning about the reality of rejecting Christ and to give praise to God for showing undeserved mercy to those in darkness, who are not his people, who indeed are rebel sinners. All of us naturally, apart from the mercy of God would stumble over Christ.None of us in our pride wish to admit our sin and need of Christ. The seriousness of our sin…As R.C. Sproul says, everyone either receives Justice for rejecting Christ or the Undeserved mercy of the work of the Spirit in our lives, the redemption of Christ, and the Call of our heavenly Father. we received undeserved mercy…because if we are trusting in Christ, Justice has fallen on Christ in our place. Justice always happens with sin. No one receives Injustice, no one receives anything other than how they have responded to the offer of Christ in the gospel….However, in the mystery of the will of God we are also told of the choosing of God in mercy, in sending Christ, and the Holy Spirit to save a specific people for himself. It is a mystery held forth in scripture We could turn to Ephesians 1 or Romans 9 but I think less frequently turned to is Titus 1:1, 3:5-7 states it this way [1] Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God’s elect [God’s Chosen.]Chosen because we had the wisdom to not stumble over Christ? We had the humility on our own to admit our sin? Because we were just the living stone to make the temple look perfect? NO! Titus 3:5..[5] he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, [6] whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, [7] so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.Titus 3, highlights that it is undeserved mercy from God that rescues us from darkness and brings us back into his marvelous life. The Holy Spirit calls us, makes us living stones, he works us into the temple of God. Such that we are now sons and daughters of God who offer back our grateful praise.Look in Verse 5 again: you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.Peter is using an image and metaphor to tell us of spiritual reality. We are a Spiritual House. Well the word house there is also the same word for household. We are a spiritual household. Adopted into the family of God. I think if you translated verse 5 into the also very biblical adoption metaphor it would read, “You yourselves are have been brought together as sons and daughters of your heavenly Father by Jesus your elder brother, you are being built into the family of God, Holy sons, holy daughters.Two Application questions: First, How do we show God gratitude for this gifts to us?Offer your love, prayers, service, your singing as a sacrifice of praise with Joy as your elder brother Christ Jesus leads you into everything acceptable to your Father in heaven. Gratefully take your shame to God and trade it for Christ’s Honor. Your guilt for His forgiveness. Gratitude for the gift means clinging to Christ all the more when you don’t feel that gift. This will lead you to offer sacrifices of prayer, and praise, and crave the word.Second question: How can we practically share the gift of mercy and grace to others? First, humbly tell others that for us to be in Christ is to admit our sin and need. Freely admitting to others that the Church is a hospital for sinners.Second, we are adopted into a family. When we are seeking to point others to Christ, the cornerstone, they need to be brought to see the fellowship of the family of God, in the church family, and pointed to Christ by the living community. We can do this by having Sunday lunch with the other church families and including guests who are not following Jesus. We can include others on Wednesday nights and at any place where the church family gathers. (whether formally or informally)Praise God that he mercifully brought us into his family. Let us sing his praise in response. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jamesensley.substack.com

1 Peter 1:22-3:3 Love That Endures, Sin That Withers, New Life That GrowsIntroduction Good morning…Peter has for this first chapter been reminding us of our certain living hope in Christ Jesus. They have been chosen, called, made alive again by the Spirit, and enabled to persevere in the suffering that this new life in Christ brings into their lives. They have the assurance of their faith in the Holy scriptures, teaching them about Jesus’ suffering on their behalf and subsequent glory.The implications of these things is being united to Christ we must renew our minds after the image of Christ and walk in holiness of life. Active, progressive sanctification. The Battle of the Mind: We are either growing in sober Knowledge conformed to Christ or growing in Ignorance conformed to sinful passions. Our motivation is the fear of the Lord and the precious blood of Christ ransoming us back.  In response we meditate on the nature and character of God and his demands on our way of life. To be Holy as He is Holy.godliness…gratitude to the forgiveness of sins…a life shaped living before the face of a Holy Holy Holy God.Not only does salvation change our relationship to God. Conforming us to HIM. It also changes our relationships to each other. Peter now tells us of just how our community relationships will be changed by what has happened to us in our salvation. Read 1 Peter 1:22–2:3[22] Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart,  [23] since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God;  [24] for “All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, [25] but the word of the Lord remains forever.” And this word is the good news that was preached to you. (ESV) [1] So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. [2] Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk,  that by it you may grow up into salvation—[3] if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good. (ESV) #1 Love One Another Earnestly…since you have been made new by the gospel (v. 22)#2 Put Away all relational Sins…since you have the enduring word. (2:1, & 23-25)#3 Grow up into salvation by daily feeding on the  pure truth and goodness being worked into you. Look in v. 22 again…#1 Love One Another EarnestlyWe are commanded to love. Earnestly. From a sincere heart. What does it mean to be earnest? Our world likes the idea of love a lot. Every Disney movie ever has a love story. As a culture we like the idea of love.But two things come to mind with our culture and love.First, when we say love we often mean the feeling of romance and warmth we get from being around people that help us feel good, fulfilled, and better about ourselves. I’ve observed many students through the years who loved having a boyfriend or girlfriend…but they really loved the feeling of having a boyfriend or girlfriend. They weren’t thinking about sacrificially caring for that person, and whether they were someone they wanted to vow: before God and these witnesses, to be your loving and faithful husband, in plenty and in want, in joy and in sorrow, in sickness and in health, as long as we both shall live.The bottom line is so much of our love is NOT – seeking the other person’s highest good ultimately. So much of our love does not flow from the love of God filling our hearts, renewing our minds, and giving us wisdom and a moral compass to know what sincerely and earnestly seeking another’s good would even mean.Instead, our love is seeking a person who does a good job of filling what we lack because we are not secure in Christ, we are lost in sins, and we are a leaky cup (Ed Welch gives this illustration).Before coming to Christ, we are leaky cups and we are searching God’s creation for other creatures to fill us, but as soon as we get money, a job, respect, reputation, a boyfriend or girlfriend, a spouse, children, honors and accolades they leak out through the brokenness, the sin, the God-shaped holes in our hearts and lives.Instead, if we have been made alive, born again by the Spirit, our hearts are repaired, washed clean, and made whole… Now we can love others. Why?We are made upright and pure in heart. We are filled with the Love of God and like a one of those fancy fountains at weddings, the cup pyramids the top cup being filled overflows to others.Now that you have had your soul, your heart, made pure by believing the truth of the gospel. It is time to fulfill the goal and the purpose of the gospel. First, be Holy like God is Holy. Be right vertically with God. Second, begin responding to the truth of the gospel by acting in a holy, forgiving, and loving way towards others.This is important. Because if it is the love of God filling our hearts, what overflows, will be authentic biblical love and not the world’s substitute for love, which can false in several ways: by being selfish, immoral, self-indulgent, or distorted against God’s good designs.Further, A Biblically authentic. Holy. Sacrificial kind of love for others will be earnest.That word earnest is the idea of: loving Deeply, full-speed ahead, unreservededly, from an undivided heart.Picture this earnest love this way: Picture a cliff rescue. One in which you can’t reach and sorta go eh I can’t reach you man. Oh no I love you but I can’t reach. It might get a little dangerous for me if I Stretched myself at all to rescue you.Versus: Maybe Sam grabbing Frodo in the fires of Mount Doom, and he is stretching, he is reaching, he has an undivided heart, that cares more for the rescue than for the danger that his earnest reaching places himself in.Dan Doriani says it is unfeighned without pretense, brotherly and filial, not calculating.The calculating kind of love does not stretch out at risk to itself over that cliff to pull the brother back!Why? Because we have experienced the love and grace of God. Our cups are filled.The grounds and logic of this love is in response to your obeying the truth. The truth of the gospel .Since you have been purified by your obedience to the truth. Since you know God’s grace, acceptance, love, and have a regenerate heart, therefore, you can love in this way. We know this phrase “obedience to the truth” means responding in faith to the gospel through 5-6 verses but here are two…Eph. 1:13: In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit.Col. 1:5-6 because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing—as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth.When we receive, the word of truth, the gospel, we receive it bearing fruit, because we have understood the grace and the love of God shown us in our salvation. Because we are sealed with the holy spirit. We reach forth in love. What is the Chief mark of an authentic Christian?We cannot read hearts and minds.We cannot detect regeneration….beep…beep. Yep that’s a spiritually alive heart indwelt by the Holy Spirit.We can hear people’s words. Yes. To see if they understand the truth of the gospel. We can hear as Peter says early in chapter 1 about their words in regards to the holiness of God, the seriousness of sin and their love for Christ as savior.But at the end of the day the serious FRUIT we see as Col. 1:5-6 says it is the gospel bears fruit and 1 Peter 1:22 says the obedience to the gospel is the fruit of Earnest, sincere love for the brothers.The epistle of 1 John says, If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.Biblically authentic Love for one another is a fruit and a Sign of salvation. (Disney love proves nothing.).But second, notice the brotherhood, the implied church family, the Shape of the love is in community…And in community we love by seeking their objective chief and highest good. According to the truth of the word of God.That is the mark of a Christian.Earnest Love. And Earnest Putting away of Sin.Repentance. New Obedience.Mortification of Sin. Vivification of the Gospel and the Gospel fruit of Love for GOD (Worship) and Love for Other (Gospel Community)…#1 Love One Another Earnestly…since you have been made new by the gospel (v. 22)#2 Put Away all Relational Sins: Because you have been born by the living and abiding word of God![2:1] So/Therefore put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander….Why? verse 23 is the why…[1:23] since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; [24][And quoting Isaiah 40:8] “All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, [25] but the word of the Lord remains forever.”   The Word of God abides foreverbecause the word of God, reflects his holy Attributes. Consider Psalm 19:7-10 God’s Word isperfect, revives the soul.  the precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; thecommandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes; 9  the fear of the LORD is clean,enduring forever; the rules of the LORD are true, and righteous altogether.The seed of what the word of God does in the human heart, in the church, and down through history Endures forever, is true, and righteous altogether.What you have been born again to Outlasts the world: Empires fade. Ideologies fade. [Turn to Isaiah 40.]Isaiah chapter 40 begins to make these certain promises to Israel. Every promise to Israel that is about to be unfolded from Isaiah 40-66. The promise of Redemption. Life by a messiah. These things cannot fade and fail.What God is doing in Salvation to comfort his people cannot fade or fail. Peter is quoting Isaiah 40 verse 8 and its in the context of God beginning to give good news to Isarel after bad news for 39 chapters…So we arrive in Isaiah 40…with Israel…exiled…lost…all external community in shambles.Isaiah 40:1–5 Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. [2] Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the LORD’s hand double for all her sins.ISRAEL has received PARDON. Grace. Double pardon double grace for all her sin. Christ is Promised. God is speaking, comfort, comfort my people…the living and abiding word of God cries. Is. 40:3ffA voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. [4] Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.” (ESV)Christ has come. He has established the highway of our salvation by his death on the cross. And his glory has been revealed. And what? The grass withers the flower fades but the word of the Lord remains forever.Verse 11… God will tend his flock like a shepherd he will gather the lambs in his arms;Christ has gathered the church in his arms, he has called us his by the good news of the gospel. Life in Christ. Clean. Set apart. Born again. Holy. Indwelt by the Holy Spirit a New Community.Many things in life fail…But the church called, born again, and brought together in every generation as brothers and sisters in Christ abides forever. The gospel has gone forth and the Word of the Lord remains forever.If you grew up under the word you may like Israel wander, go astray, go to Babylon, but remember the word of God always calls you back.No matter how far you go, the word of the Lord remains forever and will not return void.This is true not just for individual covenant children but in the broad revival and reformation of the church in history. God’s Church will not fade and fail.We should therefore have great confidence in the bible as believers. It is the seed by which we are born again. It is the living and active word. The sword that pierces hearts.Consider our great heroes who sparked, reformations, global missionary movements, and church reform in the face of great loss of spiritual truths.Gideons – thousands brought to a living relationship. Bibles to communist countriesJohn Wycliffe (late 14th) – The bible in your language not latin…condemned but centuries later William Tyndale (early 16th) building on Wycliffe said, “If God spare my life, ere many years I will cause a boy that driveth the plough shall know more of the Scripture than thou dost. “a plough boy knowing more than a priest”The Reformation with the Gutenburg press and a German bible by Luther. Allowed for the word to go forth like never before.The Bible in Indian, Chinese, Russian, all these places the Churches has gone in it is a seed planted underground and it has been immense fruit even in communist states…the bible is an unfading treasure.And the Church has responded with the obedience of faith to the gospel, to the Whole counsel of God, even in dark times.In Every century, the bible most be re-affirmed: Re-affirmed as sufficient for life, doctrine, godliness, wisdom, decision making, to organize your life around. In Every century the bible most be re-affirmed as the powerful tool of the gospel going forth and churches being strengthened and the faith being passed on to the next generation.Isaiah 40:8 which is now on our bulletin. Reminds us that God’s word is what gathers us in worship. It is unfading in being able to be used of the Holy Spirit as the ordinary instrument that unites us to Christ who is the Word made flesh who has life in himself abundantly.And this word is the good news that was preached to you. (ESV)Never forget the good word is preached to you. It is the truth. It endures and you can build your life on it because in it you find Christ andPastors may fade and fail. Individual denomination may fade and fail. But The Word remains Forever The gospel anchors everything.So read verse 22 next to verse 1 with me now.…[22] Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, …Having tasted and seen that God is good![1] put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander….Therefore, put away – take off, put to death everything that no longer fits with a holy child of God. That no longer fits with a heart that has had the love of God fill it. That has had the gospel reshape its loves. A heart that has a sincere and deep love for brothers and sisters in Christ that experienced the forgiveness of the Gospel.Put away these community sins. Dan Doriani calls this “community destroying sins.” Many of which are “respectable sins.” If its directed against the right people.Put away all Malice/Evil – You have been saved by God. You have tasted that he is good. Wickedness, Self-serving, evil purposes must be done away with.chiefly anything that willingly seeks to harm other people. Nursing, ill will, and vindictiveness towards others. Mal – bad – will towards others made in the image of God. Get rid of it! If you find malice in your heart towards another, I want you to flinch away from that sin like you do discovering you have a spider on your shoulder!Do not keep pet spiders on your shoulders! Especially. Especially towards a brother or sister in Christ covered by the blood of Christ.Doriani again notes…its interesting that this list is of community sins. Respectable since. Not gross pagan sins. Not perversions of nature. Not idolatry. Not murder and evil governments…Polite Wickedness needs to be put off. Callous indifference.Over and over here is the word ALL. You wyould never say, “I’ll brush off some spiders off my shoulders…but I’ll keep some of them as pet sins…No All malice of thought, word, or deed…flee from it. Repent. Ask for the Spirits help.Put away all Hypocrisy: Do not live two lives. Two standards. Pretending to care about something or someone but only because it helps you. This harms community. “these people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.” (Isa 29:13).Put away all Envy: Wanting what others have. Such that we are mad at God that he gave those looks, that money, that job, that house, those talents or gifts to that person and not you. You neglect to be joyful and count your own blessing and so you envy…and so you will soon hold Malice towards others in the community for what they have..especially if you have envy for the wicked…Envy of the wicked says, “Man if I just didn’t have moral standards…” I could have what my pagan neighbors have, if I just didn’t tithe, if I just changed my doctrine or ethics to be more acceptable I could be accepted and loved by our culture.Put away all Deceit and Slander: I think it is obvious on the surface. If we have purified our souls by obedience to the TRUTH. If we believe in Capital T truth that all truth is God’s truth, that there is a universal objective Lord who knows the truth of all matters. We cannot twist facts, shade the truth, tell white lies, and attempt to deceive or slander our brothers and sisters.Now, “love covers a multitude of sins.” We don’t say, “Well, I’m just telling the truth.” We tell the truth to those who have a real right to certain facts based on proper authority structures and age appropriateness. But in all these things, we honor the Lord with honest integrity.   There was a case recently of a well-known pastor who kept several anonymous twitter accounts in order to attack his personal enemies with slander and lies.So you can see the sin of ENVY, lead to the sins of deceit and slander.Sins of the Heart often lead to sins of the tongue…or in these days the sins of the keyboard.When I think of Deceit, I often think of politics…but more specific than that political PRIMARIES. How often have we been told…slanderously…this person is the worst, they wake up in the morning and kill puppy dogs. Then 3 months later after the primary is done“this candidate is the greatest and I am proud to endorse them.”In the Christian community let us be slow to give a poor report. Take care that information is going to the correct people. And put away all deceit.The gospel truth calls for us to do so. Let us close with this…Put Off. Put On verse 2.[2] Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk,  that by it you may grow up into salvation— [3] if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good. (ESV)#3 Put On:  Grow Up into maturity. Grow up into salvation by following the daily command to long for pure truth and goodness being worked into you.Long for / Crave ongoing growth in the gospel of truth > That is moral & doctrinal transformationYou don’t once hear the gospel and then move onYou don’t “get saved” have an episode where you felt guilty for wrongdoing and knew you needed some Jesus in your life with not ongoing transformation to be like Christ and growing in godliness.No, you are born again, are putting off the old life, and daily, hourly, like and infant constantly feeding on the new life you have in Christ, the obedience to the truth has daily implications. And in this context it means daily feeding on the goodness of God, the goodness of the gospel, the abiding life found in the word, the abiding community of brothers and sistsers in fellowship. So worship. Word. Prayer. Fellowship. Godly transformed living. This is the good, true, beautiful, and spiritual good. The pure milk of the transformed Christian.There is no category in the bible for a believer who is able to be fleshly, perpetually immature, not growing, not feeding, not loving their brothers and sisters, not seeing the gooness of God daily.Long for continued life / continued moral transformation and to conform yourself to the goodness and grace of God you have experienced.The idea is that by the Holy Spirit and this new birth by the gospel you will like an infant Long for the holiness of God consistently be going back again and again to the word, the gospel, and your community to experience this new life.Remember the leaky cup loves sin, seeks to fill itself with worldy love, worldly passions of the flesh, and does so with malice, envy, harm…filling itself with the poisonous fruit of vice.The believer has been born again by the word and has cast off these things…Because we know the Lord is good in his grace to us.So daily long for the word, the gospel, nearness to God, and to God’s people. This is offered to you in corporate Worship with the ordinary means of grace, in fellowship when we gather for food and prayer, and privately as you feed on the word.  Prayer | Benediction: 1 Peter 1:2According to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood: May grace and peace be multiplied to you. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jamesensley.substack.com

1 Peter 1:13-21 Renewing Your MindIntroduction: Good morning, we are continuing our study of 1 Peter. So turn in your bible to 1 Peter 1:13-21. Peter has, for 12 verses, been reminding his readers of their living hope in Christ Jesus. They have been chosen, called, made alive again by the Spirit, and enabled to persevere in the suffering that this new life in Christ brings into their lives. They have the assurance of their faith in the Holy scriptures, teaching them about Jesus’ suffering on their behalf and subsequent glory.This Morning, Peter is going to remind us of the implications of the gospel. The implication of “how we should then live” if this is what we have in Christ Jesus.Read 1 Peter 1:13-21[13] Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. [14] As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, [15] but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, [16] since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” [17] And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fearthroughout the time of your exile, [18] knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, [19] but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. [20] He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you [21] who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.PrayIllustration: If I told you, I need you to care for my pet. And then just handed you a list of care instructions…without telling you what this pet was, you would be confused…Well it needs straw three times a day…and it needs 3 scoops of special pellets at each meal, and you should avoid chocolate. I can give you instructions. Commands. But you should probably know whether this is a Rabbit or a Horse eating straw and avoiding chocolate. before you get  there.G.K. Beal points out that “Peter first tells his readers who they are before telling them how to behave.” That is what the therefore is there for of verse 13.Since you have received the Gospel by the Holy Spirit and are now Chosen and Holy Exiles, Sons and Daughters of God How should you then Live? Three Main Ideas this Morning: #1#1 The Battle of the Mind: We are either growing in sober Knowledge conformed to Christ or growing in Ignorance conformed to sinful passions. ..vv. 13-14#2 We are Ransomed from futile former lives to live Holy lives vv. 15-19#3 Jesus grants us Faith in the Father. v. 20-21 #1 vv. 13-14  Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance,First, If you have been born again in Christ Jesus, You have a Renewed Mind, and the gospel brings you from Ignorantly being led and controlled and conformed to Sinful desires.  You now have Knowledge and sober-minded self-control in Christ your Hope. Grace creates spiritually sober-people:V. 13. Says be ready. That is Get Ready. Be battle ready. Be alert. Be on guard. Literally “gird up the loins of your mind if you have the KJV version.Salvation drives us to be ready for action, to be ready for active sanctification and the renewal of how we think and live..You were ignorant and unprepared to face sin but now the Holy Spirit give you a  “renewed mind” a sober mind. A prepared mind.And this is not just the guy who likes to talk about what he THINKS about different things, a philosopher…No, for the believer we are always striving for the movement from Head to Heart. Heart. to Hands. The Christian life Should not remain Head alone or Heart alone or Hands alone.Jesus in Luke 12:35 Stay dressed for action.In Exodus before the Lord rescues Israel from Egypt. Their physical readiness is described this way, eat the Passover, “with your belt fastened, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. And you shall eat it in haste. It is the LORD’s Passover.God is rescuing you from sin and darkness. Be ready in that rescue to march forward with God’s people. TO where God will lead you.Do not drift aimlessly through life with no thought of where your actions and where your thinking will lead you. (Ill: Swim across river passively).The image is that passive minds will always be catechized, trained, and conformed to the sinfully ignorant culture around them. (Swept downstream).Take every thought captive to Christ.Our culture often advocates for living by your heart, your feelings, emotional appeal, without consideration to God and the truths of his creation, the realities of the fall, or the grace of salvation.So how can we be catechized…Trained by God more than fallen thinking: How? By Being Sober Minded. / Self-Controlled. How?The power of a greater love and affection controls us: The imperative. The  command is this: Set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus ChristSet your mind FULLY on the grace and mercy of Jesus! How? By staying alert and ready, being self-controlled!By Having are thoughts Filled with the wonders of the Grace of God. Filled with Wonderful and high thoughts about the God of Grace knowing that we will have these truths fully shown to us when Christ returns and we see him face to face.Until then we are meditating and Reminding ourselves in our hearts and our minds of the truths of these things. What we believe and give our full attention to gives us perseverance.Right belief – Orthodoxy – being reminded of our understanding of God, Jesus, the Bible, and Grace in salvation should always lead to Orthopraxy - holiness of life, love for God, love for neighbor in practical and well-reasoned ways, with habits, disciplines, and as a consistent way of life lived in community.And get this: it works the other direction as well.You must be warned. That to embrace secular morality and ways of living, embrace calling sin good and good evil, as post-modernism demands you do, will always and inevitably lead to forgetting the grace of Christ, forgetting who God is, and a rejection of the gospel.Some false teachers will frame – compromise with sin – as a kindness – that to say, “actually that is an acceptable lifestyle, old-fashioned Christians used to think that was wrong but we know better. It’s the 21st century. I love my neighbor by affirming them in their sin – in their “ignorant passions.”  (Come to your neighbor Full of grace & truth. Speak the truth in love.)Rejection of a Christian morality  “orthopraxy” – right living - inevitably leads to a loss of orthodoxy – right thinking -  becausePeter continues this line of thinking in V. 14.V. 14 as obedient children, Do not be conformed [pressed into the mold of] the passions of your former ignoranceThis means first that as obedient children “God is your Father”Before you were saved you had Other Father’s you were obedient to …Satan…Adam…pagan Culture at large. No longer. God is your Father in Christ and as a Son or Daughter of God you are going to be shaped to be like him and are indeed commanded to be like him. You now have a Holy calling as a Child of your heavenly father.But when we are conformed to our passions…our fallen desires…you are brought back into your former ignorance and all knowledge of God and kn. Of grace in Christ is ultimately lost.And with it the knowledge and the sober-mindedness to know what Is actually loving, kind, faithful, good and true and beautiful to your neighbors in complex situations.#1 ApplicationTherefore – Ask yourself – Am I renewing my mind? Am I sober-minded. Am I setting my hope on the grace of Christ in such a way that I have a disciplined mind and will?Or Am I out of control, I have addictions, swings of mood, inconsistent thinking, inconsistent hopes so much so that it makes me not fully fixed on the grace and hope I have in Christ.Are the images, knowledge and beliefs I consume incompatible with the grace of Christ and instead eroding my mind? (Will, conscience).Trust the Holy Spirit working in Scripture and through wise Christian counsel to help you discern these things.What is the standard of what you are being conformed to? The Command is to hope fully in the grace of the gospel and not be conformed to your former ignorance. But the standard is in verses 15-19.#2 vv. 15-19 but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, [16] since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” [17] And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, [18] knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, [19] but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.#2 We are Ransomed from futile former lives to live Holy lives as Sons & daughters. 15-19This is Peter’s second Command Be holy in ALL your conductThe motivation is a mind set on grace. The standard is a Holy God. How does your mind know how you should live? The law of righteousness, The Character of God. The Law written on our hearts by the spirit revealing the character of a Holy GodWe are set apart as Holy. So we will become what we already are.You are objectively “Holy in Christ” because you have been ransomed by the precious of Christ.And you will become like who you are united to.Remember, “The Christian’s standard of and motivation for holiness is the absolute moral perfection of God Himself: We are made in His Image and are to reflect Him.” – Reformation Study Bible.Therefore, the Christian standard for our thinking, reasoning, reflection, our conscience, is God’s thinking, God’s thoughts, God’s reasoning, and he has declared these things to us in every word of Scripture by his Holy Spirit.Peter is quoting here from several repeated statements in Leviticus: Since it is written, You shall be holy, for I am Holy. (Lev. 11:44 & 19:2)So holiness if connected to God’s nature and character.Leviticus 20:7–8 Consecrate yourselves, therefore, and be holy, for I am the Lord your God.(Well How? What does this look like?) Keep my statutes and do them; I am the Lord who sanctifies you.So holiness is attached to the revealed commandments of God.Leviticus 20:26 You shall be holy to me, for I the Lord am holy and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be mine.Holiness is connected to exclusively belonging to God and being separated from the pagan nations.G.K. Beale explains it this way: The general thrust of the holiness in the Old Testament is the strong conviction that the Israelites must not only be "clean" but progress into a state of utter "holiness," fit for God's presence. "To be holy is to be unblemished or unmarred. It is to experience life in all its fullness as God has originally intended it to be."” (Beale, 412)The only hope of being a Holy people in Christ Jesus. And it Is not only that we won’t be cast out but that we in Christ will be drawn near and fit for the presence of God.And as God’s holy people we look to the Holy Spirit to do the work in our hearts and minds to cleanse, to renew us after the image of Christ.V. 17 – says, we will Call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exileOn first read this is terrifying. And in some ways it is we are to conduct ourselves with fearful care in all our deeds….But not because salvation is by works or uncertain. Are we saved by grace but kept in by works?, By no means. T wo comfortsIsaiah 53:5 Jesus was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. (ESV)God’s just judgement has already landed on Christ…That is our Justification.And Second, in our Sanctification: in the renewing of our minds, the conforming ourselves to Christ Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit the Christian will bear fruit.  And god the Father will judge the fruit of sanctification for what is it. Good works done by the power of the Spirit. And one motivation for holiness is rightly understanding a Sovereign. Holy. Just Judge. Not “hey big fellow in the sky” but Holy God and Judge of the Universe who is my Father in Christ Jesus. So we must strive to understand and live according to the moral character of a Holy. Just. Judge & Father.Think of the Logic of 2 Peter 1:4–9 …In Christ by the Spirit we…become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. [5] For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, [6] and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, [7] and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. [8] For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. [9] For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. (ESV)I think we can say it this way – we speak of Total Depravity a lot. In Adam we were ignorantly conformed to our passions and dead in our trespasses and sins.In our salvation in Christ Jesus you have been regenerated and your mind is being renewed with knowledge and self-control.Christians are no longer totally depraved that was the old man.Christians can progress in sanctification. In fact you can do it with self-control and steadfast effort as the Holy Spirit works in you. And God the Father not only sees you Justified in Christ Jesus but also sanctified by the Spirit and says, well done good and faithful servant.Conduct yourselves with Fear with Humble reverence and awe. Understanding true strength, splendour, glory, and holiness. That all we think, do, believe, and trust in should flow from him and toSo do you see Peter building up a whole lot of motivations here? Gratitude to Grace. Fear of a Holy God. Living as a Child of your Heavenly Father. The motivation of rejecting Ignorance and embracing knowledge.A Further motivation to Holiness, Look in verse 18: You were ransomed from Futile ways inherited from your forefathersRansomed yes,From what futile ways from your forefathers?: note 1:14; 4:3Peter will list specifics: Greek and roman base cultural sins. So we can ask, What American base cultural sins do we need to be brought from darkness into light? What as an American if you cease from the futile American sins would surprise your neighbors??? That is the thinking.So the motivation is to reject former futility in our former lives but even further, This ransom’s preciousness is one of our motivations to holiness.The Imperishable precious blood of Christ like the spotless lamb without blemish.Just as God redeemed Israel from Egypt and Babylon - We were ransomed. Bought back from slavery.The costliness of something makes us literally Value it. Prize it. It does what? Makes our minds alert, sober-minded, and more disciplined. It makes what has been purchased set apart as a special possession.It is Precious: As a Kid when we went to Six Flags Over I distinctly remember knowing that it Cost Money to be there. Therefore…I wanted to ride as many rides as I could. It was precious. It was a gift. Our entire mind soul and body for 8 Hrs was spent thinking about Rollercoasters…You have been Redeemed by a far greater cost. Then $20 in 1999...It is the precious blood of Christ has saved purchased you back.Peter is arguing that If your salvation was so costly shouldn’t you strive with all your mightto Be Holy like God is Holy. To prepare yourself for action.How should you then live? – Practically, You should meditate on scriptures and take action in Mind, Affections, and Actions to conform your Ethics, Character, and Habits to be Holy, Godly, Christlike. That is a Christian Ethic, Christian Character, and Christian Habits.Where should you be meditating (OMG: W.P.S.F.)The 10 Commandments; WLCProverbs – for wisdomThe second half of every NT EpistleJesus in the gospels.Being grounded in the gospel you are a new creation now live as your are called to be. Holy. Godly. Upright. Let the word of God be lamp unto your feet. In real specifics not religious sounding principles such that when you read a command it is a command to be obeyed not an idea to feel proud having thought about.God does not care if we can define religious terms and remember his commands if we do not do them from the heart.Satan delights in a believer who knows everything he or she should be doing but never lifts a finger to actually form virtue in their Speech, humility, actions, habits, or daily schedule.For example there are constant commands in the bible about how Christians should speak, with wisdom, life, and not corrupt talk. If God is Holy our Speech ought to be Holy.You are bound by the God of the universe to his character to know we can use our tongues wisely or foolishly and there is a moral component to be different and talk different from the world. And this is a battle of your mind, your affections (love), and actions. You will either have an ethical position on blasphemy, vulgarity, and slurs or you won’t (if you don’t the default is being swept downstream); you will either have a character commitment and rule or you won’t, you will have habits and sin always wants more.You will either love your neighbor with your words or you will defame, slur, curse, and debase their mind with the images your words paint.This does not mean every Christian will have a black and white answer to when different language is appropriate for all time, cultures, languages and situations. But you will have the same Goal and Pattern be Holy like Christ Jesus indwelt with his spirit and in gratitude to your salvation you won’t just skim past commands to holy living without giving it attention and real action in your life: What do the scriptures sa? be holy in all your conductBecause it is about the joy of conforming yourself to be like Jesus who saved you and made you alive.That is just one example. But I encourage you once more. Proverbs. The 10 Commandments. Listen and Honor your Father and Mother when they correct you on a behavior. Not because they want “good” “nice” kids, but because they desire godliness…gratitude to the forgiveness of sins…a life shaped living before the face of a Holy Holy Holy God.There are numerous places for meditation on Holy Living. Sit down as a family and I would suggest starting at #10 and working backwards through those larger catechism questions. Study the Fruit of the Spirit. Study the Sermon on the Mount. Study all these things as those who have Freedom in Christ but who do not use their freedom as a cover for sin.Having given us the strongest of commands to Holy Lives. Peter gives us this encouragement once more in verses 20-21.#3: Jesus was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you [21] who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.Jesus is loved eternally by the Father. In these last days it is through Christ that we know and believe in the Father. Faith in Jesus produces and confirms our Faith in the Father1 My hope is built on nothing lessthan Jesus' blood and righteousness;I dare not trust the sweetest frame,but wholly lean on Jesus' name.3 His oath, his covenant, his bloodsupport me in the whelming flood;when all around my soul gives way,he then is all my hope and stay.4 When he shall come with trumpet sound,O may I then in him be found;dressed in his righteousness alone,faultless to stand before the throne.You are Holy. Have Holy Minds. Live Holy Lives. Entrust your sins and doubts to Christ knowing You will be holy in the blood of Christ. Faultless to stand before the throne.Prayer | Benediction This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jamesensley.substack.com

04 1 Peter 1:10-12 Things into Which Angels Long to Look What if I told you I had information that even the Angels longed to hear about it. At one point in time what I know the Cherubim, the Seraphim were talking to each other asking, what’s up with the whole redemption of fallen humans? Remember the demons. They rebelled and they’re don. But mankind, fallen in Adam, dead in their trespasses and sins, God is going to pour out his grace and mercy on them and work a glorious salvation. And he is going to do it by the glorious anointed prophet-priest-king who is a redeemer, born of a woman, born in about a situation of suffering, humility, loss, and only then will he receive the crown of glory….And it seems that this may be the eternal and pre-existent second person of the trinity, God the Son who will take on a weak and finite human nature to do it…Am I hearing this right? It seems impossible but God has spoken by His Prophets it will surely come to pass.Passage: 1 Peter 1:10-12[10] Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, [11] inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. [12] It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look. (ESV) Introduction:·      The Bible is not written by men who sat down to think about God and humans and our philosophy, our guesses. Herman Bavinck rightly says, “Holy Scripture is not a book of religion which man has written about God, but a book in which God reveals himself to man.” — Reformed Dogmatics, vol. 1, 441·      Not only is the Bible God moving towards us through His prophets. We can say the bible is about our salvation in Christ Jesus. The center of the bible is that our salvation by grace alone in Christ Alone. (Now does that mean the bible is not about wisdom, the ethical life, dealing with sorrow, about the creation of the world, the fall, heaven…It is about all those things. Its is a religious book, But the Center is God saves sinners through the Christ Jesus. (It’s the bullseye or like coffee it infuses everything.)·      Our Salvation in Christ Jesus was prophesied about repeatedly and consistently throughout the entirety of human history.  And we have the word of God giveno   Given for our faith, for our worship, for our assurance and joy.o   In the highs and lows of life it is good for us to understand that what Peter has written here. V. 1-9 is Good news in suffering. Vv. 10-12 Scriptural foundationo   Peter has a deep understanding of the nature of the bible, the nature of what the prophets were doing, of our salvation, of who Jesus was and the work he came to earth to do.o   And it impacts how we read the scriptures and impacts the glory we give to Christ on every page of inspired scripture.And what did God say? This is a lengthy paragraph by Herman Bavinck about what the message of the bible is that the prophets give us. This is like a pot of bone broth that has been simmering on the stove for the last 10 hrs. Its pure nutrition: “The whole revelation of the Old Testament converges upon Christ … A person is the completed revelation of God; the Son of Man is the own and only-begotten Son of God. The relationship of the Old and New Testament is … of promise and fulfillment (Acts 13:12 and Rom. 1:2), of shadow and body (Col. 2:17), of image and reality (Heb. 10:1), of shaken and unshaken things (Heb. 12:27), of bondage and freedom (Rom. 8:15 and Gal. 4). And since Christ was the real content of the Old Testament revelation (John 5:39; 1 Peter 1:11; and Rev. 19:10), He is in the dispensation of the new covenant also its capstone and crown. He is the fulfillment of the law, of all righteousness (Matt. 3:15 and 5:17), of all promises, which in Him are yea and amen (2 Cor. 1:20), of the new covenant which is now established in His blood (Matt. 26:28). The people of Israel itself, with all its history, its offices and institutions, its temple and its altar, its sacrifices and ceremonies, its prophecy, psalmody, and wisdom teaching, achieves its goal and purpose in Him. Christ is the fulfillment of all that, first of all in His person and appearance, then in His words and works, in His birth and life, in His death and resurrection, in His ascension and sitting at the right hand of God.That’s that bottom line. But let us glory in this and work this deep into our hearts and our reflexes as we read the bible this morning and as you do a yearly reading plan.The grace and salvation of God through Christ, an anointed redeemer, was proclaimed by God.“Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.” – Heb. 1:1-2God has spoken to us in the bible. And he has spoken to us through Jesus Christ. The good news is “The bible is an open book in which God tells us about the riches of salvation we have in Christ Jesus. Therefore, study the Scriptures to be wise in respect to salvation (2 Tim. 3:15). – Simon KistemakerTo understand and believe that the bible is about Salvation in Jesus from beginning to end we need to answer three things1)        V. 10: What is a Prophet? And what this means for reading the bible2)        V. 11: What their message was? Its content, and3)        How  did the apostles teach us to read the OT Prophets? V. 12 (Much more briefly) What Spirit filled Proclamation accomplishes.LOOK in verse VERSE 10 – “Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully” ·      What is a Prophet or “who wrote the bible” “Chosen men who were inspired by the Holy Spirit” – The writing prophets, who called by God had a message.·      This means - God makes the first move by his spirit to call, set apart a spokesman, to speak on his behalf to his people. So Like Moses, like Isaiah, , they are called, in a burning bush, in a heavenly throne room vision, the Holy Spirit fills them to be the voice of God to God’s people.·      [ILL] But by the work of the Holy Spirit they are not like in Lilo & Stitch where stitch opens his mouth and he is like a radio. It bypasses his mind and will and he just plays the radio song, or placing his finger on the record and out comes the music. No. The bible consistently upholds both every word of Scripture every word of prophesy as from the Lord and also that is comes through the minds, will, and personality of the prophet. Isaiah still sounds like Isaiah and for the Apostles Peter and Paul have different writing styles.What this means is the prophets filled with the Holy Spirit that both the Spirit & Prophets are authors & active. 2 Peter and 1 Peter are true. Dual authorship:·       2 Peter 1:20–21 knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. [21] For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man (God is active), but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. (ESV)·       And 1 Peter 1:10 “they searched diligently, they enquired concerning this salvation the grace to be yours. (the prophets were thoughtful)·       The sense is that they spoke by the Spirit far better than they knew and also the truth about Jesus is really there in scripture to be seen and investigated by the prophets as they wrote more and more of scripture.o   When Eve believed that God would provide an offspring that would crush the serpent, she knew so very little but yet she had faith in a deliverance from sin and suffering…When Abraham was told to sacrifice Isaac and Moses recorded these events did he know of the exact nature of the messiah coming as our substitutionary sacrifice in our place? No. But the doctrine of salvation by grace alone by faith alone by God’s appointed substitute is really and truly present.o   So never let someone say – It can’t mean Jesus is the Ram in Genesis – because Abraham, didn’t know (Joseph Gen. 37-50).o   Job couldn’t have meant Jesus when he said (Job 19:25) “I know that my redeemer lives and he will stand upon the earth – because Job couldn’t have known that.§  Two points on this: The main one is the inspiration Holy Spirit means the authors and speakers are being guided by the one who has declared the end from the beginning of history. God. Himself speaks by his prophets not mere man. And so each and every word has the all knowing intention of God behind it Not just what that person could know.§  Second: Even as we remember what God knows. Don’t underestimate what Abraham, Job, and especially that later prophets knew. This is just my “people who live long ago aren’t dumb or incompetent rule. Do not forget that given the longer life spans, Job’s understanding of Creation and God’s promised grace in Genesis 3:15 is knowledge from Adam and Eve is only about 3-5 Oral traditions steps. It’s a very small game of telephone. Adam – Hey Methuselah God is going to provide a redeemer to save us from this mess. Methuselah – Hey Noah…Noah Hey Job…Job Hey Abraham. Now maybe the Tower of Babel makes this a slightly longer oral tradition chain. So remember think of people as less dumb. With better access to basically Genesis 1-3 then we often think. (All good theology starts in Genesis in seed form).§  Job and Abraham both have the same access to Genesis 3:15 and the promise of a redeemer. That the seed of the woman would crush the head of the serpent.§  And more importantly the Prophets of God such as Moses, Isaiah, Jeremiah, were called by God instructed by God and their message was given and preserved by God. The spoke far better than they knew. They treasured the revelation they had.·       ILL: grandmas 1 photo of her husband vs. an iphone of 3,000 photos. = greater reflection on what little you know. Less information on the Messiah means less taken for granted. How much do we take for granted about our knowledge of Jesus. Vs. – Sin has messed up the world. A Human savior will defeat satan. God will do this not me. I trust in that by faith.·       SO with what little they had “They searched diligiently.”·       That’s Abraham and Job. Lets proceed from here thinking about Isaiah, Jeremiah, King David. They are searching diligently.These prophets - They searched diligently – what were they searching? The Book of Romans or Ephesians: Were they memorizing Ephesians 2:8-10 and John 3:16? No. They were searching the Old Testament scriptures and Peter finds these scriptures filled words of salvation and grace to You gentile Christians according to verse 12.·      They searched the scriptures by the Spirit of Christ, by the Holy Spirit.o   Which means that. You too can search the bible and know the salvation and grace promised in the bible. You too have the Holy Spirit you are not a prophet, but the Lord has had his prophets write down his great redemptive acts his great glory and character the way he saves his people (Exodus). The way he matures his people. Numbers with the wilderness wanderings they are for you written for our example and written to inspire worship in us of a God who “works wonders” “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, (Ex. 34:6).·      Wait so 1 Peter is saying – The prophets searched the scriptures diligiently to see of the grace of our salvation.o   So they certainly understood the bible is about God!o   The bible is about god’s Grace and Mercy.o   The bible is about God saving a people “I will be your God and you will be my people” and he shall save us from our sins. And God has brought us into his family.o   And God will feed, grow, and mature Israel in the wilderness wandering.·      But 1 Peter 1:11 Says more than this is about the Lord Jesus Christ. …Peter argues w/ Paul ino   1 Corinthians 10:1–6 For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, [2] and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, [3] and all ate the same spiritual food, [4] and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ. [5] Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness.o   [6] Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did… (ESV)o   Manna, water from rocks, all were what we call “types and shadows” real history that a sovereign God made happen to show us physically what is the spiritual reality.§  Now Paul’s point in 1 Cor. 10 is that many did not believe. Many did not have faith but those who did have faith Those who did trust in faith, Paul is saying. Here and in Romans 4 about Abraham. That they were saved by Faith and so are we.o   Israel was saved by the Covenant of grace in Christ Jesus.o   That Rock in the wilderness was Christ. He had not been incarnate. He had not suffered. Died. And been glorified but yet there he was spiritually if by faith an Israelite trusted in the promises of God to them. Merely being physically present. Physically eating manna, physically belonging to the covenant people was not sufficient. But Faith in the salvation of God by his provision was sufficient…o   WCF 11.6 expresses it this way, The justification of believers under the Old Testament was, in all these respects, one and the same with the justification of believers under the New Testament because Jesus - Heb. 13:8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.o   And they were aided with many many promises of just what form this savior would take.Look in verse 11 & 12 again with me: inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. [12] It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look. (ESV)So many amazing things here. The two truths we need to hammer down how the apostles teach us to read the bible and what this accomplishes in us today when its proclaimed:Verse 11 says by the power of Christ’s Spirit They were inquiring… into the who, when, and what of Jesus. SO lets make sure we touch on the rest of 11 & 12 before we get carried away there.·        First: twice mentioned The Holy Spirits work in this: isn’t it lovely in the unity of the Trinity that the Father and Son pour out the Holy Spirit?o   The Holy Spirit who inspires the prophets…His job in writing scripture is so tied to working faith in our Messiah, our Savior who is the Christ into us that he is called the Spirit of Christ “Christ’s Spirit.”  He is Sent by both the Father & Son.o   The Holy Spirit, the quiet member of the trinity, communicates truth, knowledge of sin, but most importantly as we saw earlier in 1 Peter, trust and faith in Jesus, conviction that Jesus is our God loves us and is our savior.o   He assures your heart that you are In Christ because he is the one in your heart UNITING YOU TO CHRIST.   o   The Prophets giving you the Old Testament. The Apostles Showing us by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven served us by giving us the good news of Jesus’ sufferings and glories. SO what follows is by the power of the Holy Spirit, by the power of the Spirit of Christ, things Angels are blown away by. But they were Revealed. Revelationed. Apocalypsed to us. Turn to Luke 24 with me And if you read the bible by the power of the Spirit what will you find? Christ.·      Luke 24 [Storytime, Summarize Road to Emmaus with two disciples]o   Luke 24:25–27 And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! [26] Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” [27] And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. (ESV)o   [44] Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” [45] Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, [46] and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, [47] and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. [48] You are witnesses of these things. [49] And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” (ESV)·      Jesus accomplishing out salvation in his sufferings and glory is the center and focal point of the bible. He is the center of history. And he will be the center of eternity seated on the throne.·       This is what Peter is saying in that the Holy Spirit was indicating and “signifying” Christ to us. – Breaking news! Salvation will come by suffering and not glory! Except Peter didn’t break that news the entirety of the OT did.·       Breaking News! Let it be known Isaiah 53: Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. The Messiah is coming but it may be in a manger…to a poor carpenter…not in a palace!·       So many of the promises in the Old Testament come to us in Humility so Jesus is a Humble – prophet, priest, and king, the humble atoning lamb, he was exiles like Israel, dies is buried like Jonah, offers himself to save his people like Samson and like Joseph a servant in Egypt.o   The OT Sacrifical system, feasts and festivals are filled with anticipated HUMBLE characteristics of salvation and life from the Lord. Do not read of the humility of David in the psalms, of the suffering servant of Isaiah apart from how these offices, institutions, and people God sovereignly placed teach us about Jesus.o   Jesus is really there the apostles confirm these things:o   He is our Prophet:  John 6:14 “This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!”   (Deut. Prophet like Moses)o   Hebrews 4:14 Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.o   King: Romans 1:3 the gospel which he promised…when? Beforehand, through is prophets in the Holy Scriptures, concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh…That is to say Jesus is great David’s great son. He inherits all the Kingly psalms and all David’s suffering psalms anticipate the messiah.§  As you understand what the kings, prophets, and priests were called to do and be you understand Jesus bettero   He is our sacrifice: Hebrews 9:11–13 …he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption…as you understand the paschal lamb, Isaac’s near sacrifice as the firstborn son as you understand Leviticus better you understand Jesus better.o   He is our Temple: Revelation 21:22 And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb.§  The next time someone is asking when the temple is being rebuilt in Jerusalem point them to Rev. 21:22 sorry its alrighty seated in Heaven and that temple’s name is Jesus and 1 Peter says we are the living stones of that temple. (Destroy and rebuild in 3 days).o   All the The “I AM” Statements of Jesus (in John’s Gospel) fulfill the OT….Manna in the wilderness “ I am the bread of life,”o   The people are walking in darkness have seen a great light…I am the Light of the world.   o   The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want…he makes me lie down green pastures… Ez. “I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David…”I am the door of the sheep I am the good shepherd.·      Until we come to Exodus 3:14 – “God said to Moses, 'I AM WHO I AM.'”·      Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.”·      All the types, shadows, promises ultimately have as their center that they are training us to understand who Jesus is and what he accomplishes.By faith! If you believe in Christ, what he did in his season of humility and you believe in the glory of the risen son that is the work of the good news preached to you by the power of the Holy Spirit. And it is preached to you from all of Scripture. inquiring what person: what time; predicted sufferings and glories: DO you believe this? The seed of the woman, abaraham’s offspring, a prophet like moses, the sceptre of Judah, the root of Jesse, God’s anointed king, born in Bethlehem lest among the clans of Judah, the one like the son of Man! Offers salvation & grace to you by faith. Trust. Reliance. Turning from evil. To look to him by trust. As we close this morning. You have probably noticed We are singing a Christmas Song. Because this Christmas song is a wonderful look from the perspective of an OT Israelite looking forward to “God with Us” by Faith. So as we close with this Hymn an ancient hymn I want you to have two people in mind. First that Israelite saved by Faith as we are in Christ Jesus. And second the host of Angels from heaven looking at the mystery of salvation for sinners by God’s grace by the son of God our Lord Jesus Christ. As they watch history with the promises, the types, find their fulfillment in a baby born in a manger, who grew in wisdom and stature, died to redeem sinners, and rose again as a glorious conquering King, the Prophet who has revealed fully and finally the Fathre to Us, and out Priest who ever lives to intercede for us from the throne of Grace.The Gospel which Angels long to look into. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jamesensley.substack.com

In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. – 1 Peter 1:6-9Three Alliterating Points this morning:#1 The Problem of Suffering#2 One Purpose for Suffering#3 The Person in Suffering#1 The Problem v. 6: We can ask: Really Peter, rejoicing while being grieved in trials?“in this we rejoice” because we are secure in Christ. “In this,” in what was said in verses 3-5 about our eternal inheritance and our salvation. We rejoice because of our living hope our eternal, imperishable, undefiled, and unfading inheritance we have in Jesus we talked about last week. You can rejoice in various trials because you are Secure in Christ. That is Peter’s statement.But what is meant by various trials?v. 6: you have been grieved [heavy laden] by various trials…tested by sufferingsTwo Problems – One is suffering specifically for following Jesus. And second more broadly suffering due to this fallen world.First Peter’s context: Suffering for following Jesus, Dan Doriani helpfully says, “in most places and times, Christian beliefs and practices are exceptional, not normal. If we tell the world that its ideas are false and its practices dangerous, as we must, the world will not be pleased, and that displeasure readily leads to opposition. When worldviews clash, we don't have the right to sit in silence. When we push against a misguided world, the world will push back hard. We should expect it and rejoice in it, as Jesus says: Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Doriani, Reformed Expository Commentary Series).Or in Jesus’ words: “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad..., because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (Matt. 5:10-12)In the same way Christ suffered to save us. But we also recognize a the bigger broader problem. There is much suffering due to this fallen world. And we must be able to think about the problem and begin meditating on the many reasons we can have both “joy & sorrow” at the same time as believers and offer that to others.We need to offer biblical suffering to others because Americans are horribly equipped to deal with the reality of sufferings. We try to solve it and every solution fails. Does American wealth solve suffering? Does health solve? Does stoicism? Does borrowing from Buddhism solve it? Does secular materialism? Does modern science? Does moralistic-therapeutic deism? Do Psychologists and our army of counselors solve it? Does limitless dopamine supplied by your phone or entertainments solve it? No! They all fail.Tim Keller observes Secularism is unequipped to Suffer “No matter what precautions we take, no matter how well we have put together a good life, no matter how hard we have worked to be healthy, wealthy, comfortable with friends and family, and successful with our career — something will inevitably ruin it.” (Keller Suffering, 3)How do the secular view suffering? According to Keller and others. They have observed that “in secular materialism suffering is always a meaningless, random interruption of your pursuit of maximizing happiness and pleasure.” All Causes of pain have a material cause that can be fixed. So all suffering is psychologized or assigned to some structure of society.The Bible never attempts to merely manage the external circumstances of your suffering but…in the suffering…to fill it with meaning and purpose. N ow be careful. Suffering itself is not good. It is just not purposeless, there is a sovereign personal God who has ordained for his purposes. We are not ascetics who view suffering as good. Neither do we not take steps to care for and address suffering and trials when we are in them.Consider the meme Dog in fire “this is fine.” Not its not “fine” its evil, or a result of the fall, or a severe trial you desire to end as soon as possible. But that doesn’t mean pointless and not used for a good end.How do different worldviews react to this? Keller on page 30 of his book. (He unpacks this way more than I am going to this morning. “Christianity teaches that, contra fatalism, suffering is overwhelming; contra Buddhism, suffering is real; contra karma, suffering is often unfair; but contra secularism, suffering is meaningful. There is a purpose to it, and if faced rightly, it can drive us like a nail deep into the love of God and into more stability and spiritual power than you can imagine.” (Keller, 30)So it is Real. Suffering Hurts. But the bible readily offers a variety of real purposes for it. And behind those purposes is Jesus and a loving Father. Michael Kruger lists potential reasons saying, just as a visit to the dentist may hurt it is for our good, suffering can make us more like Christ, it can be a punishment for sin, it can cause salvation to be a glorious light in a dark room.C.S. Lewis points to suffering as God’s Megaphone: “We can ignore even pleasure. But pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” The bible never systematizes a single reason for suffering. And so each of the worldviews I mentioned seem to flatten down the reasons to one or run away from reality. But We serve an all-wise, all-knowing, sovereign God whose ways are not our ways, we should not expect to know his mind on every event in human history. If we could comprehend the what and why of every occurrence then we would be God “the secret things belong to God” (Deut. 29:29).It is the difference between in your suffering as a Child looking to your mom or your dad to be in control to be there they are there to know what to do and why. Versus growing up and realizing you are the adult and looking over your shoulder for the real adult to come in with understanding, purpose, and a plan for the situation. (If you have a Car Wreck who do you call? First Call is always dad.)Let God be God. The one who saves. Grows us. Punishes evil. Sometimes we are the Evil. And does not always answer, Why? There is no way to explore everything about grief, and trials, and suffering. 1 Peter has several more particular words on this topic. If you are interested, I have several books on the shelf that go deeper.This brings us from the Problem. Its real. it hurts. To One Purpose for suffering: Peter here gives just 1 Purpose and two Comforts about suffering. Particularly suffering for following Jesus. The believer suffers trials and grief for a real purpose with real comforts given to them.#2 They Serve Real Purposes & Comfortsso that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation [appearing] of Jesus Christ.Purpose of Trials #1 Testing & Proving Faith – Trials produce a Genuine growth in Faith.After losing his wife, in most places and times, Christian beliefs and practices are exceptional, not normal. If we tell the world that its ideas are false and its practices dangerous, as we must, the world will not be pleased, and that displeasure readily leads to opposition. When worldviews clash, we don't have the right to sit in silence. When we push against a misguided world, the world will push back hard. We should expect it and rejoice in it, as Jesus says: Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Doriani, Reformed Expository Commentary Series). He continues… “We were promised sufferings. They were part of the program. We were even told, 'Blessed are they that mourn,' and I accept it. I've got nothing that I hadn't bargained for. Of course, it is different when the thing happens to oneself, not to others, and in reality, not imagination.”So we can sing, we believe in the goodness of God, that God is a merciful Father… And yet trials Peter says, test that faith, and trials not only test faith but affect and temper faith.Testing by fire has a very real affect of strengthening faith, and strengthening the resulting praise and glory of Jesus at his coming. The Image of v. 7 is of running gold through a purifying fire. If it is real gold, real faith, it will not burn. The gold will remain, but also the fire will further remove impurities enhancing the real and tested value of the Gold even further. You have faith? You have gold? Well, you won’t mind us setting it on fire…because if its real it won’t harm it. It will only purify what is already there. You have gold? Well compared to faith it will perish and disappear. But the gold of faith is purified by fire and will last forever! We know it will last forever because verses 3-5 say that it is a gift of the regeneration of the Spirit and guarded by God’s divine power. And so suffering will not destroy faith but Mature faith.The prophet Jeremiah is an example of this. He is the author of the book of Lamentations. Which is a lengthy poem of distress at how the sin of Judah resulted in the horrible destruction of the city and the exile of Judah in 586 BC. There is a lengthy lament and grieving over suffering. And yet…In Chapter 3 Jeremiah lifts up these words that he has struggled in grief towards.Lamentations 3:22–23: “The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” (ESV)What is the context of this verse? The destruction of Jerusalem. Just before this his prayer to God is one of wrestling with suffering: Lamentations 3:17 my soul is bereft of peace; I have forgotten what happiness is; so I say, “My endurance has perished; so has my hope from the LORD.”Suffering is too difficult for us to endure. So how did Jeremiah go from No Endurance No Hope! He speaks the truth of God’s Character to himself. Just as David does over and over again in the Psalms. He Has Faith. He has Trust. He has belief, saying “But this I call to Mind…It takes effort he calls to his heart to remember “The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”v.24 “The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.” [25] The LORD is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD. V. 27 It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth.We struggle with this. The Author of Lamentations, Jeremiah, struggles to say this. Yet he does. He spirals back in the later verses wrestling with God…Suffering is not an illusion to Jeremiah. Suffering is not a brief interruption to his pursuing self-fulfillment, prosperity, and ease. Suffering in a fallen world purifies faith, leaving only a cry of trust in the midst of anguish to the Lord as the best portion our souls life and salvation, and faithful to us.How does Jeremiah model praying in suffering? “I called on your name, O LORD, from the depths of the pit; you heard my plea, ‘Do not close your ear to my cry for help!’ You came near when I called on you; you said, ‘Do not fear!’ “You have taken up my cause, O Lord; you have redeemed my life. (vv.55-58).He acknowledges the depths of suffering. He appeals to the Lord in a painful praying. Remembering his Life is in God. The Hymn How Firm a Foundation models this truth for us:"When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie,My grace all-sufficient shall be thy supply;The flame shall not hurt thee; I only designThy dross to consume, and thy gold to refine."The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose,I will not, I will not desert to his foes;That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,I'll never, no never, no never forsake!"Through the fiery trial. Purified. Genuine Trust. Even if it’s a clinging faith, a faith crying out for more faith. Remember this when you are in the valley of the shadow of death. There are rich and abundant resources like Lam. 3, Job, Psalms where you can turn in prayer and cry out to the Lord to strengthen and prove your trust in him. Lord I believe help my unbelief. Lord the night is dark show me your light.Last Keller quote: “While other worldviews lead us to sit in the midst of life’s joys, foreseeing the coming sorrows, Christianity empowers its people to sit in the midst of this world’s sorrows, tasting the coming joy.” (ibid, 31.)Faith that is Genuine, proven, and a gift from heaven will not perish, though it may become a flickering and sputtering candle in the night…Sit in the sorrows and Remember you are trusting in a God who is near to the brokenhearted.Two Comforts go with this purpose of fire-tested faith.First, notice that phrase “for a little while” “for a season.” There is an end: 2nd Corinthians 4:17 “our light and momentary afflictions are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. We are invited to view our suffering that right now feels likes forever with the reality that it is a fire that is really “a flash in the pan” a bolt of lightning compared to the warmth of an eternal day, where Jesus is the Sun of righteousness and we will live forever in paradise.In the final analysis, in eternity suffering now is brief. This does not minimize the pain but invites us to maximize the goal and purpose of it, as leading us to Eternity. Now is this the comfort you say in the moment of affliction? (Caution…Decide ahead of time…not in the moment…)The Second Comfort is Glory: Note that Faith’s end, its purpose is praise and glory…Both praise and glory of and to us by Jesus. But also of Jesus himself as our Commander. At Christ’s final revelation in Judgement Day we will receive glory but it will be an echo of the glory of Jesus himself. Glorifying God in Christ Jesus is sweet to the soul. Christ is the risen and reigning Lord who as we talked about last week suffered and bled in our place. He suffered every misery of this life. Jesus has skin in the game. And so Jesus earns the crown of glory for suffering on our behalf. He is not an distant spectating deity.The reality of the Christmas and Easter means We can never accuse God of standing on the sidelines disinterested and unfazed by the world. So we are invited in our sufferings to think about the excellencies and beauties of the way Jesus suffered on our behalf. He was a Man of Sorrows, The Spotless Lamb Slain, the Suffering Servant, bearing shame and scoffing rude,– The soldiers beating and mocking him putting a purple robe and crown on him.And in addition to his Physical & social suffering he had the weight of Spiritual suffering. He suffered uniquely, being a perfectly good and righteous man, grieving at the way sin harms sinners as one not blinded by his own sin to the harm. But his Suffering purchased Glorification for us. And Glorification in us purchases greater Worship.Revelation 4:9–11 And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to [Christ] who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying, [11] “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”All our glory and honor is a work of grace in our lives. So yes, we will receive glory and honor for our earthly trials…The Angels are amazed by grace and the life of a Christian…And they will be amazed as we who have experienced grace receive honor to properly lay it at the feet of Jesus.So we can rejoice in the midst of Trial because our salvation is secure, because it purifies our faith, because it gives opportunity for virtue and value, because we know its just a momentary affliction preparing us for the weight of glory in eternity with Christ our King.All these things should strengthen our perseverance in Loving and Believing in Jesus by Faith.Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.#3 Loving Him We have not Seen: Faith and Love for the Unseen Christ.v. 8-9 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, [9] obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.Loving and believing in him we have not seen. Peter has seen Christ: Peter has seen the glory of Christ at his transfiguration, at his resurrection, Peter saw Jesus’ glorified body, his sufferings on our behalf and the nails in his hands. And his ascension up into heaven.Peter has seen these things. The Apostle John indicates that blessed are those who have not seen yet believed (John 20:29). I do not know when I went from hearing about Jesus intellectually, knowing a worldview where I was a sinner and needed Jesus to be saved to loving Jesus to trusting my life to Jesus. But I know with Peter that I love him, that I am being saved, that I will be saved, that I will see Jesus face-to-face one day, And until then I rejoice in following him.There is a joy in reading the gospel and hearing about Peter and the conversations he had with Jesus, and joy in the Word in the Spirit and the Fellowship of God‘s people gathered in worship. God’s Word is sufficient to build up our love and belief in Jesus Christ because the Holy Spirit does a supernatural work in our hearts. …blessed are those who have not seen yet believed.The Spirit fills us with love for Christ and trust in Christ, even as Christ has a love for you. Do not forget that Christ loves you in the midst of trials and suffering. He may in fact be using those trials to strengthen your faith, your hope, and your love in him. To loosen your clinging to the world and what it offers…to cause you to cling to him for the life found in him.That is to say cling to Christ and you can be joyful your sins are forgiven. Cling to Christ and you can be joyful that evil and suffering is defeated and every second of the day brings us closer to the day where “there will be no more sorrow and tears” and the murderer, the lyers, the traitor, the manipulator, evil will be judged.”You can rejoice and say to your soul. “I am safe, he is a shelter in the time of storm” “a cleft for me…let my hide myself in thee.” “blessed assurance, Jesus is mine O what a foretaste of glory divine” This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jamesensley.substack.com

A Friend has asked if I can get my sermons into audio format for easier listening. Here is a beginning. I sadly have no audio of the first sermon in this series. I may record in the future simply for completeness.02 – 1 Peter 1:3-5 A Living Hope, An Unbreakable Guarantee CPC May 18th, 2025Preface: Last week as we began 1st Peter, we saw that God in His sovereign grace Knew us and set us apart to be his Holy people. Because of this, this fallen world, in a spiritual sense, is not our Home.We now belong to a community of faith that has been chosen, set apart as holy, sprinkled clean by the blood of Christ, and forgiven in Christ Jesus. Now, we live a new life of obedience to Jesus. We have grace and peace with God.We are exiled from a dead and broken world, we have fled the city of Destruction and are now living as the body of Christ, brothers and sisters who are chosen sojourners.The next three sermons are one very long Greek sentence from verse 3 to verse 12. It is a shout of praise. Praise God! “Blessed be your name!” Peter, having told us of our great Blessing, switches to Blessing, to praising God for the great mercy shown us.Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. – 1 Peter 1:3-5In Other words: Praise God! He has shown mercy to sinners by taking us from being dead and making us alive again because we are united to Jesus Christ. Jesus, our LIVING Hope. And now we have a Guaranteed Inheritance kept by the very power of God who you know and trust, and know that one day…what we know in the church will be fully revealed to the world and finished When Jesus returns.Let’s unpack these verses first by thinking about how very different things are when they are guaranteed vs. uncertain things that could be spoiled.Imagine you are going on an international vacation such as the Swiss Alps, Ireland, or Japan. With this you need to ask, “where are we staying?” “What shall we eat?” “Are we welcome?” “Do we have a Visa?” “Do we have the Funds?” “What if we lose our passports?” “What if we lose our plan ticket?” “What if the plane crashes?” “What if one of us gets separated?” “What if that separated person doesn’t speak the language?”We have a hoped for vacation, but is it guaranteed? We ask the same thing of any future hope…because things we simply hope for can be dashed…The Future is uncertain for us. So you can have an uncertainty about your destination and your getting there alright. This world is not our home but will we make it home?So too have you ever had an inheritance? Wills, are often tricky things. Funds need to be dispersed. Assets liquidated. You are trusting the personal representative who is the Executor on the will…That is even before, in some instances, you get into past grievances, petty squabbles, and sinful greed coming in to make a mess of that inheritance. …Some families have such a poor relationship or shaky assets the pessimists say, I’ll believe it when I see the money actually in the bank account. I’ll believe it when the promised family heirlooms actually get delivered to my front door. [Note: I am thankful the only experience Anna and I have had was well managed and peaceful] But this is not always the case.Inheritances can be so messy, unfair, and uncertain that the lack of an inheritance forms the entire PLOT for a very famous Book. This of course, is Pride and Prejudice. Pride and Prejudice’s main driver initially is all because they have no brothers and no direct inheritance. Their financial future depends on marriage to get wealth. Their mother, Mrs. Bennet, is obsessed with marrying them off well to avoid poverty. The girls’ lack of fortune affects how they are viewed in the marriage market. No inheritance. No future. No prospects.And now for us Peter has just told you, “you are Exiles, without a home here on earth”…We say we are headed to heaven and it’s a wonderful place but we confess its often fuzzy and we can easily ask but is it really? Is it a certain future? Should we as some Christians do be constantly anxious about our future hope? How can being an exile a sojourner be good news? Surely, we’ll just end up in a spiritual ditch somewhere. We need Verses 3-5. We need this big beautiful sentence from verses 3-12. This morning3 Beautiful Guarantees of security that cause us to Praise God!#1 – The Unchanging Mercy of our God: A Trinitarian Guarantee V. 3#2 Our Inheritance Secure in “Our Lord Jesus Christ: A Resurrection Guarantee: v. 3b-4#3 Our Salvation: A Divinely Guarded Guarantee v. 5.So First the unchanging Mercy of our God: A trinitarian Guarantee v. 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living Hope…We have a Merciful Heavenly Father. We, as sinners, rebelled. The wages of sin are death. And so we are fallen in Adam. We will die. Death is our enemy. And the only thing we deserve is Justice. What is undeserved is the Mercy of God. What is undeserved is God being our Father who in mercy gave us Hope again when we were in darkness and despair.And his plan in grace was to send the Holy Spirit into our rebel hearts, into our rocky, hardened, dead hearts and to make us alive again. “He has caused us to be born again.” The bible is quite clear that this is not because we are somehow special. That God did a bunch of spiritual fitness tests and said. Wow have you seen Paul, or James, or John? They have all the spiritual markers for a heart transplant. Bump them to the top of the list, they are Saint Material…No. Instead it was all of the Mercy of God. An excellent example of this is Lydia in the book of Acts. When Paul & Friends preached to the women by the riverside, “The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul.” The Lord acted. The Lord caused. Because it depends on the Lord’s Mercy. So the First Guarantee, the Father has acted in mercy and the Lord is not arbitrary he will not change his mind, get distracted, and stop what he has begun.Our Second trinitarian guarantee is that we have been Born Again to a Living Hope by the Holy Spirit. Titus 3:5 says, "He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit."Praise God that our being made spiritually alive is not because of works done by us. Not because our hearts had all the markers for a good heart transplant but because God in his OWN mercy sends the spirit to Wash. To cleanse. To regenerate that is to “re-alive” to “re-birth” to “renew.” Your heart, soul, strength, and mind, your whole being made a new creature. What Peter will soon call the Living Temple of the Holy Spirit.You must be born again. And everyone born of God is kept. Guarded and guaranteed by the Spirit living inside of them.Does your sin which once held your heart now grieve you? Does the Holy Spirit testify to you of the truth of God’s word? Does the Spirit assure you Of the loveliness of Christ? Of the Mercies of the Father, of his love to you, of the removal of the guilt of your sin, of the assurance of forgiveness, and the assurance of your being a Son and Daughter in Christ Jesus.Then you have been born again. Being born again does not mean you are perfect, it does not mean you are without doubts, and it does not mean you do not have all the struggles of Paul in Romans 7 – I do not do what I ought and I do what I ought not to do…But it does mean we have the Spirit of Christ in our hearts Crying Abba, Father.Believer – Take time in prayer in the coming week to ask the Holy Spirit in prayer to comfort and assure your heart of the mercy of the Father to you. Do not let satan accuse of your sin and failures. Ask in prayer for the work of the Spirit to Assure you. You are a beloved Daughter. You are a Beloved Son.With those assurances said there is a Third, A third guarantee the Holy Spirit assures us of.We are born again: To A Living Hope through the Resurrection of Jesus ChristWhat does it mean to “Hope?” I hope the Atlanta Braves win the world series is a far different statement than saying, Ihave a Living Hope that is Secure Because Jesus is alive and seated at the right hand of the Father in Heaven. And what is more, our inheritance is secured by his Resurrection.The gospel is not just “Jesus died for my sins” no, we confess our salvation in the full “humiliation and exaltation” of Jesus on our behalf. Most certainly his death was key, even primary but it is not the whole picture.Peter draws our attention to Christ’s suffering and glory throughout, Christ’s humility and exaltation…To paraphrase WSC Questions 27-29…Jesus came to secure our salvation in humility by being born, not as a king but humbly in a stable. Even though he was sinless, he was made subject to all the laws of God keeping them perfectly on our behalf. Even though Jesus himself was sinless and righteous. He lived in our sinful, fallen, and broken world and suffered all the indignities and humiliations of this world.Because he chose to represent us in our sin. Because he volunteered to rescue condemned sinners. He suffered the wrath of God, died a cursed death on the cross: was buried. And was dead 3 days. The second person of the trinity dead, buried, and all thought soon to see corruption…But as we read in Psalm 16, Jesus’ prayer “you will not abandon my soul to Sheol or let your holy one see corruption. You make known to me the path of life in your presence there is fullness of Joy at your right hand there are pleasures forevermore!Jesus Is Alive! Death was conquered. He ascended up into heaven, And sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty and will come again to judge the world at the last day! And you are if you are in Christ, united to the resurrected and living savior. It is Finished! He is Alive and Ascended and He is Enthroned on High.Christ himself as our Resurrected and Living Hope. And HE is our guarantee. We don’t just hope a human could die and be resurrected to heaven. Jesus has already done it and gone ahead of us. Heb. 6:19 Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf… and 9:24 Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands... but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf.Or the way Paul says it, in 1 Cor. 15: 17-23 if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ.Do you belong to Jesus? Believer in Jesus. God the Father has Set his Mercy on You. The Holy Spirit has made you alive to a Living Hope. And your Living Hope Jesus has already done it. It is not just a future Hope…you have eternal life now!#2 The Nature of our Living Hope – The Resurrected and Glorified Jesus and our Inheritance (v. 3b-4)[3b] through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, [4] to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled , and unfading, kept in heaven for youRemembered how messy I said inheritances can be? Remember in Pride and Prejudice this uncertainty results in some rather silly talk, thinking, and actions throughout (Go watch it! Sunday afternoon homework).I believe living with security changes us. The security and nature of our inheritance Changes us as believers… Think again of 1 Cor. 15 this time in v. 42. This passage is one I don’t think I ever heard until maybe college…And I blame it on being so far into 1 Corinthians…No one gets to chapter 15…But chapter 15 ties our future Hope to the nature of the Resurrected Jesus’ body.1. Cor. 15:42-58: So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable [our bodies due to sin die. We perish]; what is raised is imperishable. 43 It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. 44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. 45 Thus it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. 46 But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual. 47 The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. 48 As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, [that is to say Adam is dust. If you are still in your sin in Adam death still has power over you] and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. 49 Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven. Mystery and Victory 50 I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51 Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. 53 For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. 54 When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” 55 “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58 Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.Did you catch the hope of the resurrection being secure in Jesus. Jesus’ resurrection makes us now here on earth. Steadfast. Immovable. Always abounding in the work of the Lord. Because if you are in Jesus it is not vain. It is secure. Peter says, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled , and unfading, kept in heaven for youWhat Good News. And what a great contrast. Apart from Christ we perish, because the sting of sin is death. Death is real, suffering is real but praise God; by God’s mercy, we have the Spirit In Christ we are ultimately Imperishable (incorruptible) – like Jesus. Because on the last day we will be resurrected. Death is real, suffering, But John 10 “Though we die yet we will liveSecond, Peter says our inheritance is Undefiled…Incorruptibly morally pure – like Jesus. We often feel defiled: We sin. We live in a world where we constantly battle the feeling that even just watching a movie can make us feel defiled. But we have a Living Hope. He is Our Spotless lamb. Seated at the right hand of the Father who is Holy, Holy, Holy. He is undefiled, with the Seal of approval of the Father:Third our inheritance is Unfading – we suffer the years of life, times change, memories fade, human glory fades, but Jesus unlike us is unfading. He is faithful. He is the founder and perfector of our faith, he is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow.Imperishable, undefiled, unfading inheritance guaranteed by our Living Hope the resurrected Lord Jesus. Therefore Do not Fear. Do not be Anxious about tomorrow. Do not fear whether you will receive the inheritance of Heaven or if even now the Father loves you.Christians do not fear Death. We grieve Death. We grieve death but we do not grieve as those without hope.You may feel I know Jesus is all those wonderful things. But I am so weak. I am so prone to wander. Perhaps my inheritance awaits me in heaven but maybe I’ll lose my way. Prone to wander lord I feel it prone to leave the God I love.#3 Our Salvation is: A Divinely Gifted & Guarded Guarantee v. 5.who by God’s power are being guarded through faith [Which Eph. 2:8 says is a divine Gift] being guarded through the divine gift of Faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.Theologian Dan Doriani in his 1 Peter commentary reminds us that an inheritance is “a gift based on a relationship not a wage for a performance.” (pg xx).God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit do not promise us an inheritance a home in heaven only to be powerless to guard it and powerless to bring us all the way home. The truth of this and many verses like it is captured well by the Westminster confession of faith in chapter 17 which is called “of the Perseverance of the Saints.” Or what we call God’s powerful Preserving of the believer.Chapter 15 paraphrased says, Everyone God has accepted because of Jesus His Beloved, is effectually called, and sanctified by His Spirit, and can neither totally nor finally fall away from the state of grace, but they shall certainly persevere to the end, and be eternally saved. Our perseverance depends not on us, but upon the unchangeable love of God the Father; upon the righteousness and intercession of Jesus Christ, the abiding of the Spirit within them, the certainty of these things arising from the nature of the promises made by God in the Covenant of Grace.What difference does this make for you this Monday? You are safe and Secure. This means less spiritual desperations during the week and Greater Freedom Now. Stand firm in the faith. We do not under trials and temptations act as if we are spiritually insecure and go to a car title shop and pawn our car title in order to get by for the month… no we are kept and secure.You are secure: Do not fear naming, confession, and seeing the extent of your ongoing struggle with sin. Christ’s work and your inheritance is undefiled. You are still Gods chosen son and daughter in Christ.You are secure: Do not turn to a quick spiritual fixes and highs when your reward is in heaven and the ordinary weekly worship and fellowship of believers is enough.You are secure: Do not bargain with the world to make your moral and spiritual stances acceptable. They flow from Christ and his Spirit powered into your heart and known by his word.You are secure Go to God in prayer and ask him to reassure your heart that he holds you. He sustains you. He loves you and has a home waiting for you and has now placed you in the family of God.You are kept by the power of Gods. Praise be to God. Take the time to inventory these things. It is so difficult to remember when we are so very busy and we never stop having data and news inputs from our phones. You are secure praise God for it This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jamesensley.substack.com