I am so pumped as we anticipate the first of our Saturday night services tomorrow. If all goes well we will begin advertising and our public launch in February. I want to thank our core team of volunteers who are stepping out in faith to make this new service possible. We anticipate being able to minister to those in our community that work on alternative schedules. Gabe and the band have worked up some great music for this Saturday, so come out and take the plunge!
This weekend is the Disney Marathon, but that is not what I am talking about. Today I will be preaching 4 times to the youth group from New Testament Baptist Church in Largo. Please pray for them as they will be sitting through 4 intense discipleship sessions, and pray that I will have enough stamina to carry the same intensity to the end.
After Wii saw the cousins and their new Wii in action, and Wii did a little math Wii discovered that Wii could pool all our Christmas cash for the hottest toy of the season. Until Wii saw it in action, Wii were indifferent, but a few games of bowling and tennis, and Wii were hooked. Today, Wii went to look for one, and a nice elf told us that Wal-Mart had them and so now Wii have a Wii Problem.
The Christmas Conspiracy
It began as most conspiracies do with a high level official seeing an opportunity for a power grab. While the king was distracted with foreign affairs, he had been working hard at home. What began as a fanciful imagination had developed into a full blown plot to overthrow the king and establish his own throne. Lucifer knew he would only have one opportunity. He made his move, but the Almighty King knew his every plan He stood against him and proclaimed.
Isa. 14:12 - 15 (NKJV)
12“How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, You who weakened the nations! 13For you have said in your heart:
‘I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north; 14I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.’ 15Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, To the lowest depths of the Pit.
In that moment of defeat Lucifer and one third of heaven’s angels were banished from the realm. But left unbound he and his conspirators hatched an evil plot to break the righteousness of God, stripping him of his very character and making him like himself. Lucifer knew that where there is great love there is great passion, and where there is great passion there is the possibility of sin. That was the weak point, that was the place where he would stage his attack.
Since creation, the Almighty specifically crafted for himself two special creatures. They were placed over all creation and enjoyed a unique and loving relationship with God. Created as perfect beings, the conspiracy would begin by coaxing them to violate God’s command. God would be enraged, He would react in anger, and sin, and Lucifer would be victorious. As conspiracies go, this was simple, but it need not be complicated, to succeed, it just needed to surprise all the players.
Lucifer waited, he waited until it seemed he could wait no more. Eve was alone.
Gen. 3:1- 7 (NKJV)
1Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?”
2And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; 3but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’”
4Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
6So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. 7Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.
The trap was set. That evening when God came down to walk with man, he would find him in sin, and enraged would violate his nature and forfeit his place as Almighty God. Lucifer, was so proud of his plan. Even if it failed to cause God to sin, this was a blow that would resonate for centuries as now God has to deal with a sinful man. It happened just as Lucifer expected. That evening God arrived but rather than lose his temper, his justice came through as he began to hand down punishments commiserate to the crime.
Gen. 3:14 - 15 (NKJV)
14So the Lord God said to the serpent: “Because you have done this, You are cursed more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you shall go,
And you shall eat dust All the days of your life. 15And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head,
And you shall bruise His heel.”
And so the stage was set. On one side was Lucifer, and his legions of fallen angels, and on the other side was man, now separated from God but with the promise of a future seed that will be his end. At this moment Lucifer knew that everything must be done to stop the fulfillment of the prophecy, the birth of the Christ.
The first clue was that the redeemer would be the son of man. God would not redeem man himself, nor would he employ His angels. He would redeem man through the son of man, but not a fallen man, no it must be a perfect sinless man, a God-man. From that moment on Lucifer became a student of man. In order to win, he must be sure that every man is a sinner. It is by this that he became known as the father of lies.
Time does not permit us to tell the tales of the great battle for the souls of men that was waged throughout the course of time. Such as God’s promise to Abraham, and Lucifer’s near victory in
Isa. 11:1 (NKJV)
1There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, And a Branch shall grow out of his roots.
Like pieces of the puzzle, a picture was beginning to form. Lucifer laughed out loud when God kept giving away strategic ground. Like when he narrowed it down to the Children of Israel. Satan no longer had to stretch his troops thin he could focus his attention on
It happened that Lucifer was victorious in dividing the tribes of
Isa. 7:1-14 (NKJV)
1Now it came to pass in the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin king of Syria and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up to Jerusalem to make war against it, but could not prevail against it. 2And it was told to the house of David, saying, “
3Then the Lord said to Isaiah, “Go out now to meet Ahaz, you and Shear-Jashub your son, at the end of the aqueduct from the upper pool, on the highway to the Fuller’s Field, 4and say to him: ‘Take heed, and be quiet; do not fear or be fainthearted for these two stubs of smoking firebrands, for the fierce anger of Rezin and Syria, and the son of Remaliah. 5Because Syria, Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah have plotted evil against you, saying, 6“Let us go up against Judah and trouble it, and let us make a gap in its wall for ourselves, and set a king over them, the son of Tabel”—7thus says the Lord GOD:
“It shall not stand, Nor shall it come to pass. 8For the head of Syria is Damascus,
And the head of
So that it will not be a people. 9The head of Ephraim is
12But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, nor will I test the Lord!”
13Then he said, “Hear now, O house of David! Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will you weary my God also? 14Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.
Though Satan lost the battle to defeat
The answer to where the great battle would take place came when the prophet Micah spoke.
Mic. 5:2 – 5a (NKJV)
2“But you,
Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in
Until the time that she who is in labor has given birth; Then the remnant of His brethren Shall return to the children of
The battle raged on for centuries. Lucifer’s victory when
In 444 BC however,
The Last words of the Old Testament teach us that prior to the 400 years of silence, like our modern day Patten. God spoke these words.
Mal. 4:1 - 2a (NKJV)
1“For behold, the day is coming, Burning like an oven, And all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble. And the day which is coming shall burn them up,” Says the Lord of hosts, “That will leave them neither root nor branch. 2But to you who fear My name The Sun of Righteousness shall arise With healing in His wings;
We know little if anything of what transpired during the 400 silent years between Testaments. As if the calm before the storm, both armies busy readying themselves for battle. Building up armies and beating plow shears into swords. Strategies were played out, when the first indication came. By calculating time from Daniel’s prophecy.
seven units of seven, and sixty-two units of seven” ; i.e., 49 years, and 434 years respectively. The time of the great battle was at hand. After having been silent for 400 years
Luke 1:5 - 17 (NKJV)
5There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah. His wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was
8So it was, that while he was serving as priest before God in the order of his division, 9according to the custom of the priesthood, his lot fell to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord. 10And the whole multitude of the people was praying outside at the hour of incense. 11Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense. 12And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him.
13But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. 14And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. 15For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. 16And he will turn many of the children of
This was definitely it. The forerunner prophesied by Malachi
Mal. 4:5 - 6 (NKJV)
5Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet Before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. 6And he will turn The hearts of the fathers to the children, And the hearts of the children to their fathers, Lest I come and strike the earth with a curse.”
Lucifer sprang into action. All eyes on Zacharias and Elizabeth. In the mean time the angel Gabriel had appeared to the virgin Mary and announced to her that she would conceive of the Holy Spirit and give birth to the Messiah. Immediately she was to go to her relative
Luke 1:39 - 45 (NKJV)
39Now Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, to a city of Judah, 40and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. 41And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and
Mary was the one, the chosen vessel of God to bring forth Immanuel, Lucifer knew it. He did everything that he could to undermine God’s plan, but it was taking place faster than he could react. His only hope was to frustrate the prophecies. To somehow force God to change course and thus fail to keep his word. Joseph was option number 1. Perhaps as a just man, Joseph would take revenge on Mary, or would invoke his rights to have her put to death. But Lucifer underestimated Joseph’s love for and faith in Mary.
Matt. 1:18 - 21 (NKJV)
18Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. 19Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. 20But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. 21And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”
Luke 2:1 - 4 (NKJV)
1And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2This census first took place while Quirinius was governing
4Joseph also went up from
Lucifer knew this area well. These were the same fields where David had grown up tending his father’s sheep. Not too far from here his Champion Goliath was beaten. He knew that the terrain was rough, a hard ride for an expectant mother. He knew the town was small, and that his best hopes were to crowd them out of the city. Perhaps, if all went according to plan that he could fill the city and force them to go 5 miles north to the next exit, the city of
His plan was working perfectly. The town was teeming with people. During the day before Joseph and Mary’s arrival the small narrow streets of the city were wall to wall with people scrambling to find food, and a quiet place to rest while awaiting their turn to be registered.
Lucifer’s minions had failed to use the rocky terrain and the cold winter climate to keep them from arriving. It seemed that every crook and thief had left their place of ambush for the warmth of the city. Mary and Joseph would make it to
“It was time” Mary told Joseph. The time to be delivered was now. Joseph scrambled for a room, but there was none. Lucifer grinned with glee as he knew that Joseph would be forced to leave the city for the sake of the health of the child. Then it happened. The inn Keeper took pity on them, and made available the stable. Stable we call it, it was more akin to a cave. In truth it was a dark, damp hole in the side of the rocks where the animals could escape the bitter winter winds.
Luke 2:6 - 7 (NKJV)
6So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. 7And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
VICTORY
Luke 2:8 - 11 (NKJV)
8Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. 10Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. 11For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
Lucifer had been defeated. A battle that had raged since before the beginning of time. A battle that had seen much blood shed, that had seen the rise and fall of the nation of
Luke 2:13 - 14 (NKJV)
13And 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, goodwill toward men!”
What is the conspiracy of Christmas? I will tell you. The conspiracy of Christmas is that it was anything but a silent night. It was one of the most tumultuous battles of all time as Lucifer and all the demons of Hell fought the coming of the Redeemer, the birth of the Savior, Christ the Lord.
here is a link to a time lapse video of the Ginger Bread House at the Grand Floridian under Construction.
Conspiracy theorists everywhere now agree that the recent scrubbing of the NASA launch of the space Shuttle Atlantis was not sensors as widely purported, but an obvious attack by giant alien spiders.
Tonight we are having a special "preview" of our upcoming Saturday night Current Worship Service. I am not sure what to expect other than the unexpected. The festivities begin at 6:30 and I have been working hard to keep myself busy since 3 p.m. I have heard from many of our people that are excited about the new service and are looking forward to being able to attend worship again. It is amazing how many people in our area have to work Sundays and we are excited to be able to offer a new service. Someone likened it to doing church on banker's hours in an ATM culture. So if you are not doing anything tonight, come make a deposit or withdrawal depending on your personal need.
I got an email this morning from a guy nammed Luke. He had some difficult passages that he wanted answers to, and I believe he really is sincerely seeking. Pray with me for Him that God will touch Luke's life in a big way. I will give you his questions followed by my response to him.
Luke’s Questions: I have read passages in the bible which do not represent God’s infinite love and forgiveness.
Exodus 35:2
Deuteronomy 21:18-21
Leviticus 20:13
Plus there are many passages condoning slavery?
My Reply:
Dear Luke,
First let me commend you on your sincere and open take on the subject of understanding God and His word. I have been a pastor for 15 years and Istill come across passages in the Bible that I struggle to understand. That is where faith is essential and knowing that God is just and fair even when we may not see it.
As for slavery, there are two things that will help you.
1. Slavery was a way of life and part of every culture in biblical times. Though this does not make it right, as in the case of Israel's slavery in Egypt. The fact that it appears in the Bible does not indicate that God condones such slavery, but that He addresses the needs of the people in that culture. It would be like God giving instruction to drug addicts. He is not encouraging addiction, but how they ought to deal with their plight.
2. Not all slaves were slaves in the sense that we know it. According to Jewish law, those who had declared bankruptcy would become a slave until they had paid their debts. There was a strict limit to servetude of just 7 years when all jewish slaves had to be freed and every 50 years every debt was forgiven. In a lot of ways this was a simpler way of dealing with people who couldnot handle their bills. By being taken in as a servant, they were housed, fed, and trained in a skill. Also, at any time, a family member could redeem, or buy their freedom.
By this, we see that the Bible is very relevant to issues of its day. Not in a sense of condoning it, but in the sense that it helps people deal with real life issues.
Next, Let's address your specific passages.
Exodus 35:1 - 2 (NKJV)
1Then Moses gathered all the congregation of the children of Israel together, and said to them, “These are the words which the Lord has commanded you to do: 2Work shall be done for six days, but the seventh day shall be a holy day for you, a Sabbath of rest to the Lord. Whoever does any work on it shall be put to death.
This is probably one of the most difficult passages for us to deal with in our modern context. How does a God who claims to be all loving set in place a law that in our opinion seems to be self serving and oppressive. What we must accept is that God is God. For man to seek honor is wrong, but for God it is not only correct but natural. It is also important that this law was part of the Ten Commandments and was modeled for us in Creation. Where you and I struggle with this is that we feel that the punishment does not seem to fit the crime. We feel that if someone works on the Sabbath they should maybe be punished by being forced to donate all their earnings to charity or something. This mindset I believe stems from lesser view of God. What I mean by that is that we have ignored God for so long that it is hard for even believers to think of God as so reverent that to work on the Sabbath as a crime worthy of death. I think you would agree that God is deserving of all our worship, and that it is wrong for us to worship our paycheck, but I don't think we have a perfect understanding of the extent. remember that the law of the Old testament was given to man in order to set the standard of perfection that only Christ could meet. Yes we fail, But Christ came to save us who were under the law and to give us grace.
Let me boil it down as far as I see it. This law existed because 1. It was right for Israel to set aside one day to worship God. 2. God is infinitely deserving of all our praise. 3. to worship work over God is idolatry and worthy of capital punishment. 4. However Jesus came to free us from the law of sin and death, and the Old Testament serves just as an example of a law that was impossible for sinful man to keep.
Deuteronomy 21:18 - 21 (NKJV)
18“If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey the voice of his father or the voice of his mother, and who, when they have chastened him, will not heed them, 19then his father and his mother shall take hold of him and bring him out to the elders of his city, to the gate of his city. 20And they shall say to the elders of his city, ‘This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious; he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton and a drunkard.’ 21Then all the men of his city shall stone him to death with stones; so you shall put away the evil from among you, and all Israel shall hear and fear.
A few safe guards are put into place here. First both parents would have to agree that this was the last resort. Second they would still be required to prove it before the elders (Court) of the city. Again it seems harsh, that the punishment does not fit the crime, but in that society it was extreme provision for keeping order. Wednesday of this week a troubled teen took the lives of 8 people in the mall of Omaha Nebraska. He had many emotional issues but one of the recurring themes on the news is how his father kept asking the police to put his son in Jail. It was as if he knew his son was capable of doing such a crime, but our system had no way of dealing with him. I am not making the argument that we need to change to the Old Testament way of killing the potential villains. I just point to this as a case where this would in fact have saved lives. It is important to understand that the middle east practiced preventative measures rather than punitive. What I mean by that is that without forensics and modern police work, they relied on severe punishment as a deterrent.
Leviticus 20:13 (NKJV)
13If a man lies with a male as he lies with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination. They shall surely be put to death. Their blood shall be upon them.
This is obviously much more of a sensitive question and seems to be a much debated topic today. I think that it would be wrong to pluck this verse from its context and not admit that the same penalty existed for those who commit adultery and incest. Again I will remind you that the law existed as a standard of God's view of perfection. God's ideal is that a man and a woman marry for life. this is seen in the bible in that he created Adam and Eve, but also naturally as that is how children come about. To put it in the context of that day, it is important to remember that many of the ceremonial laws of the Jews existed to prevent diseases from becoming pandemic. Today it is hard to understand with our modern refrigeration and preservatives as well as health standards, but the risk was so great that they were even forbidden from eating pork which spoils quickly. Now bring that to sexuality and in a very practical sense it was important for the health of the nation that there be very stringent laws on personal morality. Imagine not being able to treat sexually transmitted diseases. Not long and the nation would be extinct. Take AIDS as an example. Personally it is hard for me to believe that it just came about in the last century. It very well may be the reason some tribes and people groups died off long ago. If sexuality was in Israel as it is today, and there were so many people who were not monogamous, it is very likely that a disease such as AIDS or other dangerous STD's would decimate the nation. Again, I think it to be extreme, but we must put it into their context. Their very lives depended upon it, as did the future of their nation.
I believe that makes one a Christian is not arriving in the place where you have all the answers but arriving in a place where you are faithfully believing while you still have questions. Jesus told us to ask, seek and knock, and the Bible is full of godly men asking sincere questions. I have enjoyed responding to your email and please let me know if you have any more questions.
God bless,
Joel
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