You are in need of a righteous Judge

Luke 18:1-8

“And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart.” (Luke 18:1 ESV)  “The Church is very alive in England, but it is also very small, it’s just not the promotional Church you have in the U.S.A.”  That quote was made to me by Major Ian Thomas after I ask what was wrong with the Church in England and he went on to explain that the church in the U.S.A. showed up on Sunday, but look for it during the week, it seems to go underground.

I believe the philosophy of distrust has invaded the church, in that we live in a society where trust has been destroyed in the home, where dads and mothers have not kept the covenant of marriage, where children have no dad in the home to show love and guidance, where our children are taught that prayer is not proper in the market place or a school, and that tolerance is key to all kinds of evil, but it is ok to not be tolerating of closed minded people of the Christian faith.   We have seen one after another denomination go the way of the culture and away from the teaching of Scripture, and this is also a trust issue for many.  What can we say about a government that few have any trust in it and now the courts have also lost the trust of many in and out of the Church?

 This is a quote by Marshall Bruce Mather’s III, stage name Eminem, “Trust is hard to come by. That is why my circle is small and tight, I’m kind of funny about making new friends.”  Church, have you bought into a mindset of leaving God out of your circle of close friends?  Maybe a rapper is not the best quote for such an audience, how about William Shakespeare, “Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none.”  Church, that is worthy of pondering on, but make sure God is part of the few, in fact He demands to be above all others.

This persistent widow in Jesus’ story had the deck stacked against her, she needed help from an unjust judge who had no fear of man or God, sounds like our Supreme Court whose actions have brought about the death of millions of babies, and the removing of prayer from our schools.  But she did not stop coming to him asking for help against her adversary.  This is how God answered her prayers: “For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.’” (Luke 18:4-5 ESV)

Listen to Jesus reply to His audience; “And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says. And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” (Luke 18:6-8 ESV)

I’ve come to this conclusion, the Church is not who shows up on Sunday, it is much smaller, but at the center is a deep trust in a Mighty, All powerful, Holy and Righteous loving God.  And if you have lost your way, or if you are just seeking; “Seek the LORD while He may be found; Call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way And the unrighteous man his thoughts; And let him return to the LORD, And He will have compassion on him, And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon.” (Isaiah 55:6-7)

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Is what God calls sin still what you call sin?

Luke 17:20-37

Our second day on this Scripture, and you will recall we looked into what the days of Noah looked like and today we will explore the days of Lot.  “And he said to the disciples, “The days are coming when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. And they will say to you, ‘Look, there!’ or ‘Look, here!’ Do not go out or follow them. For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day. But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man.” (Luke 17:22-26 ESV)

Picking up the story in Luke 17:28-30, “Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot—they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building, but on the day when Lot went out from Sodom, fire and sulfur rained from heaven and destroyed them all—so will it be on the day when the Son of Man is revealed.”

This is what we know about Lot, his father was Haran a brother of Abram, who later had a name change by God to Abraham.  We know that Lot’s dad died in his native land of Ur of the Chaldeans while his grandfather Terah was still alive.  We know that Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, later to be named Sarah, and they left Ur of the Chaldeans to go to the land of Canaan but never got there because they stopped in Haran, and we know that Terah died in Haran.  It is important to understand that God spoke to Abram and told him to go out from his land, his relatives, and his father’s house to a land chosen by God.  We know that Abram was 75 years of age when he left his father’s house and land looking for a better place, the place of promise.  We also know Abram took his nephew Lot with him, and at this point Abram saw himself as his protector.  Now they journeyed about 450 miles to Canaan and after many events and time, the land around Bethel and Ai was too dry for such a large number of people and flocks.  Quarreling between Abrams and Lot’s herdsman was breaking out, so Abram gave Lot a choice, and he was very ungrateful and took the best of the land.

Now Lot moved to the southern end of the Jordan Valley, an area that was well watered and had two cities, Sodom and Gomorrah.  It seems Lot moved into the city of Sodom and kept his tent camp so that he had income from his large flock.  (Note: God has not changed, what was sin in the time of Lot is still sin.)  We understand Lot is a righteous man and what he is experiencing in Sodom and Gomorrah is bothering him greatly, and that brings up a question, are you bothered by what is happening in our culture, is what God calls sin still what you call sin?

This is what God is calling sin in Sodom and Gomorrah; self-centered pride, neglect of the poor and needy, and doing detestable things, like the homosexual trying to rape the two angels God sent to bring Lot and his family out of Sodom and Gomorrah before He rained down fire on them.  This righteous man Lot made some worldly choices, he associated with evil men, and yet God rescued him and his family, with the exception of his wife who disobeyed God.

Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot—they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building, but on the day when Lot went out from Sodom, fire and sulfur rained from heaven and destroyed them all—so will it be on the day when the Son of Man is revealed. (Luke 17:28-30 ESV)

From the back Porch,

Bob Rice

One person does count

Luke 17:22-37

Jesus is having this talk with His disciples, it’s about what we call the future, but Jesus gives two examples of what you and I call the past, the days of Noah and the days of Lot.  I am assuming this audience has an understanding of both Noah and Lot, but I just watched a video of a man showing the college students of Maryland University a picture of Ronald Regan the 40^th President of the United States of America, and most of them had no clue who he was, so maybe my assumptions are misguided.

This is what we know about Noah’s first 500 years, not one thing, but we know his great grandfather was Enoch, and Scripture tells us he walked with God, pleased God, and witnessed for God.  He was the father of Methuselah at the age of 65 and walked with God for 365 years and in Genesis 5:24, we are told the following: “Enoch walked with God; then he was not there because God took him.”  Now Methuselah was 187 years old when he fathered Lamech, and we know that Methuselah lived on planet earth till the age of 969 years and unlike his dad, he died.  Now Lamech was 182 years when he fathered a son and named him Noah, and this is where the story begins about Noah in Genesis 5:32, he is 500 years old and he fathered Shem, Ham, and Japheth. 

You may be wondering what the culture was like in those days, and this is what my Thompson Study Bible says on page 1553 and it is titled “The condition of Society in this time.”  “Noah lived in a desperately corrupt age, when men had become so universally depraved that the Lord determined to destroy the race, Genesis 6:1-7.  In the midst of this moral darkness, Noah’s life shone with righteousness, Genesis 6:8-9.  Often the message is sent by our enemy the evil one and by the world powers under his control, that one person does not count, but that is a lie from hell, Noah’s righteousness changed the course of history, and yet he became a laughingstock before all but his family with the task God gave him to save the world, it’s a great story even if you are one of those who does not believe it.  By the way, you’re in great company, only his family got on the boat, all the rest, and a lot of people died the day of the flood.  God gives very clear information look at these details in Genesis 7:11-12, “In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the windows of the heavens were opened. And rain fell upon the earth forty days and forty nights.”

Have you wondered what the godless believers, who scoffed at his work, were doing the day of the flood, we have these words from Jesus; “For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.”  (Matthew 24:37-39)

The pagan world has no understanding of God’s desire that they look to Him and bow their knee so they do not perish but come to repentance.  The apostle Peter makes clear in 2 Peter 3:10 what is coming.  And this word is for all who are looking for His soon coming: “Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace.”  Tomorrow we will look at the other person Jesus is talking about, Lot’s time and what was happening then.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Self what else have I missed?

Luke 17:7-10

Have you ever asked yourself, self what else have I missed, what else have I not learned, or did I have knowledge but just did not feel it applied to me?  I often ask self, self how did you miss that and the answer often is that I’ve allowed the culture to mold me into a person who desires the good stuff the world has to offer, and it’s kind of like quicksand, you keep going deeper and deeper in the ways of the world and the flesh, and the commandments and precepts of God’s Word seem to be left in the dust.

I’m sure as a follower of Christ you have read and heard this Proverb, “Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.” (Proverbs 22:6)   The city of Baltimore had riots and total anarchy by lawless teenagers, and one mother stood out when she grabbed her son out of that riot.  Mrs. Graham told CBS News, "At that point, I just lost it. I was shocked, I was angry, because you never want to see your child out there doing that."  What happen, did no one pay any attention to Proverbs 22:6, and the answer is we have gotten smarter than God, we listen to well intended people who believe the lies of the deceptive channel.  Who knows when we went away from the teaching of verse 6, maybe it began after WWII, but it lies at the feet of our change of culture, the mother goes to work, the father leaves the training and discipline to the mother, and the family, leaves the training to babysitters and the public schools.  And now we have adults in places of authority bowing in fear of the children, who are a product of a godless society.

These are the words of Jesus: “Will any one of you who has a servant plowing or keeping sheep say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and recline at table’? Will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare supper for me, and dress properly, and serve me while I eat and drink, and afterward you will eat and drink’? Does he thank the servant because he did what was commanded? So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.’” (Luke 17:7-10 ESV)

So the question must be asked, self do you want the place of the servant who says after doing what he has been commanded in Scripture, I only did what was my duty, or do you want to recline at the table?  The culture of many in the Church today are not willing to be placed in the “We are unworthy servants; ‘We have only done our duty.’”

We the Church of the Living God have been molded into a godless culture, we look much the same, we have lost our way, and we must understand that it is us, the body of Christ that must be willing to change and repent of our life of self rule and turn back to only doing our duty.  For this will happen; “For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?”

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Are you a student or a doer?

Luke 17:20-21

I’ve often referred to Crossroads Baptist Church in the Woodlands as a kingdom minded church and also Oakwood in New Braunfels, and I believe many who hear this said are in the same mindset as these Pharisees, who are asking Jesus when the kingdom of God will come.  “Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them, “The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed, nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.” (Luke 17:20-21)

They were hanging on to Joel 2:28-31, “And it shall come to pass afterward

That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your old men shall dream dreams, Your young men shall see visions.

And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days.  “And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: Blood and fire and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord.”  And to some degree a little of that at a later time at Pentecost, and yet it was all in the future, and they had the exact representation of God standing in their presence and would not accept Him. 

And that was then but what about today, for the same Jesus has said to each of us who are called by His name the following; “In that day you will know that I am in the Father, and you are in me and I in you.  Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me.  And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.”    

Anytime a group of believers assembles with the understanding “Christ in me the hope of glory,” and ask the Holy Spirit to have free will in our worship and our actions, and are willing to go and do all that is ask by the Spirit of God, they are about the kingdom of God.  But the Pharisees were guys like many in our churches, they longed for the next Bible study, they were students of the Scriptures, but many were not doers of the Scriptures.   Are you a student or a doer?

The kingdom living does not happen in a building we call the church, it happens in our homes, with our neighbors, with our families, and in the workplace.  At Oakwood we have a saying and it is the heart of our leadership, for us to Intentionally Engage our Community with the Love of Christ.  When we do that with the right heart attitude we are being kingdom minded.

From our Back Porch,

Bob Rice

 

Do you wrestle with your Faith?

Luke 17:11-19

As one who has been a follower of Christ for a good while and remember you can be a follower and not really believe and trust in Jesus, and this can be confirmed from the first twelve guys Jesus picked to follow Him.  But as a follower who understands and trusts that Jesus tells the truth and that He is the only Son of God, who showed up on planet earth in the womb of a virgin named Mary.  He lived life for over 30 years and died for the sins of all people, and three days later arose victorious over death and the grave and now He sits at the right hand of the Father and is soon to return. 

Now with that confession of faith, let me also confess I wrestle with faith, I’m good at talking about faith, but when needing faith I often fall back to how can I fix this problem, have you ever struggled with your faith?  As I read this account of Jesus cleansing ten lepers, this thought came to mind; does desperation take a follower of Christ to a deeper faith? 

Do you recall Peter’s confession about Jesus, after Jesus asked Peter “who do you say I am?”  “Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 16:15-17 ESV)  That same Peter who is warned by Jesus at the Mount of Olives about denying Him, and before throwing stones, this is each of us at the very best of our flesh.  Listen to Peter with yourself in mind; “Peter answered him, “Though they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away.” Jesus said to him, “Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.” Peter said to him, “Even if I must die with you, I will not deny you!” And all the disciples said the same.”  (Matthew 26:33-35)  And history reminds you and me that Jesus tells the truth.

But remember also what Jesus told them that night; “But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.” (Matthew 26:32 ESV)  The next day when they saw Jesus die, what did these followers think, he is dead and we are in trouble, but three days later some of them encountered the risen Christ, and an amazing thing happened to those who saw, they believed and recalled what Jesus had said to them.

The Acts of the Apostles in chapter 1 gives this account: “He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.

And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” (Acts 1:3-5 ESV)

And a few days later they received power when the Holy Spirit came to them, and please understand they did not do any amazing work at this point that set them apart, Jesus set them apart and after Pentecost they were never the same.

Now back to Luke 17:11-19, and let me answer my question; (“Does desperation take a follower of Christ to a deeper faith?”) it sure can, it often does, and sometimes it exposes who we trust.  These 10 lepers were in a bad way, the only hope they had was Jesus, and this was their cry for help; “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.”  When he saw them he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.”  (Note: a requirement of the law that a leper after being healed must show themselves to the priests.)  “And as they went they were cleansed.”

You can read all about what happen next it’s a great read, all 10 were healed, but what happens next tells a lot about mankind.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

What does Faith look like?

Luke 17:5-6

Faith is something we all use each and every day, it has little to do with a belief system about God, it has more to do with a white line down a two-lane road, or the light switch in your home.  Let me explain, we put our trust that a white line will keep the other driver from coming over into our lane and having a head-on collision, and most of the time it works.  But if it only worked 60% of the time it would not be the object of your faith, it would be Russian roulette.  The light switch in our home is something we trust, we believe in, and it almost always works, but I bet you have little understanding of why.  When you flip the switch off, it breaks the circuit and interrupts the flow of electricity.  A basic light switch has two terminals and sometimes a ground terminal.  

I believe faith in God and light switches have much in common, God is someone we trust, we believe in Him, and unlike the light switch that sometimes does not work, God is the same today, tomorrow, and forever.  We often disconnect from Him but He never disconnects from us.  And like our lack of knowledge of how the light switch works, we share our lack of understanding of God who lives outside of time, and who has been to the beginning and end of time.

So the question is often asked, how can we “Increase our Faith,” in fact that is what the disciples were asking of Jesus and you may be surprised at His answer:   “And the Lord said, “If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.”  (Luke 17:6 ESV) You may be asking what does that faith look like and why do we not see it in more followers of Jesus?  One of the best definitions about this kind of faith was from Carroll B. Ray Jr., his quote: “It is living life as if Jesus tells the truth.”  Do you recall the rich young man that came to Jesus asking, “what must I do to inherit eternal life”?  And Jesus gave him a list of things he must do and do you recall his reply?  I have those covered, and then Jesus said, that’s good, now go and sell all that you have and give to the poor and come follow me.  Luke 18:23 gives the type of faith the rich man had; “But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich.”  The rich guy is not unique, many a follower of Christ lets financial processions take the place of having God increase their faith, and do you struggle with your stuff?

Do you recall Jesus feeding the five thousand, and after they followed him, they were going to try and take Jesus by force and make him their king.  The reason is clear He had fed them and they would have fit in our culture that looks to the government for its handouts.  “Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.”  (John 6:26-27 ESV)  Now if you ponder on the question ask earlier; “what does that faith look like”?  Listen and ask the Holy Spirit to allow you to grab this and act on it.  First, the question from the crowd, “Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”  (John 6:28-29 ESV)  Just act like Jesus tells the truth, and be a follower.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice