July 8, Numbers 6:22-26 "The Blessing"

The intent of this sermon is to complete the presentations of the parts of worship liturgy that are in almost every service. We conclude our services with a blessing. This practice has its foundation in Numbers chapter 6. What impact does the blessing have on you before you leave a worship service? As many have noticed, when we close a service with the priestly blessing of Numbers 6, I often add a phrase "the Lord treat you as his favourite children." You may have wondered why I add that phrase. The sermon will explain that. Here is the passage. Your reflections are invited.

^22 The LORD said to Moses, ^23 “Tell Aaron and his sons, ‘This is how you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them:

^24 ““‘The LORD bless you

and keep you;

^25 the LORD make his face shine upon you

and be gracious to you;

^26 the LORD turn his face toward you

and give you peace.”’

^27 “So they will put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.”

The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (electronic ed.) (Nu 6:22). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

July 1, Revelation 22 "The Tree of Live in the Middle of the City"

We come to the conclusion of our theme this year - "From the Garden to the City, Trees along the way" and we come to the final chapter of scripture to discover that now the garden and the city have become one for both speak of the presence of God. And the river is here to - the river of the water of life.
In your mind, what do some of the symbols in this vision represent?

The River of Life

22 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb ^2 down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. ^3 No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. ^4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. ^5 There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.

^6 The angel said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true. The Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent his angel to show his servants the things that must soon take place.”

Jesus Is Coming

^7 “Behold, I am coming soon! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy in this book.”

^8 I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I had heard and seen them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who had been showing them to me. ^9 But he said to me, “Do not do it! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers the prophets and of all who keep the words of this book. Worship God!”

^10 Then he told me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, because the time is near. ^11 Let him who does wrong continue to do wrong; let him who is vile continue to be vile; let him who does right continue to do right; and let him who is holy continue to be holy.”

^12 “Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. ^13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.

^14 “Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. ^15 Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.

^16 “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you ^a this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.”

^17 The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life.

^18 I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book. ^19 And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.

^20 He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.”

Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.

^21 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people. Amen.

^a The Greek is plural.

The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (electronic ed.) (Re 22:1). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

June 24 Revelation 21 "The City of God - the Bride made Ready"

Revelation 19 has a key phrase for understanding history, our own history and the culmination of history in the City of God - "the Bride has made herself ready." This statement is followed by visions of beauty - the city of God descends from heaven to be on the earth. Yet its foundation is earthly and its gates have an earthy origin - tribes and apostles. It is a city that is defined by the presence of God in it (compare to Ezekiel 48:35) and as a result, the city will be forever. Here is the passage. Your comments are invited

19 After this I heard what sounded like the roar of a great multitude in heaven shouting:

“Hallelujah!

Salvation and glory and power belong to our God,

^2 for true and just are his judgments.

He has condemned the great prostitute

who corrupted the earth by her adulteries.

He has avenged on her the blood of his servants.”

^3 And again they shouted:

“Hallelujah!

The smoke from her goes up for ever and ever.”

^4 The twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God, who was seated on the throne. And they cried:

“Amen, Hallelujah!”

^5 Then a voice came from the throne, saying:

“Praise our God,

all you his servants,

you who fear him,

both small and great!”

^6 Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting:

“Hallelujah!

For our Lord God Almighty reigns.

^7 Let us rejoice and be glad

and give him glory!

For the wedding of the Lamb has come,

and his bride has made herself ready.

^8 Fine linen, bright and clean,

was given her to wear.”

(Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints.)

^9 Then the angel said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!’” And he added, “These are the true words of God.”

^10 At this I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “Do not do it! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”

21 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. ^2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. ^3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ^4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

^5 He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

^6 He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. ^7 He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son. ^8 But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”

^9 One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.” ^10 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. ^11 It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. ^12 It had a great, high wall with twelve gates, and with twelve angels at the gates. On the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. ^13 There were three gates on the east, three on the north, three on the south and three on the west. ^14 The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

^15 The angel who talked with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city, its gates and its walls. ^16 The city was laid out like a square, as long as it was wide. He measured the city with the rod and found it to be 12,000 stadia ^a in length, and as wide and high as it is long. ^17 He measured its wall and it was 144 cubits ^b thick, ^c by man’s measurement, which the angel was using. ^18 The wall was made of jasper, and the city of pure gold, as pure as glass. ^19 The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, ^20 the fifth sardonyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst. ^{d 21} The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl. The great street of the city was of pure gold, like transparent glass.

^22 I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. ^23 The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. ^24 The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. ^25 On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. ^26 The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. ^27 Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

^a That is, about 1,400 miles (about 2,200 kilometers)

^b That is, about 200 feet (about 65 meters)

^c Or high

^d The precise identification of some of these precious stones is uncertain.

The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (electronic ed.) (Re 21:1). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

June 17 Revelation 18, "The City Called Babylon"

The city of Babylon pictured in Revelation 18 - 19:3 is a city that has profound and interesting qualities.

The Fall of Babylon

18 After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven. He had great authority, and the earth was illuminated by his splendor. ^2 With a mighty voice he shouted:

“Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great!

She has become a home for demons

and a haunt for every evil spirit,

a haunt for every unclean and detestable bird.

^3 For all the nations have drunk

the maddening wine of her adulteries.

The kings of the earth committed adultery with her,

and the merchants of the earth grew rich from her excessive luxuries.”

^4 Then I heard another voice from heaven say:

“Come out of her, my people,

so that you will not share in her sins,

so that you will not receive any of her plagues;

^5 for her sins are piled up to heaven,

and God has remembered her crimes.

^6 Give back to her as she has given;

pay her back double for what she has done.

Mix her a double portion from her own cup.

^7 Give her as much torture and grief

as the glory and luxury she gave herself.

In her heart she boasts,

‘I sit as queen; I am not a widow,

and I will never mourn.’

^8 Therefore in one day her plagues will overtake her:

death, mourning and famine.

She will be consumed by fire,

for mighty is the Lord God who judges her.

^9 “When the kings of the earth who committed adultery with her and shared her luxury see the smoke of her burning, they will weep and mourn over her. ^10 Terrified at her torment, they will stand far off and cry:

”‘Woe! Woe, O great city,

O Babylon, city of power!

In one hour your doom has come!’

^11 “The merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her because no one buys their cargoes any more— ^12 cargoes of gold, silver, precious stones and pearls; fine linen, purple, silk and scarlet cloth; every sort of citron wood, and articles of every kind made of ivory, costly wood, bronze, iron and marble; ^13 cargoes of cinnamon and spice, of incense, myrrh and frankincense, of wine and olive oil, of fine flour and wheat; cattle and sheep; horses and carriages; and bodies and souls of men.

^14 “They will say, ‘The fruit you longed for is gone from you. All your riches and splendor have vanished, never to be recovered.’ ^15 The merchants who sold these things and gained their wealth from her will stand far off, terrified at her torment. They will weep and mourn ^16 and cry out:

”‘Woe! Woe, O great city,

dressed in fine linen, purple and scarlet,

and glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls!

^17 In one hour such great wealth has been brought to ruin!’

“Every sea captain, and all who travel by ship, the sailors, and all who earn their living from the sea, will stand far off. ^18 When they see the smoke of her burning, they will exclaim, ‘Was there ever a city like this great city?’ ^19 They will throw dust on their heads, and with weeping and mourning cry out:

”‘Woe! Woe, O great city,

where all who had ships on the sea

became rich through her wealth!

In one hour she has been brought to ruin!

^20 Rejoice over her, O heaven!

Rejoice, saints and apostles and prophets!

God has judged her for the way she treated you.’”

^21 Then a mighty angel picked up a boulder the size of a large millstone and threw it into the sea, and said:

“With such violence

the great city of Babylon will be thrown down,

never to be found again.

^22 The music of harpists and musicians, flute players and trumpeters,

will never be heard in you again.

No workman of any trade

will ever be found in you again.

The sound of a millstone

will never be heard in you again.

^23 The light of a lamp

will never shine in you again.

The voice of bridegroom and bride

will never be heard in you again.

Your merchants were the world’s great men.

By your magic spell all the nations were led astray.

^24 In her was found the blood of prophets and of the saints,

and of all who have been killed on the earth.”

Hallelujah!

19 After this I heard what sounded like the roar of a great multitude in heaven shouting:

“Hallelujah!

Salvation and glory and power belong to our God,

^2 for true and just are his judgments.

He has condemned the great prostitute

who corrupted the earth by her adulteries.

He has avenged on her the blood of his servants.”

^3 And again they shouted:

“Hallelujah!

The smoke from her goes up for ever and ever.”

^4 The twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God, who was seated on the throne.

What qualities does this city have? Does it remind you of some cities we are quite familiar with? This picture of the city is very negative. Can you think of themes or qualities of the city that are worthy of the eternal kingdom? What is the role of the cult or idols or religion in this city? Your input is invited, I will add as I research.

There is solid evidence that the city of Babel (Genesis 10, 11) and Babylon are the same city. The name of both means "the gate of god" (bab + el= Sumarian) and at the same time in Hebrew it means "confusion." What resonances do you notice in the Old Testament story of Babel and the Revelation story of Babylon do you read?

June 10 Matthew 6 "For Thine is the Kingdom"

This theme fits well into our annual theme of "From the Garden to the City - Trees along the Way." The "city" represents the kingdom of God in its fullness. Close to the beginning of the prayer we pray "Your Kingdom Come," now at the end of the prayer, we are once again reminded that the Kingdom, power and Glory all belong to Him. This is a prayer with a profound kingdom focus at both the beginning and the end. In this sermon, I hope to talk about a healthy desire for the kingdom - as represented in the New Jerusalem. Jerusalem was the desire of Israel in the Old Testament. It was the place where their king had his throne. It was the place where God sat enthroned on the Ark of the Covenant. It was placed on a high hill, and so Israel would sing its songs of ascent and longing on their way up to Jerusalem. When Jerusalem was taken and pillaged by the Assyrians, the people of Israel sat at the river side and wept. To have ones name in the citizenship scrolls of Jerusalem was to have your name remembered eternally as a possessor of the promised land. Thus Israel kept long geneological records that incidentally were destroyed in 70AD. Now the book of Hebrews tells us that our citizenship is in heaven, the new Jerusalem, our names written in the book of life. And this city will never be taken. We are secure in the city where there will be no more crying, tears, or pain. Don't you find yourself hungry for that at times? Maybe more often than not? Yet its seems that we are reluctant to talk about what heaven is like. Maybe that's because, when push comes to shove, we are often reluctant to talk about "the kingdom" because we are not quite sure what it should really look like. To say that the Kingdom is wherever "Jesus is Lord" is theologically true but painting a picture of that is sometimes less than clear. Should the church be giving courses in how to become poor (Matthew 5:3)? Or "The five easy steps to hungering and thirsting for righteousness" (Matthew 5:10)? Or "The two best strategies to fall off the social ladder and become the least" (Matthew 5:19)? Or "The eighteen mysterious secrets of the kingdom" (Matthew 13:11)? Kingdom and the New Jerusalem are concepts that intermingle. Are we people who seek first the kingdom (the New Jerusalem) and its righteousness? How hungry are we?

If you are really brave, you might want to check out my research on the city of Jerusalem... in the third comment below.

What do you think the "markers" of the kingdom are? What would church look like if the kingdom of God came to a more perfect expression among us? Your ideas or input on this sermon or future sermons is deeply appreciated.

"True godliness is always a matter of desire." and "desires are true prayers." Charles Spurgeon (http://sovereign-grace.com/spurgeon-sn/chsn0034.htm)

On Knowledge and Desire according to Augustine see http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3664/is_200110/ai_n8958098/pg_6

"“Desires for other things”—there’s the enemy. And the only
weapon that will triumph is a deeper hunger for God. The weakness
of our hunger for God is not because he is unsavory, but
because we keep ourselves stuffed with “other things.”" - John Piper Hunger for God p. 10

"The fight of faith is a fight to feast on all that
God is for us in Christ. What we hunger for most, we worship." - John Piper Hunger for God p. 10

Whom have I in heaven but thee?
And there is nothing upon earth
that I desire besides thee.
My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart
and my portion for ever.
—PS A L M 7 3 : 2 5 - 2 6 , R S V

"Christian fasting, at its root, is the hunger of a homesickness for
God." - John Piper Hunger for God p. 14

"The greatest enemy of hunger for God is not poison but apple pie.
It is not the banquet of the wicked that dulls our appetite for
heaven, but endless nibbling at the table of the world. It is not
the X-rated video, but the prime-time dribble of triviality we
drink in every night. For all the ill that Satan can do, when God
describes what keeps us from the banquet table of his love, it is
a piece of land, a yoke of oxen, and a wife (Luke 14:18-20). The
greatest adversary of love to God is not his enemies but his gifts.
And the most deadly appetites are not for the poison of evil, but
for the simple pleasures of earth. For when these replace an
appetite for God himself, the idolatry is scarcely recognizable,
and almost incurable." - John Piper Hunger for God p. 14

John Piper is an excellent writer and a great theologian - and guess what - he is offering his books on the internet to readers for FREE! Future Grace is a great book, a good read. Check his books out @ http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/OnlineBooks/ByTitle/

June 3 Matthew 6, "Deliver us from Evil"

In the Lord's prayer, we regularly pray "Deliver us from evil" (or "the Evil one"). How aware are we of the forces of evil in our time? Paul says that "we fight not against flesh and blood but against powers and spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."(Ephesians 6) How aware of these spiritual influences are we?

D. H. Lawrence, as early as 1923 D. H. Lawrence, described the new spiritual atmosphere that was possessing (what would become Nazi) Germany:
"It is as if life had retreated eastwards. As if the Germanic life were slowly ebbing away from contact with western Europe, ebbing to the deserts of the east...
Returning again to the fascination of the destructive east, that produced Attila... at night you feel strange things stirring in the darkness, strange feelings stirring out of this still unconquered Black Forest. You stiffen your backbone and you listen to the night. There is a sense of danger. It is not the people. They don’t seem dangerous. Out of the very air comes a sense of danger, a queer, bristling feeling of uncanny danger.
Something has happened. Something has happened which has not yet eventuated. The old spell of the old world has broken, and the old, bristling, savage spirit has set in. . . . Something has happened to the human soul, beyond all help. . . . It is a fate; nobody now can alter it. . . . At the same time, we have brought it about ourselves—by a Ruhr occupation, by an English nullity, and by a German false will. We have done it ourselves. But apparently it was not to be helped." (Quoted from Walter Wink, "Engaging the Powers: Discernment and Resistance in a World of Domination." p. 53)

Have you experienced the evil one in your life? How and when? How does the evil get at you? What in your opinion are some of its main strategies? Your input is invited!

May 27 - Pentecost Sunday Morning: From the Garden to the City - Trees along the Way - the first taste

We have been on a journey together that started with the promises of the Garden in the Old Testament. Scripture tells us that the fulfillment of those promises is a city that comes down out of heaven filled with the glory of the Lord called "the New Jerusalem." In our journey, we have come to Pentecost - the first taste of the city.

Acts 2 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. ^2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. ^3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. ^4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues ^a as the Spirit enabled them.

The Fellowship of the Believers

^42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. ^43 Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. ^44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. ^45 Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. ^46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, ^47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

^a Or languages; also in verse 11

The early church in its birth was experiencing a foretaste of the city of God. It strikes me that the city, as represented in Acts 2:42-47 was characterized by the following kingdom principles:

1. Citizens were devoted (they persisted in) to the apostle's teaching, to fellowship (Koinonia), to breaking of the bread (The Eucharist) and to prayer. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, their faith became reliable and consistent. Even their attendance to the building of community became very reliable. It seems to me that the focus of this "taste of the new city" is that God and the truths of his kingdom along with his people came before everything else. "Seek first the kingdom..." This was the culture of the new city.

2. Citizens became remarkably generous, willing to sell their possession in order to share with those in need, regarding themselves as stewards of what God had given them. It seems to me that ideally, in the city, this is possible. Isn't it ironic that we live so close to each other, each with our little plot of grass, yet we all have our own mower and hardly ever share with one another. The disease of the present city is individualism, materialism and loneliness. The taste of the new city culture in Pentecost is a radical contrast from what we experience today.

3. They met with each other daily. Here is a picture of connectedness. Once again, only possible in the city where we can meet our neighbours on our walks, etc. Their connection even went to the point of common meals (BBQs?) and feasted together (or at least a "love feast - which according to Krieder, were feasts where the rich waited for the poor to eat first, where they shared their wealth with the needy and the least became first) in their homes. The dynamic of today's cities however is that we are remarkably disconnected. Many of us do not know the names of our immediate neighbours. Yet we are so physically close together. Yet we are so disconnected from one another. The culture we live in and the culture we look forward to in the new City are dramatically different.

4. They celebrated! They were marked as a people who praised God. Revelation clearly pictures throngs joined in worship and celebration. This is a culture of happiness for tears and sorrows will be wiped away. Joy never ending! Wow! How different from our cities where a lack of generosity and a pervasive individualism results in homelessness, poverty, brokenness, secrecy, pain etc. etc.

5. This culture was magnetic! For those who hunger for the kingdom - it is the ideal. Every day people were being added. (There is however good evidence that many also were not added - and even though they enjoyed good favour at first, by Acts 6, major persecution had started.)

Every city, every church has a culture. How close to the culture of the New city is our church?
In your experience of the cities we live in - is the city as we know it a foretaste of the eternal kingdom of God, or is it a foretaste at all in any way at all?
How do you picture the city, the new Jerusalem, that God is bringing to us? What excites you about it?

Feel free to add any of your own questions or themes that you might like to see addressed in this sermon or future sermons.

Possible theme song of Response: "Take us to the River" by Robin Mark

Pastor Bill