FOUNDATIONS FOR PEACE

DEUTERONOMY 26:5-10
February 16-18, 2013
First Sunday in Lent
Pastor Tim Smith

5 Then you shall declare before the LORD your God: “My father was a wandering Aramean, and he went down into Egypt with a few people and lived there and became a great nation, powerful and numerous. 6 But the Egyptians mistreated us and made us suffer, putting us to hard labor. 7 Then we cried out to the LORD, the God of our fathers, and the LORD heard our voice and saw our misery, toil and oppression. 8 So the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with great terror and with miraculous signs and wonders. 9 He brought us to this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey; 10 and now I bring the firstfruits of the soil that you, O LORD, have given me.” Place the basket before the LORD your God and bow down before him. (NIV) This is the word of the Lord.

Early in this book of Deuteronomy, Moses repeats the Ten Commandments for the people just before they crossed over into the Promised Land. Forty years had come and gone since God had given them the commandments on Mount Sinai, and Moses preached this series of sermons to the new generations across the Jordan from Jericho. Almost everything between the Commandments in chapter 5 and the verses before us in chapter 26 are an explanation of the Ten Commandments, with whole chapters focusing on this or that aspect of marriage laws, prohibitions against every form of idolatry, worship regulations, the use of God’s name, about theft, bearing false witness, moving boundary stones, and parents’ responsibility for their children. Now, in the chapter before us, Moses turns to the time in the very near future when Israel would take possession of the Promised Land and begin to settle down there.

In this passage, we see a piece of Old Testament liturgy for a special worship service.

In this passage, we see a confession of faith—a creed—that was not only suggested but commanded by God for the people to use in this special worship service.

In this passage, we see that the rescue from Egypt—the Exodus—was one of many examples of the way God visibly showed his salvation to his people. A picture of the way Jesus Christ rescued all mankind from our bondage to the slavery of sin.

In this passage, we are reminded that just as the Israelites were rescued completely from their bondage to Egypt and didn’t bring any of it along with them to Canaan, so also we are rescued completely from our bondage to sin, and this salvation is in every way a free gift, given to us by the grace of God through JESUS, who is OUR GREAT DELIVERER.

The special worship service in which these words were to be used only happened once. Moses told the people that this was to take place after they had entered into the land of Canaan and planted their crops. Then, just as the crop was first beginning to come up, they were to cut the firstfruits as an offering to the Lord. This was different from the annual offering of the firstfruits, which Moses described earlier in Deuteronomy and was to be a yearly gift for the priests. Here, God commanded that not just the firstfruits of the year’s planting, but the very first appearance of the Israelite’s crop ever planted was to be cut, and given to the Lord.

Before this, they had never planted crops in Canaan. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were vagabonds—Jacob himself is the “wandering Aramean” in this creed; this confession of faith. He and his fathers had no land at all in Canaan, none that is, except one grave.

Doesn’t that remind us that in God’s plan, left ourselves, we owned nothing at all of God’s great plan for eternity—nothing that is, except one grave. Our own grave. That’s what sin does. Sin slams the door on God’s wide open vista of eternal bliss and eternal joy, and it encloses us in the curse of death, of exclusion from paradise, of eternal torment with no escape, no reprieve, not even a fifteen minute break twice a day.

Let’s look again at Israel in our text. In just a few words, Moses recalls the whole story of the Exodus “The Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with great terror and with miraculous signs and wonders. He brought us to this place.” With one Hebrew verb form, the word “brought,” Moses summarizes God’s role and ours. This is a form of a word meaning “to come” or “go.” It’s a form of the word that always means “caused to come”—and so in English we translate that the Lord “brought.” Israel did not do it on their own, but the Lord caused them to come to this land of Canaan, this land “flowing with milk and honey.”

If the Lord had not brought them, if the Lord had not caused them to come, they would never have made it. There were constant dangers and obstacles all the way:

The pursuing Egyptian army. Their first reaction when they saw the Egyptians pursuing was not to turn to God, but to run away. Yet the Lord stopped their running and put them back on track to get to the Promised Land.

The Red Sea. At the Red Sea, they decided to turn on Moses and accuse him of bringing them to certain death. But the Lord brought them through on dry ground.

Starvation and No Water – these obstacles led to the people actually considering going back to Egypt where, they said, they had it so good. But the Lord put food and water into their mouths through miracles in the desert, and still some of them complained.

Snakes in the desert—these were a punishment because the people complained about the food and water God provided and the leadership of Moses. But God also gave them a way to be saved from the snakes, a way that was based entirely on faith.

There were enemy nations who would not let them pass. There was the giant Og, King of Bashan, and Sihon, King of the Amorites—but the Lord gave them victory and put them on the Road to the Promised Land.

There were nations who should have been friendly—who were relatives of the Israelites—who also did not let them pass. Edom, Moab and Ammon were all related by blood through Abraham’s nephew Lot and Jacob’s brother Esau—and the Midianites, relatives of Moses himself by marriage—but the Lord gave them victory after victory and brought them closer and closer to the Promised Land.

There were more obstacles. There was a world-renowned false prophet who was hired to oppose them with a propaganda campaign. There was treachery and rebellion from within Moses’ own tribe and even from Moses’ own family. And there was the fear of the people because of the report of ten of the twelve spies—and it was this fear and this final frustrating sin that caused God to make them wait forty years before bringing them finally to the land.

Do you see what sin and doubt and self-centeredness and double-mindedness does to us? It detaches us from God’s plan for us. It makes us go places where God knows and we should know that we shouldn’t go. It keeps us away from places where God wants to bring us.

And what was God’s solution for our sins? Let’s go back to that word Moses used about the Children of Israel. God brought them. God caused them to come to place where he wanted them. It wasn’t about what they did with their own feet. It wasn’t about their Garmins or their GPS or their good maps—it was all about what God did.

And that’s what God has done for us through Christ. He has brought us back into his family, not because of anything we’ve done and not because of our eager faithfulness. But despite our sins, and because we were lost in those sins, he has brought us home.

Jesus has delivered us completely from our sins. Just as the Israelites didn’t bring any of their chains with them from Egypt, Jesus Christ had freed us from every part of our bondage to sin. There is no more price to be paid, no more blood to be spilled, no more time to be served. We are free.

Just as God delivered his people from Egypt through Moses, he has delivered us from sin through Jesus – Jesus Christ, our Great Deliverer.

That’s worth reminding each other about. That’s why God gave the Israelites this creed in Deuteronomy 26—this confession of faith to say on that one day when they brought their very first first-fruits of the land as an offering of thanks to God. And so we remind each other with statements of faith and creeds, as well. To remind ourselves and to remind one another of what God has done.

In particular, we say the Apostles’ Creed (9:30), which Martin Luther called “the Children’s Creed,” to remember the very basics of our faith. And we say the Nicene Creed (all other services) to remember especially the work of Jesus Christ our Great Deliverer.

Please stand as we say this (Nicene/Aposltes’) creed together, and encourage one another with the faith we share.

March 31-April 2, 2012
2 Timothy 3:12-17
6th Weekend in Lent
Pastor Don Sutton

2 Timothy 3:12-17
12 In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, 13 while evil men and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. 14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, 15 and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Introduction
Don’t we spend a lot of time getting ready for things? For example, before a preacher preaches a sermon he has to spend hours getting ready to do so. Before our musicians play, they spend time getting ready – picking and practicing music. Before you came to church today, you probably spent time getting ready to do so. If you have a lot of little kids, you spend more time getting them ready. Before we eat the 20 minute meal, people may spend hours getting ready for it. Before we take a 50-minute test we may spend hours studying for it. We get ready for bed, ready for school, ready for work, etc. We spend a lot of our life-time getting ready for things.

Today, Palm Sat/Sun/Mon we let God speak to us through the words of 2 Timothy 3:12-17. As we do we consider this encouragement: Be Ready for Life … aware of the challenges … equipped with the Word.

…aware of the challenges
In John 3:1 the apostle John wrote, “What love the Father has lavished on us that we should be called the children of God.” How true this considering that we come into the world spiritually dead and destined to hell. We don’t have the power to please God or save ourselves. If left to ourselves our destiny is eternal damnation.

But God, who is love and loves with an undeserved love, loved us. Before the foundation of the world he chose us in Christ to be his (Eph1). When the time was right he sent his one and only Son to be our Savior who would be for us what we could not be for God – holy and perfectly obedient – and suffer for us what we could only suffer in hell. So Jesus, God’s Son, suffered and died for our sins. Then God raised us from our spiritual deadness as the Holy Spirit brought us to faith giving us forgiveness, the holiness of Jesus, a place in God’s family and the promise of eternal life.

Why did God do this? As I mentioned, out of undeserved love, to show his glory, and to save us, but also that we might life to his glory. St. Paul wrote, “14 For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. 15 And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again (2Co5:14,15).” Also, “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God (1Co10:31).” Saved by God, God wants us to live for God.

There are things that God and people he has put in our lives have done to get us ready for this. There is what God has done in baptism. Our parents have played a role in our living for God as they have taught us God’s word, how to pray, have modeled Christian living and have exposed us to the ministry provided by their congregation. Siblings, grandpas and grandmas, others in the greater family have been involved in readying us for life for God. Ministers, teachers and Christian mentors have also involved. Among all the things they have done is to make us aware of the challenges we face in living for God.

There are challenges that come with the tests God sends or allows – illnesses and injuries, set-backs and
failures, the pressures and the pain often present in life, the struggles with temptation and our own sinful nature, and more. But Paul mentions a couple of more things – “In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, 13 while evil men and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.”

When one reads Paul’s letters to Timothy it’s apparent that this was true of Timothy’s day. That may be why Timothy was becoming fearful and timid in his ministry. Persecution is certainly happening today very openly in places where Islam or Communism is dominant. But even in our country a more subtle persecution of Christians prevails. I have heard that in our New Ulm High School there is a group of self-proclaimed atheist students who enjoy hassling Christians about their Christian faith. On some college campuses today Christian organizations are not officially recognized by the administration with the result that they don’t receive free space for meeting and cannot display information on campus while other world religions are afforded these privileges. On some campuses where Christian organizations are allowed, they are not allowed to mandate that leaders and members be Christian, even though vegan groups can openly exclude deer hunters. Pro-choice groups can rally and distribute information but Christian pro-life groups cannot. Peers may persecute young Christians because they won’t have sex, do drunks, get drunk or because they practice their Christian faith. Christians who speak what God says about certain socially sensitive subjects may find themselves persecuted as intolerant and old-fashioned.

Paul indicated that another challenge to living a godly life is that there are evil people who have been deceived and in turn deceive others. Certainly this may include religious false teachers. But think of all the people and movements in society that have been deceived to think that life within the womb is not human, precious and deserving of protection, that happiness can be measured by what you have, that pleasure comes with the pursuit of sin, that commitment to anything good is oppressive, that same-sex marriages are par with one-man-one-woman relationships. Think about how people are deceived to think that the emphasis in our country is not freedom of religion, but freedom from religion.

Who’s behind it all? Paul wrote to the Ephesians, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms (6:12).” The devil, the demons and the powers of sin are behind these challenges. We do not fear, flee, or fight against what we do not believe is real and deadly. Be ready for life for God being aware of their reality, their danger and their deadliness. But be ready for life …

…equipped with the Word
Paul knew that a young pastor like Timothy needed this as he struggled for the faith and dealt with his fears. So he wrote, “But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, 15 and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures…” It’s not absurd to assume that Timothy’s first contact with God’s Word was in baptism as an infant. The church fathers of early New Testament times attest to the widespread practice of infant baptism. Timothy’s mother Eunice and grandmother, Lois, probably had him baptized and then taught him the truths of the Old Testament and the New Testament as far as they existed at that time. As the Holy Spirit worked in Timothy, he was convinced that God’s Word is truth. The apostle Paul also played a role in reinforcing what Timothy knew and believed.

Paul reinforced these same things with these words, “16 All Scripture is God-breathed…” The Bible is not the invention of humans, but the word of God. Paul is emphasizing what Peter did when he wrote about the Old Testament, “Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation. 21 For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit (2Pe1:20,21).” Paul said the same thing about the New Testament – “This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words (1Co2:13).” Be ready for life remembering what the Bible is and what it does.

Paul spoke of the “…Holy Scriptures which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.”
He went on to further explain that the Scriptures do this because they are “…useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.” The Bible teaches us about who God is, what he has done, what his will is, how sees us and how we react to God in a godly way. As a result through the law the scriptures rebuke us, that is, they convict us of our sin and our need for saving. But they also correct or restore us in that through the gospel they show us that Jesus has been holy for us, that he loved and lived perfectly for us, that he suffered and died on the cross to pay for our sins, and that he rose from the dead to show that his mission was complete, we are forgiven, we have eternal life and can even look forward to the resurrection and glorification of our bodies. Through the Scriptures God shows us how to thank and glorify him as he shows us in the Ten Commandments and various other applications of his law while motivating us with his love.

The result is that motivated by God’s love and guided by God’s law we experience the desired outcome Paul mentions at the end of this section – “…17 so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

Do you know what the “therefore” is to all of this if we want to be ready for life lived to God’s glory? ….Daily, faithfully, fully equip yourselves with God’s word. Take time to read it at home, to think about it during the day, to follow it when making decisions, to find comfort in it when hurting, to receive power from it when weak, to be able to meet the challenges you face on a daily basis. Give priority to hearing God’s word in church and studying it with fellow Christians.

Every day you and I get ready for the day. We roll out of bed, maybe hop in the shower, prep our face with a shave or some make-up, do our hair with a brush, comb or dryer, put on our clothes, have some coffee, juice and breakfast. Considering the foes we face and the challenges that come our way and considering the blessings that come with using God’s word, isn’t it wise to be ready for life with the word of God.

Continue in the world and you will be ready for life – ready to meet challenges, to deal with persecution, to wisely receive and use his blessings, and to seize opportunities. As this is April 1st, this is “no foolin’.” Amen