In the Synagogue: Luke 4

In Summary:
The historian-doctor continues his exploration of the life of Jesus by following the events after the baptism. Jesus goes up from the Jordan and into the wilderness. While there, He fasts and is led around in the Spirit for forty days. As those days draw to a close, the devil comes to tempt Him. This is a well-known story which covers three temptations of Jesus.

We see three primary temptations put before Him during this time. They cover major aspects of ministry: be flashy and use your power to satisfy your desires; direct worship in the wrong direction and rule wrongly over others; put God to the test and see if He really delivers. Each of these had a major significance in the life of Jesus and they also could affect the typical minister and Christian who follows after Him.

Jesus then proceeds to Nazareth, His hometown, and enters the synagogue to teach.
Here another temptation presents itself: please His religious audience by pulling punches. As He stands in front of the typical group in Nazareth, the people who have known Him the whole time, He takes up the scroll for the day’s reading.

The scroll holds the writings of the prophet Isaiah. Jesus finds written there the words of Isaiah 61:1-2 about the workings of the Gospel. The prophet speaks of one who has the Spirit of the Lord, coming to proclaim freedom from captivity, sight for the blind, and the favorable year of the Lord. 

This is truly good news.

And Jesus says that it is fulfilled in Him!

The crowd is less than pleased with this statement, and yet Jesus continues to explain why and how God has worked in the past.


In Focus:
Let us now take this and look at how Jesus dealt with temptation. First, though, see this: each of these incidents is temptation, from the devil in the wilderness to the friends in the synagogue. Each of these moments was a threat to following through with why He came, because at its core all temptation is the same.

All temptation is an effort to move our decision-making from What has God commanded? to What seems like a good idea at the time? No matter what skin the temptation puts on, that is the beating heart of it. This increases the challenge to recognize temptation, but simplifies the response. The response is always the same:

A heavy application of God’s Word. This is how Jesus responded to each of the devil's stunts: Scripture. Nazareth’s questions? Scripture. Their complaints? More Scripture (specifically, narrative portions of Scripture, contrary to some who would claim those stories are not valuable for instruction.)


In Practice:
Practically speaking, we need to back up one step in dealing with temptation. As people, we need the presence of the Holy Spirit to deal with temptation, and we only have that if we have a relationship with God through Jesus—but Jesus came on the scene with that intact. So we do not see Him needing to start that relationship by confessing sin and turning in repentance. We do.

From there, we follow the same path. Recognize temptation for what it is: a decision between What has God commanded? and What seems like a good idea at the time? If there is any decision of this nature, then you are facing temptation.

Drop back to what you know of the Word of God. What has God commanded? What has God done? How can you walk with Him?

For this, we have to know the Word. We must know Jesus, and we must read and grow in our knowledge of the Holy One. It may be that all you remember is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength…but that alone is often enough! How often does temptation push us to use who we are for something less than God?

Get in the Word, even if you can only grab hold of one thing, and hold on tight.

In Nerdiness:
Well, there’s lots of nerd ideas in a good chapter like this. First off, there is the question of the synagogue reading. The tradition was that the men would take turns reading, and they simply picked up where the last one left off on their day. So, does Jesus just happen to have His turn on this day, and happen to be at Isaiah 61? Or does He choose the passage rather than read what’s given Him, and He’s asked to read out of turn because He’s back in town?

Like many nerd questions, there’s no good answer to that one—nor any essential one.
Another nerd-observation is where Jesus stops in reading. He leaves off the phrase “And the day of vengeance of our God;” which is the next line in Isaiah 61:2. I would suggest to you that there’s a reason for that.

The day of the vengeance of our God was still coming, but it came at the Cross. It came on Jesus. He already knew about that day—others needed to know about the Good News before it happened.

Sermon Recap for September 21

Alright, we’re back to semi-normal around here, so that means two sermons per Sunday. That should hold true until the last Sunday in October.

Morning Sermon: Obedience in the Midst of Chaos: A Lesson from Esther 

Outline

Sept 21 AM Esther from Doug Hibbard on Vimeo.

 

Evening Sermon: The Mighty Acts of God Psalm 105

Outline

Psalm 105 from Doug Hibbard on Vimeo.

Morning Outline: Esther

We serve God in the chaos of life, even when we cannot see how He is working.

I. (3 minutes) Front Porch: We serve God in the chaos of life, even when we cannot see how He is working.

A. Today, we are looking at Esther--yes, the whole book. Rather than highlighting one particular passage, I want us to consider the entire story of Esther, Haman, and Purim

B. Delivery of sentence: How do we serve God in the chaos of life? How do we handle it when we cannot see how He is working?

     C. Transition

II. (3 minutes) Entryway:

     A. Do we really need to talk about chaos in life?

     B. Ok, let's talk: jobs--running to and fro, seeking to survive.

     C. This is life for far too many of us--

          1. How many nights are you home?

          2. For some of you, average that over the year--I know you're not home at harvest time

III. (2-3 minutes) Hallway:

A. Unknown authorship, post-exilic-

     B. Some of the Jews have returned

     C. Esther addresses the situation of those who remain in the Persian capital

IV. (3-5 minutes, only if necessary) Sitting Room:

     A. Historicity: there are some questions, however there are evidences that support the possibility

     B. Do not underestimate the whims of authoritarian kings--Vashti may have returned

     C. Ahasuerus=Xerxes I (most sources) 485-465 (time of construction of Parthenon

     D. Banquet was likely war planning/celebration: related to Thermopylae (SPARTA!!!)

V. (5-7 minutes) Kitchen:the book of Esther highlights these aspects of theology:

     A. God is sovereign even when anonymous

     B. God is capable of keeping His promises

     C. God's people always have enemies

VI. (7-9 Minutes) Dining Room (personal growth)/Living Room (immediate life application)

     A. Dining Room (personal growth): Our inability to see God at work does not mean He is not

     B. Living Room (immediate life application): What is one step of obedience to God in your work right now?

10:10 ->no plundering: remember that the goal is not to deprive others of what they have, nor is it truly revenge but it is to spread the Word of God

VII. (3-5 Minutes) The Door: wide world impact

     A. Do not lay down your rights--

     B. Also, do not sit idly by while others are deprived of theirs!

     C. Proclaim, boldly, who you are.

 

Evening Outline: Psalm 105

I. (3 minutes) Front Porch: God provides, disciplines, and empowers that we might obey Him and praise Him!

A. Psalm 105

II. (3 minutes) Entryway: Does it seem like the world does not reflect the work of God

III. (2-3 minutes) Hallway: A post-exilic Psalm

     A. Authorship is uncertain--

     B. Reflects Israel after the Exile

V. (5-7 minutes) Kitchen: God's glory is clear, even through judgment and salvation

VI. (7-9 Minutes) Dining Room (personal growth)/Living Room (immediate life application)

     A. Dining Room (personal growth): The value of knowing what God hath done

     B. Living Room (immediate life application): Implement efforts to learn more and teach more

VII. (3-5 Minutes) The Door: wide world impact: Our worship includes recounting and remembering what God has done. Do not be silent about all of His works

Where we are: An Update

Back in May, I officially graduated from seminary with my Master of Divinity degree. At that point, I was torn between pursuing my Ph.D., or another advanced degree, and taking some time off from school. I realized just how much I wanted the other degree, so I decided to plunge ahead and start taking language courses in support of the Ph.D. application.

Turns out, I don’t really want that degree bad enough. While I have somewhat enjoyed the idea of learning German and French, I just don’t have the energy to plunge ahead with distance learning again right now.

Distance learning, you see, has its ups and downs. It’s convenient for those of us who live out from formal education spaces. Quality-wise, while you can slack through it, you get what you bring in, so wanting to learn a lot and being willing to work, makes for a positive learning situation. The downside? You have to be entirely self-motivated. If you even have class sessions, they are typically spent staring at a computer screen, wondering if you look as asleep as the other people in the class.

There’s also the challenge of a lack of interactive feedback. This is especially a drawback in language learning. It works like this: I do an assignment, and turn it end. If it turns out that I am misunderstanding a concept, then I’ll fail the whole assignment. But, because there’s not any other way to interact, that’s the only way to find out if I am understanding a concept. The result is a highly frustrating mix of learning while getting failing or nearly-failing grades. Professors typically put heavier weight on exams to counteract this, which helps.

But it is a discouragement issue. Plus, the lack of general fellowship is tiresome. While I have some friends among the student body, we’re all pretty scattered in both classes and geography.

All this to say—I’m out for a while. I am most likely going to rethink the doctoral level work I intend to pursue, with an eye toward a more practical degree instead of the theoretical Ph.D.

That means that in a couple of weeks I’ll wrap up the German and French classes I had already paid for when I made this decision, and reshuffle my energy. My hope is to invest some time in a writing project or two—possibly even one that generates a dollar in revenue.

Beyond that, I will continue to preach and blog, pastor and teach, and hopefully find some better ways to be an encourager and Internet genius. As always, I’m here if you need me, dear readers…but I will do much better if you contact me in English than in German or French! I will be switching over and doing homeschool German and Latin with the kids, but the pacing is very, very different on those—so I’ll keep nerding up. Just a little differently.

Book: The Theology of the Westminster Standards

Today’s book is provided by Crossway Publishers, and I received a free e-book version for the purpose of reviewing. Crossway is nice to give free content, and cheap to send digitally. I appreciate the former and understand the latter.

The Theology of the Westminster Standards, by J.V. Fesko, is a serious book. That’s the first statement I would make: you’re not in for light reading here. Additionally, you may find yourself needing to either read the actual Westminster Standards or consult your favorite Presbyterian to grapple with the content. After all, why bother with the theology of something you have never read?

Fesko’s work breaks down the collection of documents known as the Westminster Standards, which includes the Westminster Confession of Faith, the Larger and Shorter Catechisms, and the Form of Church Government. The focus is on the Confession and two Catechisms.

The material is organized around the general categories of systematic theology, tracing how the Standards speak to the doctrines of Scripture, God, Christology, and more. I would recommend you be familiar with the general academics of theology before tackling these chapters, though this work could be your introduction. A more general introduction, though, would be of benefit to you.

I found the first chapter the most beneficial, as it covers the historical context of the writing of the Westminster Standards. (Technically, I suppose it’s the 2nd chapter, as the Introduction is labeled Chapter 1.) This chapter serves the valuable role of reminding the reader of what is going on, and has gone on, in the world around Westminster when the Standards come into being.

Fesko’s writing style is accessible, but does require a willingness to focus in and read. I recommend a notepad and a Bible close at hand. It is worth your time, especially if you are looking for the historical foundations of Reformed Theology.

If you are a casual reader, you’ll need to stretch out to tackle this one. If your interest in theology is either “gotcha” games for tweetable lines or feel-good only, then you need to give this a pass or be prepared for frustration.

If you’re out for a deeper understanding, this is a good look at Reformed Theology, especially in its initial settings.

Free book provided in exchange for the review.

Follow your heart? Deuteronomy 11

In Summary: You are welcome to check the prior Deuteronomy entries to catch up on the setting at this point. I think it would belabor the point to rehash it all, so I’ll move on.

That is, after all, what Moses is doing in this chapter. We are through with the recapitulation of the journey and have moved on to the final preparation for the journey in. Moses is giving instructions for what the people are to inside the Promised Land.

It is noteworthy that the warning is consistently about idolatry. Not specifically about the making of graven images or carved images, but about the shifting of allegiances from YHWH, Covenant God of Israel, to other gods. Even with all that God had done for the Israelites, this remained their greatest danger.

It was an even greater danger than immorality! Most of the condemnation of immorality that comes on the Israelites in the years to come stem from the blending of immorality with the worship of idols. Their pursuit of wealth to the point of injustice also starts there: seeking more to build bigger idols.

This is certainly worth noting in our day. It is extraordinarily easy to find fault with immorality, and immorality is everywhere to be found. We should, perhaps, pay greater attention to where worship is centered than we do with what behavior occurs. Why? Because behavior follows worship. Focusing on behavior only makes an idol of the rules (or of breaking them!)


In Focus: I would like to put the focus on one particular verse today. Take a long, hard look at 11:16 about making sure your hearts are not deceived, and pulled away to worship another god.

The people of Israel are being warned here that they cannot trust their hearts to guide their worship. The heart can be deceived—and so “follow your heart” becomes bad advice. It is worth noting, though, that heart here implies not only emotions but the will and thoughts as well.

Every part of our decision making process is vulnerable to deception if we are not careful, not just our emotions. It is, however, preventable. A deceived heart is an option.

In Practice: If that is the case, then what do we do? How do we prevent the deception of our hearts?

First, we remember what God has done for us. How easily we forget, it seems, the distance that God has covered for us. Eternity is no small thing, and yet He came for us anyway. Our memory should be filled with the knowledge of what God has done, and this anchors us against drifting from His truth.

Second, we actively seek to learn His word. In this, we do not simply trust memory, for we are blessed to have an available Bible. The more we pour in the Word of God, the less likely we are to fall into deception.

Third, we join together with our fellow believers. Not a one of us are smart enough, nor committed enough, to walk alone before the Lord God Almighty. Let us join each other to strengthen and encourage, and hold one another close as we walk the path God has given us.


In Nerdiness: Just a short nerd moment in Deuteronomy 11:10. Moses refers to the use of the foot to water the land in Egypt. This is attested to by history as we see pictures of treadmill and pedal powered irrigation systems.

That’s right—we can see how these worked. And the difference in Egypt and Canaan? Rain. Rain watered the land, and there were myriads of small, seasonal streams. There was no need for major irrigation works to sustain life.

Wednesday Wanderings: September 17

Today, let’s take a buzz through Ezra. Why?

Why not?

Don’t think we’re going to be rebuilding the Holy City after the dominance of the Persian Empire?

You’re probably right.

Are there some principles here? I think there are a few and they bear on both spiritual and political issues of our day.

First, spiritually: do we take advantage of the freedom to worship that exists in our world right now? The Persians permitted a limited freedom of public worship, just as we Americans have at this point. Are we using it or avoiding it?

Second, politically: Persia had a policy of returning conquered people to their homelands. Why? Because it wasn’t worth the hassle to meddle in their lives by yanking folks all over the map. Guess what, governing folks? The more you meddle, the more difficult it is to govern. Take a page from Cyrus and let it go. As long as people pay their taxes, why stress about the minutiae of their lives? Let the people live.

Third, spiritually: adversity will come against your public expression of worship. When that occurs, appeal to the authorities who are responsible for safeguarding that freedom and retain your willingness to worship privately. Our inability to worship publicly should not hamper our private worship.

Fourth, politically: Cyrus acknowledges that he is king thanks to the “God of heaven.” Now, he may not have truly been a believer—and he may have praised the gods of many other nations—but the key idea is this: politically, do you understand that you are not the top of the universe? There is more to life than you, be it Deity or vox populii, and you would do well to remember that.

Fifth, spiritually: Ezra has a long streak on purity among the people, and one that is oft-misunderstood. Ezra seeks a worshiping people that are unified. In that day, religious purity and ethnic identity ran on the same tracks. On this side of the Cross (and even on that side, if you look back at the Law and inclusion rules) the only ethnicity that matters for unity is the Blood of Christ.

That’s what this all comes back to: are we looking to see the Kingdom of God? There are opportunities to be outposts of that Kingdom—take them and use them!

Sermon Recap for September 14

Admission time:

1. I didn't preach Sunday morning. Tim Yarbrough from the Arkansas Baptist News did. He did well. I don't have his outline.

2. I did preach Sunday night. I also taught a discipleship session beforehand. I recorded both, but I just don't like the quality of presentation. Way too much rambling from me on both, likely related to my mind not being fully on-task. Ann was on her way home, flying from Florida to Texas to Arkansas. 

Therefore, I take my punt for the year and I'm not posting either video or audio from that night. Here's the outline:

Sept 14 PM Haggai

Haggai 2:4, 9: The Spirit is here, and the glory is the Lord's--

Haggai 2:21–23 (NASB95)

21  “Speak to Zerubbabel governor of Judah, saying, ‘I am going to shake the heavens and the earth.

22  ‘I will overthrow the thrones of kingdoms and destroy the power of the kingdoms of the nations; and I will overthrow the chariots and their riders, and the horses and their riders will go down, everyone by the sword of another.’

23  ‘On that day,’ declares the Lord of hosts, ‘I will take you, Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, My servant,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will make you like a signet ring, for I have chosen you,’ ” declares the Lord of hosts.

1. Commitment to obedience

2. Do not disdain what blessings God brings

3. Recognize that what we get here will, and should be, less than when it is obviously the work of our Great God