July 7th, 2017 Guest Preacher Jim Kauth
Why did God give us the
Bible? The reason God’s Word was given to us can be summed up in these three
Scriptural readings.
a.
The Bible is a story a story of covenants, a story about God’s people and how
we will respond to God gifts. Jeremiah 31:31-36
b.
The Bible is a story about God’s people and how we will treat each other and
the world. Galatians
6:1-10
c. The Bible is a story
about God’s people and how we will interact with the
world. Luke 10:1-9, 16-20
Jeremiah 31:31-36 (God’s Word translation)
The
Bible is a story about how God’s people will respond to God gifts, a story of
covenants.
There are two types of
Covenants, conditional and unconditional.
A
conditional covenant is an agreement that is binding on both parties for its
fulfillment. Both parties agree to fulfill certain conditions. If either party
fails to meet their responsibilities, the covenant is broken and neither party
has to fulfill the expectations of the covenant.
An
unconditional or unilateral covenant is an agreement between two parties, but
only one of the two parties has to do something. Nothing contractually is
required of the other party.
The Adamic Covenant
a. The
Adamic Covenant is a conditional covenant in two parts, the Edenic half and the
Grace and Redemption half.
In the Edenic Covenant,
God promises Adam life and blessings, but that promise is conditional upon
Adam’s obedience to God’s command not to eat of the fruit of the tree of
knowledge of good and evil.
b.
As a result of Adam’s sin we then have
the second half of God’s covenant,
God’s covenant of
Grace-Redemption. God curses Satan saying, “The
seed a woman would crush the Serpent’s head”. This curse is our assurance
that one born of a woman would be wounded in the process of destroying Satan.
Some call this assurance the “Proto-Gospel”.
The Abrahamic covenant
The Abrahamic Covenant is an unconditional Covenant
1. The
promise of Land
2. The
promise of descendants
3. The promise of blessing and redemption
The Mosaic covenant
This is a conditional l covenant. If Israel
is obedient, then God will bless them, but if they disobey, then God will
punish them. The Mosaic Covenant is especially significant because in it God
promises to make Israel
“a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” the promise of redemption.
The
Davidic covenant
The Davidic Covenant is an unconditional covenant
made between God and David through which God promises David and Israel that the Messiah (Jesus Christ) would
come from the lineage of David and the tribe of Judah and would establish a kingdom
that would endure forever.
And finally, The Messiahanic
covenant
The
fulfillment of God’s promise told to Satan
Is the
Messiahanic Covenant a conditional or unconditional covenant?
Whew, a lot of covenants,
God change God’s mind a lot!
No, it wasn’t God who
kept changing their mind! God is the one person in this story that has not
changed, nor ever will change! We are the ones who change, sometimes we grow in
understanding, and then, for whatever reason, we choose to forget all we
learned. WE turn our backs on God. Yet all the while God is forgiving us,
teaching us, growing us, and loving us.
Let
me explain how God’s Messiahanic covenant works. God tells us what God will
give and do for us and why God chooses to do so, then tells us how we will respond
to God’s gracious gifts.
It’s
laid out pretty clear in Jeremiah,
·
The Law would be
written upon our hearts, not on tables of stone,
·
We will respond
to God’s Will from inward love rather than outward compulsion.
·
God will send
the sacred Lamb of God as savior; we will have our sins forgiven.
·
Everyone under
this covenant will enter into a new relationship with God, we will know the
Lord personally through Jesus Christ.
Looking back we can see as
the people of God grew in understanding God would grow their covenant giving
all of us security, freedom to continue to grow and our reason for living.
Is the Messiahanic Covenant
a conditional or unconditional covenant?
Galatians 6:1-10 (God’s Word translation)
The
Bible is a story about how God’s people will treat each other and the world.
How do we treat
A fellow Christian who has
sinned:
·
A Christian
should restore a brother or sister to a right relationship with God and thus
their community. The task of restoration is not to be undertaken by fledglings
in the faith but by those who walk by the Spirit and who are mature in the
faith
A fellow Christian who is
burdened:
·
A Christian lends
a helping hand with heavy loads this can apply to all burdens but in this
context has special reference to the heavy and oppressive weight of temptation
and spiritual failure.
Our Pastor-Teacher:
·
One
responsibility of each believer is to shoulder the financial support of the
pastor-teachers in the church. This concept of voluntary giving to provide for
the Lord’s servants was revolutionary since Jews were taxed for the support of
their priests and Gentiles paid fees, made vows, etc., to sustain their
religious support. The admonition is clear that as a teacher shares the good
things of the Word of God, a believer is to reciprocate by sharing all good
things with our Teaching Elders.
Ourselves:
·
God’s rule, a
person reaps what he sows, is immutable. Each sower decides what their harvest
will be. If a person sows to please his sinful nature, that is, selfishly
indulges in their own desires not God’s desires, that person will reap a
harvest that will fade into oblivion. On the other hand if a person supports
the Lord’s work, sows to please the Spirit, and promotes his or her own
spiritual growth that person will reap a harvest that will last forever.
·
But Christians
may become discouraged with spiritual sowing because the harvest is often long
in coming. Do not become weary or give up because God guarantees the harvest
will be completed. The reaping will come at God’s proper time, which may be
only in part in our lifetime and in full in the life to come at the judgment
seat of Christ.
The
World
·
Jesus fed the
5,000, both saved and unsaved participated, so the benevolence of Christians
should not be restricted, just understand that believers are the harvest
workers and as such have priority. Family needs are met first, then those of
our neighbors. Paul speaks clearly about Christian social responsibility, but
it should be noted that it is addressed to individual believers.
Luke 10:1-9, 16-20 my paraphrased
The Bible is a story about
how God’s people will interact with the world.
God sent Jesus, Jesus sends
us.
At
the beginning of Luke chapter 10,
·
Jesus tells
the disciples to go out in pairs,
not by themselves, there is a connection with sending the disciples out in
pairs and what Mathew 18, verse 19 says “Again, truly I tell you, if two of
you agree on earth about anything you ask, it will be done for you by my Father
in heaven.”
·
Jesus says there’s
a lot of work to do, ask the “Lord who gives this Harvest” for workers to
help in this harvest,” meaning invite people to be an active part of
ministry and of our community of faith for the person you invite may be the
“harvest worker” God is sending.
·
Travel light,
no extra burdens, don’t visit on the way, telling us to keep our focus on what is important, what is urgent,
what God is sending us out to do.
·
When you arrive
at a community, find a family that will share in your peace, that is, a
family who will be tolerant and open to hear what you have to say
·
Take your
meals there, share in the traditions
of the family you are staying with, this way you may also learn the community’s
culture and traditions
·
Eat what is
set before you, when you preach the
“Good News” preach it through your budding relationships with the people in the
community, it’s hard to be a stranger at a meal
·
“Heal the
sick”, work at those things that
show obvious and present benefits for this community while you are preaching
about the less obvious and long-term benefits of God’s Way
·
“The Kingdom of God
is near you”, make it clear that God
is gifting this community because of God Love for us, that’s how the “Kingdom of God” works
Now understand, the focus of
the church is not as an agency for social work and rehabilitation, though we,
as Christians are charged to minister in this way as we are able and have
opportunity.
The focus of the Church is
to spread “The Good News” the kingdom
of God is at our doorstep
right NOW! We are call to be the face and hands of Jesus, to be the voice and
presence of Jesus, to be a light to the world for the sake of the world. We are
called to preach, always preach, and if necessary, use words.
“Remember, the
great victory is not in your authority over evil, but in God’s authority over
you and God’s presence with you. The achievement is not what you do for God but
what God does for you—that’s the reason for rejoicing, the only reason to
rejoice”. (Luke 10:20)
