"The Thorn" - Doug Rehberg

American painter, John Sargent, once painted a panel of roses that was highly praised by his critics. It was a small picture, but they said it approached perfection. Although offered a high price for it on many occasions, Sargent refused to sell it. He considered it his best work and was proud of it. Whenever he was deeply discouraged and doubtful of his abilities, he’d look at it and remind himself, “I painted that.” Then his confidence and ability would return and his spirits would lift.

Once when Dr. Park Tucker, Chaplain of the Federal Penitentiary in Atlanta, Georgia, in the 1920s, was walking around the streets of his city feeling dismal and discouraged, his eyes seized on a sign in the window of a funeral home. At first he wondered if he had read it right. Upon closer inspection he confirmed that he had. The sign read, “Why walk around half-dead? We can bury you for $69.50 and we give green stamps, too!”

Now these are two common strategies for dealing with discouragement – look to your past successes or consider how bad things can really be. But Paul offers us a much more superior way of processing discouragement than either of these. In fact, it’s a discovery he makes as a result of a clear divine exposure. He tells of it in II Corinthians 12:1-10.

In our series “Divine Exposure” we have already seen how God stoops to the weakness of men like Elijah and women like Sarah. In both of those cases He condescends to their place of alienation and discouragement and lifts their spirits by giving them a new perspective. But in Paul’s case His approach is quite a bit different. Indeed, it is because of the gracious vision God gives Paul that the apostle grows afflicted and discouraged.

We will delve into this entire matter this Sunday in a message entitled, “The Thorn”. As we noted briefly in last week’s sermon, Paul receives a vision of the heavenly throne room of God just like Isaiah. But there are some considerable differences that we will highlight.

For years I read this passage and lifted from it what I thought was the main point, a principle of prayer. The principle is persistence. Paul says that he pleaded with God three times to remove the thorn. He didn’t pray just once or twice. He prayed three times. Therefore, I reasoned, that anytime a struggle emerges in your life, pray diligently for the Lord to take it away.

While such a principle can be derived from this text, there’s so much more here. Paul’s primary purpose is not to impart a prayer technique to his readers, but to underscore a much greater principle that has far reaching implications for all of us.

In preparation for Sunday, you may wish to consider the following:

1.      Why does he tell the Corinthians all of this? What prompts the discourse?

2.      Why does he speak of himself in the third person in verse 2 and following?

3.      What is the third heaven?

4.      What detail does he provide to us about the third heaven? Where is that?

5.      What does his description and his third person recounting tell us about those who say they’ve heard from the Lord, etc.?

6.      What conceit could Paul possibly have as a result of his divine exposure?

7.      What was the thorn?

8.      What message of Satan would flow from the presence of the thorn?

9.      How does the presence of the thorn equate with divine grace?

10.  How is God’s power made perfect in weakness?

See you Sunday!

See you Sunday!

"The Altar" - Doug Rehberg

Forty years ago I lived in Miami, Florida, and spent a lot of time on Key Biscayne. One of the men I came to know on that island was a man who didn’t have to work for a living. His substantial wealth afforded him the luxury of freedom from financial worry.

When I first came to know him, I asked all the normal questions men ask like, “What do you do?” His answer was telling, “Whatever I want to do.” I followed that one with, “Well, where do you work?” He replied, “I don’t.” Within several minutes he divulged the reason for his ease. He said, “It all happened on January 28, 1977. That was the day my ship came in.” What I would later learn is that it was on that day that he made a commodities trade that set him up for life.

Now every one of us have “marker” dates in our lives, those titanic days on which something remarkable happened. Think of the assassination of JFK, September 11, 2001, the day your first child was born, or the date someone close to you died. We all have them and so did so many of the Old Testament characters we’ve examined in this series, “Divine Exposure”. Think of the day God came and answered Job’s searing questions. Think of the moment God found Elijah under that broom tree in the wilderness. Think of the night Jacob wrestled at the Jabbok, or the day Abraham raised the knife to slay his son, Isaac. All of these exposures stand as markers not only for the Old Testament figure involved, but for us as well. However, no such exposure is greater, or more profound than Isaiah’s vision of God in Isaiah 6. Someone has called it the Matterhorn of all Old Testament peaks. Here Isaiah is carried away from the temple in  Jerusalem in a vision to the throne room of heaven.

This text is so seminal, so pivotal, that a sermon could be preached on every word. But what we will seek to do this Sunday is look at the dramatic parallels between what Isaiah experiences that day and the experience of every true Christian. For the truth is, what God does for Isaiah in that vision nearly 2800 years ago is what He has done for each of us.

On Sunday we will look at five common experiences between Isaiah and us. We will look at the Reality of the experience in verse 1, the Diversity of the experience in verse 1, the Beauty of the experience in verse 2, the Humility of the experience in verse 5, and the Festivity of the experience in verse 8.

In preparation for Sunday you may wish to consider the following:

1.      What is the significance of the death of King Uzziah?

2.      What does his death mean for Isaiah and Judah?

3.      Unpack the details of the vision in verse 1 – what do they mean?

4.      Who is Isaiah and how does God tailor this experience to meet his deepest need?

5.      J. Gresham Machen once noted, “A low view of the law always produces legalism; a high view of the law makes a person seek after grace.” How is that relevant here?

6.      What is it that prompts Isaiah’s woe in verse 5?

7.      What does he mean by “lost”?

8.      Someone has said, “Isaiah doesn’t know himself until he sees God.” Do you think that’s true for you too?

9.      How many times are Seraphim mentioned in the Bible and why twice here?

10.  What is the message of the Seraph with the coal in verse 7?

11.  How does Isaiah go from his utterance in verse 5 to the one he makes in verse 8?

See you Sunday!

"The Prayer" - Doug Rehberg

This week I read about a five-year-old boy who came to his father one day with a request. “Dad,” he said, “I know that Mom is supposed to have a baby in a few months and I really want a brother. Can you promise me a brother?” His dad replied, “Johnny, I’ll tell you what. If you pray every day for two months for a baby brother, I guarantee that God will give you one.”

So the boy started out strong. For a month he prayed every night before he went to bed for a baby brother. But after a month he began to grow skeptical. He began to ask around the neighborhood and found that nobody who ever prayed for a brother got one. In fact, he was told that it was silly to keep praying that way. So he stopped.

And at the end of the two months his mother went to the hospital and delivered. The next day when the five-year-old was allowed to visit, he came into the room and found a set of twin boys. His father said to him, “Now aren’t you glad you prayed?” And Johnny hesitated a minute and said, “Yes, but aren’t you glad I stopped after one month instead of two?”

When most people think of prayer they think of it like that father and son; prayer is a means of securing a desired end. However, in this week’s message, “The Prayer”, we will be examining the first extended prayer in Scripture. It’s a prayer in which Abraham makes six separate requests of the Lord, all prompted by the Word of God and all on the same subject. But unlike most prayers, this one is initiated by God (18:17). The Bible says that as the three visitors set out from the tent of Abraham (note: the message of October 25^th, “The Laugh”), the Lord says, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do?” Stuart Briscoe in his commentary on Genesis says, “This question, which apparently the Lord was addressing to Himself, is as of great interest to us as it was undoubtedly to Abraham. It deals with the whole question of whether God has a strategy and if He will share it with His people and, in fact, involve them in its outworking.” But it’s far more than that. It’s a divine exposure that gives us one of the greatest foreshadowings of the Gospel in the entire Old Testament.

Think of it. In Genesis 3 God announces the promise of the Gospel. In Genesis 15 He ratifies the veracity of His promise. In Genesis 22 He provides a phenomenally clear portrait of the Gospel. And in Genesis 18 He explains the reason for it.

For years I have taught that Abraham’s negotiation with God in Genesis 18:16-33 is a transparent example of God’s foreordained will. Rather than showing God’s will bending to the will of Abraham, Abraham’s will is bending to the will of God. In other words, God knows what He is going to do and Abraham comes to learn it through this prayerful dialogue. And while all of this is true, there’s so much more that’s taking place here. Indeed, in this divine exposure, Abraham, and every inspired reader, learns of the loftiness of God’s holiness and the breadth of His grace. There is so much here!

In preparation for Sunday’s message you may wish to consider the following:

1.      Two weeks ago in Genesis 18:1-15 we read of these three men. Who are they?

2.      In verse 17 the Lord says, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do?” Why the first person singular pronoun?

3.      How is this question really an invitation to Abraham to engage Him?

4.      On what grounds does the Lord invite him into dialogue?

5.      What do you make of the words, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave, I will go down to see…”?

6.      What do you think happens in verse 22 to clarify the parties engaged in the following dialogue?

7.      What does the Bible mean in verse 23 when it says that Abraham drew near?

8.      In what way is Abraham acting like a priest or mediator between God and the Canaanites of the plain?

9.      What marks Abraham’s request as unique to Scripture?

10.  Why does he stop at ten?

11.  What does all this tell you about the Gospel?

See you Sunday!

"The Cry" - Ken Wagoner

The following story is probably a familiar one to many of you, but it reminds us of the struggle we sometimes find ourselves in as we live in obedience to God:

A man was walking along a narrow path, not paying much attention to where he was going.  Suddenly he slipped over the edge of the cliff.  As he fell, he grabbed a branch growing from the side of the cliff.  Realizing that he couldn’t hang on for long, he called for help:

Man:  Is anybody up there?

Voice:  Yes, I’m here!

Man:  Who’s that?

Voice:  The Lord!

Man:  Lord, help me!

Voice:  Do you trust me?

Man:   Completely, Lord.

Voice:  Good. Let go of the branch!

Man:  (After a long pause)   Is anybody else up there?

 

Many of us are people of routines, things and/or people we depend on, trust, and believe this will never  change.  And yet sometimes God calls us to trust in something or somebody which is contrary to much we have grown to trust.  The story of Abraham and Isaac in Genesis 22 puts this dilemma at the ultimate level, and we think how grateful we are this happened to Abraham and not us.  Abraham was tested, he obeyed, he trusted, and eventually he heard the cry of God.  But there is so much more to this story than what we normally see or hear.

If you have time read Genesis 15-22 in preparation for this Sunday, looking at the life of Abraham, the provisions and promises of God, and the fulfillment we find in the One greater than Isaac.

We are told God tested Abraham.  Look at these scriptures which also speak to different times of testing, and see what you learn.  I Kings 10:1, Exodus 16:4,  Deuteronomy 8:2, 16, Deuteronomy 13:3, II Chronicles 32:31, Exodus 17:2, 7, Numbers 14:22, Isaiah 7:12.

This sermon series on “Divine Exposures” reminds us God makes Himself known at just the time we need Him.  The “cry” or “call” to Abraham is certainly one of those instances we can say the Divine Exposure came at the right time.  The Psalms tell us we “cry” to God as well.  Look at the following verses as the Psalmist speaks for us, and what do we learn from them?  Psalm 34:17, 55:17, 72:12, 84:2, 88:1.

Can you think of any other times in the Bible when the “cry” of God fully revealed the living God to those who were alive at that time, and to us today? 

Thank you for the privilege to be with you this coming Sunday, and let’s pray together for His glory to be revealed.

"The Laugh" - Doug Rehberg

Wow! We are already in the seventh week of our series and finally we come to a divine exposure that centers on a woman – Sarah, Abraham’s wife.

If you are anything like me you’ve read this story many times throughout your life and never really focused on Sarah. You’ve focused on the three men who came walking near the tent of Abraham that was pitched about a mile from the city of Hebron, in the country of Palestine. (Interestingly, in future days the city of Hebron would become a city of refuge, to which those accused of a crime could flee to receive safety and a fair hearing. And here, years earlier, another person bounded by shame and discouragement finds freedom and joy.) Instead of coming to Abraham as a whirlwind, a whisper, or a wrestler in the night, the Lord Jesus Christ comes to Abraham in the heat of the day as a threesome.

After focusing on the Lord’s identity, my attention would always shift to Abraham and the promise of a child of his own. But the one I never fully appreciated in this account is clearly the one God came for – Sarah.

Think of it. Abraham is ninety-nine years old. It is fourteen years after God has made His dramatic promise to Abraham a certainty by cutting an unconditional, unilateral covenant (Genesis 15). Moreover, it’s after chapter 17 where God comes and engages him in a full dialogue regarding Sarah’s delivery of their firstborn – a son, Isaac. So why repeat all this at the beginning of chapter 18? I never asked that question. But I guarantee we will not only ask it this question on Sunday, we will answer it.

At a time in human history when women were seen to be of little consequence, at a time when women could be bought and sold, at a time when a woman’s value was measured by her ability to birth sons, God stops at Sarah’s tent to expose her and expose Himself.

As an aside - just think how often Jesus did the unthinkable and stopped to engage a woman in conversation. Think of the woman at the well. Think of the woman with the eleven year bleeding issue. Think of His own mother at the foot of the cross. The Gospel is replete with examples of Jesus bucking His culture and raising the profile of women and their needs to the same level as men; and here we see another perfect example of it.

For years I’ve heard some say, “Why don’t you ever preach much on marriage?” And the answer is that I like to preach what the text gives me. Instead of picking through the verses of Scripture and finding verses that support a pre-determined proposition, I’d rather exposit what the text tells us. Well, here is a golden text on marriage. Though I passed this way scores of times over the last fifty years, I never saw the meaning of God’s exposure as the laugh. My prayer is that you will see it with me on Sunday and marvel at His compassion and His grace.

Before giving you some considerations in advance of Sunday’s message, I’d like to remind you that when God exposes Himself to Job He centers on Job’s greatest issue – his self-righteousness. Remember, he’s examined himself and found nothing his friends accused him of. In his eyes he’s completely innocent, and consequently he’s mad at God. He wants his day in court. He wants to argue his case. So what does God do? He comes to him in a whirlwind and lays him out. “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Who do you think you are?” And amazingly, Job is totally changed by it. He says, “I have uttered what I did not understand. Things too wonderful for me!”

When He exposes Himself to Elijah He finds him believing himself to be a victim. He’s self-possessed. He thinks there’s only one true prophet left and that’s him. He wants to die. But the Lord comes to him in a whisper and says, “You’re wrong, Elijah. You’re not alone and it’s not all about you.”

Think of Jacob. He thinks he’s been dealt a bad hand in life. He’s got a biased father and an angry brother who’s his enemy. Therefore, he reasons, “Whatever I get in life is up to me.” So he schemes and connives until God comes and wrestles him out of the darkness and into the light.

Think of Joshua. He’s the commander of the army of Israel. He’s the picture of strength and self-reliance until the Commander of the army of the Lord shows up and says, “I’ve come to fight for you.”

You see, God knows every human emotion and He’s in the business of exposing it. Are you feeling worthless? Are you feeling like you don’t measure up? Are you feeling like no one understands you or cares? Even your spouse? Especially your spouse? Well, I’ve got some good news for you. He does! And He’ll come all the way to your tent to show you the wonder of His grace.

In preparation for Sunday’s message, “The Laugh”, you may wish to consider the following:

1.      What is the significance of the time of day mentioned in verse 1?

2.      Why does Abraham run to meet these men?

3.      What do you make of his inquiry in verse 3?

4.      Why all this food and bother?

5.      When do you think Abraham first realizes the identity of His guest?

6.      Why repeat Genesis 17:21 at 18:10?

7.      What is Sarah’s role in this story?

8.      Why does she laugh?

9.      What does she mean in verse 12 when she says, “After I am worn out, and my lord is old, shall I have pleasure?”

10.  What is the meaning of God’s question in verse 14?

11.  Why does God call her out in verse 15?

12.  What change is evident in Sarah after this exposure? See Genesis 21:6.

See you Sunday!

"The Torch" - Robert G. Fleischman

Many years ago when I worked at Westinghouse Research, I was invited to a lunch time Bible study in Penn Center. Eight or ten of us sat around a table with our brown bag lunches and coffee. The leader read a passage of Scripture and then went around the table and asked each  of us, “What does this mean to you?” I wanted to jump up and yell, “No, no, it’s not what it means to me but what does it mean.” I didn’t jump up and yell. I was a lot more timid in those days but I didn’t attend the Bible study again either. 

Genesis 15 can be a very confusing passage of Scripture with all the cut up animals, smoke, fiery torch and  dreadful darkness but if we use the principles of Contextural Bible Study it becomes profoundly meaningful not only for Abram but for God’s people for the 4000 years since God exposed Himself in such a seemingly strange way.  

In preparing for the message on Sunday, I suggest that you read Genesis 15 and then ask these kind of questions:

Who said it?

When was it said? (or when did it happen?)

To whom was it said?

Why was it said?

What did the person hearing it (or seeing it) understand it to mean?

Does it have any meaning beyond that point in time?

What does it mean to me?

 

How old was Abram when this took place? 

God told Abram that, “in you all of the families of the earth shall be blessed.” How do you think that Abram understood that promise? 

Why was Abram in “a deep sleep” instead of seeing all of this face to face? 

One prominent Bible scholar has said that if he was restricted to just one chapter in the Bible it would be Genesis 15 and if he had to choose only one verse, it would be Genesis 15:17. That’s quite a statement. On Sunday, the Lord willing, we will try to unpack this passage and see how really profound and beautiful it is.

"The General" - Doug Rehberg

For 55 years Dr. W. A. Criswell was the Senior Pastor of the First Baptist Church of Dallas, Texas. Over his preaching career Dr. Criswell preached thousands of sermons from that pulpit. He is included in any discussion of the greatest American preachers of the 20^th century. On November 11, 1959, Criswell preached a sermon entitled, “The Warrior Christ.” His text was the same one we are digging into this Sunday – Joshua 5:13-15. It’s the often overlooked precursor to the story of Joshua and the battle of Jericho. And it’s this oversight that has proliferated such misperception and misapprehension of what really happens in Joshua 6. It’s a misperception that Criswell seems to do little to ameliorate. Listen to what he says:

Now here is a little personal touch about Joshua. As I have said before in these several sermons already delivered, the more I study this man, the more my unbounded admiration for him. No wonder Jesus was named for this man, who carried His people into the Promised Land – Joshua, Savior. Everything that is written about him is fine, everything. They murmured against Moses, and they found fault with the leadership of the man of God (Exodus 16:2-3). You will never find one instance where the people murmured against Joshua; this noble, wonderful servant of God. Another little trait, another little presentation of him; he did not know who the stranger was with a drawn sword in His hand. But fearlessly, courageously, bravely he walks up to Him. Is he a phantom? Is He real? Is He a Hebrew? Is He a Canaanite? Is He a friend? Is He a foe? Apparently, no fear in Joshua, the soldier of God at all; he walks up to Him fearlessly, bravely and asks, ‘Are you for us or for our adversaries?’

Criswell is not alone in admiring Joshua. He’s on everyone’s top 10 list for role models in Scripture. Indeed, even Sunday school children for over a hundred years have sung his tribute in the ditty: “Joshua fought the battle of Jericho, Jericho, Jericho…” Remember the line: “You may talk about your men of Gideon. You may talk about your men of Saul. But there’s none like good old Joshua at the battle of Jericho that morning.”

For four weeks now we’ve looked at the climax of the lives of an impressive list of Old Testament “heroes”: Job, Elijah, and Jacob. And in each case their exposure of God transformed them. The divine exposure totally reoriented them. All of them were at a serious point of despair when God showed up and altered their perspective. And so it is with Joshua. And so it is with us and our commonly held view of the battle of Jericho.

We’ve entitled Sunday’s message, “The General.” And as we will see, when God comes to Joshua, He comes in a way that perfectly fits Joshua’s need for exposure. Joshua is the General of the Army of Israel. God comes as the commander of the Army of the Lord and teaches him some valuable lessons about God and him. My hope and prayer is that as we dig deeply into these three verses, we will see some of those same fascinating lessons.

In preparation for Sunday, you may wish to consider the following:

1.      What history does Joshua have with Jericho before this exposure?

2.      Why is Joshua 5:1-12 so important to understanding this exposure?

3.      Why is the conquest of Jericho so important to Israel?

4.      What do Numbers 13 and 14 add to our understanding of what Joshua must be thinking as he looks toward Jericho in Joshua 5:13?

5.      Who is this man with the drawn sword? Why is his sword drawn?

6.      What does it mean when the text says, “Joshua went to him”?

7.      What does His answer to Joshua’s question mean? (See verse 14)

8.      What does His command in verse 15 mean?

9.      Why does He not use His sword on Joshua?

10.  How does Joshua demonstrate a change of heart and mind in verse 14 and following?

11.  What lessons can we draw from this exposure?

See you Sunday!