HOW OFTEN DO YOU BREAK YOUR WORD? HOW DOES KEEPING YOUR WORD IMPACT YOUR RELATIONSHIPS? “Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.’ But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil” (Matthew 5:33-37). BACKGROUND Oath taking was a common practice in biblical days. Even in the Old Testament oaths were used by the prophets to demonstrate that they spoke with God’s authority. They used phrases like, “As the Lord lives.”  “There are two terms in Hebrew that mean ‘oath’: ’ālâ and šebû‛â. The latter, more general term meant in ancient times to enter into a solemn (even magic) relationship with the number seven. When Abraham and Abimelech entered into an oath at Beersheba (the well of seven, or the well of the oath), Abraham set aside seven ewe lambs as a witness to the fact that he had dug a well. The former term, ’ālâ, often translated ‘oath,’ properly means ‘curse.’ At times the two terms are used together. Any breach of one’s undertaking affirmed by an oath would be attended by a curse. The Lord affirmed that he had established a covenant and a curse with Israel, that is, a breach of covenant would be followed by a curse” — Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible. Over time Israel’s religious leaders created guidelines around oath taking that were designed to let a person off the hook regarding false speech. If one swore by God, his oath was binding. But if he swore by the temple it was not binding and could be excused from fulfilling his word. This is the situation that Jesus addressed in this part of his discourse.  EXAMINATION (V.33) “Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.” This is a reference to Leviticus 19:12 and other OT passages which says, “You shall not swear by my name falsely, and so profane the name of your God: I am the Lord” (Leviticus 19:12).  Right away we see that truth-telling is related to God’s reputation. The kind of people we are has a direct bearing on God’s reputation, not just our own. This is why, in Leviticus, lying is associated with profaning God’s name. Not fulfilling an oath, our word, is equivalent to lying. (V.34) “Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God.” WHY DO WE TAKE OATHS?   We swear oaths to make our word more sure when we want what we say to be more believable.  Jesus once testified in court under an oath. Matthew 26:63-64 says, “The high priest said to him, ‘I adjure you by the living God, tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.’ Jesus said to him, ‘You have said so.’” God also swears to make his promises more sure. “For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself, saying, ‘Surely I will bless you and multiply you.’ And thus Abraham,having patiently waited, obtained the promise. For people swear by something greater than themselves, and in all their disputes an oath is final for confirmation” (Hebrews 6:13-16). The Apostle Paul used an oath in I Thessalonians 5:27, “I put you under oath before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers.” These instances show us that oaths were a useful tool for communicating the seriousness of truth. So, what Jesus is referring to is frivolous oath-taking. Or taking oaths that will be excused. In fact, Jesus is referring to the practice of oath-taking performed by the religious leaders that was designed to keep a person from having to fulfill their oaths. If the oath wasn’t bound to God, then it wasn’t obligated to be fulfilled. But as we will see, Jesus regards all speech as tied to God. (V.35) “…or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Interestingly, in Jewish practice, swearing by Heaven or Earth was not binding because swearing by them did not invoke God directly. Thus, a person could swear an oath and not have to keep it. Jesus condemned this.  Jesus addressed the religious leader’s practice of denying the validity of oaths later in this ministry. Listen to his words in Matthew 23:16-22.  “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘If any one swears by the temple, it is nothing; but if any one swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’ You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that has made the gold sacred? And you say, ‘If any one swears by the altar, it is nothing; but if any one swears by the gift that is on the altar, he is bound by his oath.’ You blind men! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred? So he who swears by the altar, swears by it and by everything on it; and he who swears by the temple, swears by it and by him who dwells in it; and he who swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God and by him who sits upon it.”  In other words, all oaths are spoken before God and thus must be fulfilled. By using the references heaven and earth, Jesus is saying not to swear by anything in creation, for it is all God’s. Then he mentions Jerusalem, where his throne will be as he is the Great King. In the middle of it all, Jesus reigns supreme.  How many times have you heard someone say, “I swear by Jesus?” People usually say God, but not Jesus. Why is that? “If a man vows a vow to the Lord, or swears an oath to bind himself by a pledge, he shall not break his word. He shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth” (Numbers 30:2). “If you make a vow to the Lord your God, you shall not delay fulfilling it, for the Lord your God will surely require it of you, and you will be guilty of sin. But if you refrain from vowing, you will not be guilty of sin. You shall be careful to do what has passed your lips, for you have voluntarily vowed to the Lord your God what you have promised with your mouth” (Deuteronomy 23:21-23).  (V.36) “And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black.” First, Jesus says not to swear by Heaven or Earth. Then he gets down to something more personal: yourself. If you cannot change yourself, then how can an oath by yourself hold any value?  (V.37) “Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil.” OATHS WOULD SEEM TO TESTIFY THAT A PERSON’S WORD IS MORE SURE. BUT IF THAT PERSON IS A KNOWN LIAR, THEN IS THEIR OATH ANY GOOD? “When words are many, transgression is not lacking, but whoever restrains his lips is prudent” (Proverbs 10:19).  “But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your ‘yes’ be yes and your ‘no’ be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation” (James 5:12). James’ passage is nearly identical to that spoken by Jesus. This indicates that James knew of Jesus teaching on oaths and truth-telling. If oaths come from evil, then how is God not guilty of evil when he swore an oath by himself?  The issue here is frivolous oaths, oaths given with deception or legal trickery in mind. We’ve already mentioned that swearing by Heaven or Earth was not binding. So, in this case, people play with the truth. But God swore to assure his hearers of the truthful nature of his promises.  When my children were young I would play jokes on them. If they suspected I was fooling with them, they would ask me if I was telling the truth. If I said, “As God is my witness,” then they knew I was telling the truth. Now, while my children learned to check for truth through this process, I also was using God’s name lightly, not reverently. I simply needed to be a person of truth. So, I stopped this practice, and now my kids know me to be a person of truth. INTERPRETATION So what is the big idea for this passage? I think it’s very simple. Be a person of truth. We must be people of truth even when we must give an answer to something that causes us embarrassment or shame. Our integrity is more important than our feelings. Our integrity is our reputation. Our word, our truthfulness is also a part of representing God. Our integrity is supposed to be a reflection of God’s trustworthiness.  In Mongolia I told a pastor that our TV station would not interview a guest evangelist because his theology was aberrant. So, in an attempt to get around me he called my news director and told her that I gave permission to interview the evangelist. She told him, “No. Tom wouldn’t do that.” The pastor insisted but she told him no. When she told me what happened she asked me, “Is that the way you Christians do business?” Because of that pastor she viewed Christians as liars. That pastor was not a person of truth. His lie damaged our witness to our non-believing staff. Do you have a reputation for truth? APPLICATION I’ve known Christians who sometimes struggle to tell the truth, even in their later years. They want to avoid shame. But the lie actually brings more shame later on. So here are some things we can do to become people of truth. Confess to God that you have a problem with telling the truth, for whatever reason. Ask the Lord to make you into a truth-telling person. Think of an embarrassing or hard truth that you have hidden. Go to a trusted friend or spouse and tell them that truth in secret, asking for prayer. This can be a first step in becoming more of a person of truth. When confronted in a difficult situation, determine to tell the truth. If you fail and lie or don’t fulfill your oath, then ask God for forgiveness and look for a new opportunity to tell the truth. Now, there may be times when telling someone the truth may be harmful to that other person. In such cases it may be necessary to stay silent. Don’t lie. But also, don’t hurt the other person.  Oath-taking is a form of truth-telling. When you tell God you want to be a person of truth, you are actually taking an oath to be that kind of person. So take such a commitment seriously, as God will hold you to your word.  In the end, Jesus’ word on oaths is our most important application point. Let your yes be yes and your no be no.

TRANSCRIPT: A lot of places you could be this weekend but you decided to hang out with us I was driving to church this weekend and I get an email from Jeff Jones and it says the subject line Ryan leak's best message ever and I thought to myself who's preaching this weekend because I didn't know it was going to be that and then me and Jeff talked they said hey what's one of your favorite messages that's one of your best messages that you've never given at Chase Oaks that you would love to and I was like oh man I've been working on this new book and I would love to share and then they sent out that clickbait you fell for it now you're here so nevertheless got a message for you today based off of a book of mine that I've written it comes out in March but you can pre-order it right now it's called how to work with complicated people now strategies for Effective collaboration with nearly anyone emphasis on the word nearly because some people are certified crazy and can't work with everybody nevertheless uh one of the things that the Lord called me to do a long time ago was to write books that Christians actually could share with their friends Chapter 2: How To Work With Complicated People at work that aren't technically Christian books but they are books that are birth in Christian values and based off of things that I've learned in the Bible and so you're actually going to just so you know this came in the mail this weekend so you're the first people to ever even see this okay so this is this is real special so I'm giving you a sneak peek into some of that content except you get the real Bible biblical strategies that I've learned on how to work with complicated people now here's what's interesting we did a national research study across Working America to figure out man how are people navigating the complexities of their workplace and one of the questions we asked was we said hey here's the deal um we're not going to tell you our definition of complicated we want you to tell us your definition of complicated because what we have learned is that complicated is often in the eye of the beholder in other words there is somebody in your life that you have deemed complicated that I would think is very simple and there's people in my life that I've deemed complicated that you would go they're easy to get along with and so it can be somewhat objective right and so we said hey why don't you give us your definition of complicated here's what one person wrote guy named Nate I said listen I don't think you understand the question okay another person wrote this lady I work with named Leslie I said hold on now what did n Leslie do and then another person wrote uh cantankerous I didn't even know that was a word I learned it in the study uh mcav Alan numb skull another person just wrote they're really dumb I'm like people are really going through it now here's what I realize about you and me is perhaps we work live with married a Leslie or a Nate by the way if your name is actually Leslie or Nate I ain't got nothing against you but somebody does okay I don't know who it is but somebody does but the reality is most people's go-to strategy when it comes to complicated people in their life is to Simply steer away from them they just try and ignore them but here's what we learned in our research complicated people are unavoidable okay because some people think oh I'm just going to quit this job and get rid of these people and then they go to a new job and guess what they find there more complicated people you cannot get away from complicated people you have to learn to work with them live with them dare I say love them cuz complicated people they're at the carpool pickup line these people are crazy it's complicated there are you sporting events trust me it gets complicated real fast me and my son we're at a national tournament this summer and a mom got so upset I have video of this and I would show you the video but she could go to Chase Oaks and I don't want to embarrass you wherever you are nevertheless a mom got so mad at a game she ran across the court and began to try and attack our coach with a poodle in her hand and our coach just straight gangster he goes you ain't tough you got a poodle in your hand what gangster has a poodle I went this is insane it's complicated I I don't know if you're parent but parenting complicated our child he's 5 years old he ran away the other day he just walked up the house I caught him four houses down like where are you going he's like I I was just going for a walk I'm like you can't just leave our house whenever you want and I wanted to cuss him out but I got Chase oers in the neighborhood and it's complicated it's like I I'm like he's fine nothing going on here come on Roman get inside are you out of your mind and so like and I heard the older they get the more complicated they become it's complicated dating I've heard is complicated somebody going through it over there complicated I heard it's complicated online I heard it's complicated offline it's just different it's complicated um marriage certified complicated uh we've been married almost 12 years in June it took me about 10 years to really lock in on our communication and to help my wife believe that I am indeed listening to her because uh the first decade uh being the Christlike husband that I try to be every day I try to serve my wife as best as I possibly can and if I'm running errands hey Bae can I pick up a coffee for you whatever and inevitably while I would pick up the coffee I would get the order wrong because I'm a multitasker I'm looking at sports I'm on the phone I'm doing all kinds of stuff I'm writing books like mid order and so I would always bring this wrong order home and so it became a tension in our marriage and so I just figured out I needed a system I needed a foolproof system to get her order right I said hey Bae don't tell me your order text it to me then I can read the order out loud and then if it's wrong it's the barista's fault it's not me okay so now we figured out a plan and so I'll never forget she t text me her order I'm feeling great about this I'm like I'm about to get a w with my wife okay I get in the Starbucks drive-thru and I read her order out loud smile on my face and then the Barista says something that struck fear into my soul she says sir would you like that drink hot or cold I said it can be hot or cold what it's not in the text it's not here you don't understand I am in a life or death situation I have you seen like a little Puerto Rican woman come in here and order a drink all the time do you know if it's hot or if it's cold cuz I don't know and people are honking at me behind me I called her she want to jump in the shower perfect timing and so I panicked and so they said sir hot or cold I said let me get both I'm a veteran now okay I ain't got time for it let me get both now Dave Ramsey might look at our coffee budget and go this is a little high I would say hey Dave is complicated okay um divorce complicated um half of every single person watching today's message half of every single person in this room has had a front row seat to complicated in fact unfortunately my wife's father cheated on her mother when she was a child and they got divorced and the way my wife's brother tells a story is so powerful he says my dad did not cheat on my mother my dad cheated on us it's complicated you see what I I'm learning about the world around me is that every single person shows up to their job they show up to their home they show up to their Church they show up to a gymnasium they show up to their classroom with a lot of complicated and sometimes we are judging other people for outside Behavior having no idea what's going on on the inside and so my hope and my prayer today is that we would learn through biblical strategies to be the kinds of people that move slow enough to move towards people we would rather ignore why because I think that's what we would want someone to do for us if they really knew what was going on with us so the first thing that I think is vitally important if we are going to work with complicated people is number one we have to realize our own complications we have to realize our own complications I I know there might be a Temptation that uh today's message you go man there might be somebody in your mind every time I tell somebody I'm working on a book called How to work Chapter 3: We All Fall Short with complicated people I see a person run through their brain and they go I need that book but I've yet to hear the person say somebody needs this book for me I love what Romans 3:23 says it says for everyone has sinned we all fall short of God's glorious standard let's all say that together say we all fall short don't you wish it said they all oh wouldn't that be fun like it wouldn't it be great if it likey I found a verse about you today it says you fall short of Glory like I wish you would get it together like we can have this idea that everyone else is getting the better end of the deal whoever is dating us whoever is following us like whoever is married to us whoever is being parented by us like they're the ones getting a good deal they've got the better end of the stick it's just that would be a false story like wouldn't it be awesome if we could go to like I don't know perfect 9:469 minutes, 46 secondspeople.com and find those people to work with and date and parent we could adopt children straight off of that website the only problem is we wouldn't be on the website nobody would and so what would it look like for us to be the kinds of people that look in the mirror before pointing a finger let me go first hi my name is Ryan Lee and I'm complicated I have what my friends and family call frugality what that means is I will spare no expense for some things and I am insanely cheap on other things I'm the kind of selector guy that will stay at a five-star Resort but will go to Walmart and get bottles of water for the room because I ain't paying $9 a bottle in this room I ain't got time for it today now my wife is embarrassed as I'm walking through with Walmart bags through a festar resort she's like why did we come how do you think we got here okay like we say like there's a reason we can be here okay like like but again it's selective frugality I'm complicated uh I am a uh I have What's called joomo the joy of missing out I don't have fomo okay I have joomo I am so happy for you I'm going to bed at 9:00 you want to go out at 10: enjoy yourself I am so happy for you I am introverted with an extroverted career what is does that mean it means I love having people over to my house for one hour after that you got to go you got to go it was great to have you it's time for you to go okay I ain't got time for the lingering we ate we had a great conversation that's great your time is up it's I I'll just start cleaning while people hey y'all good let me get up under your feet I'm just sending signals it's time to wrap this thing up we got places to be actually you got places to be I'm trying to go to sleep okay like some people think I'm rude I'm like I'm not rude I'm complicated I went first your turn could it be that on the other side of us there is some complexity because what I know about you and what I know about me is every single one of us has a space a preference a personality that may not Vibe well with someone else I know there might be somebody in your mind that you think has the gift of getting on your last nerves but it's is it possible that we're doing the same thing to somebody else in our study of working America we discovered that when we asked them the question about how many complicated people do they work with the average working American said three to five so the average working American's going there's about three to five people in my job that are a little complicated okay that's great then we ask the question how complicated do you think you are 74% of working Americans think they are less complicated than average in other words this is what most of us are doing we're walking into our job and going I can't believe I got to deal with all these complicated people thank God I'm not one of them it's like what here if you want to get better at working with complicated people and living with complicated people and being married to a complicated person get in the boat with them and go you know what maybe I'm not the easiest to deal with maybe I think I'm inspiring when I could be intimidating maybe I think I'm empowering but I'm actually a micromanager uh may maybe I think I'm super clear but I actually I might be a little bit vague just because you said it doesn't mean they heard it that I just I actually just want to be 13:1313 minutes, 13 secondsconsiderate of of my own complications I just love what Colossians 3:12 says it says since God chose you to be the holy people he loves you must clothe yourselves with tender-hearted mercy and kindness and humility and gentleness and patience and and then verse 13 says make allowance for each other's faults and forgive anyone who offends you remember the Lord forgave you so you must forgive others The New International Version says bear with one another what Chapter 4: Make Allowance does that mean it means really you again okay yeah do that that's what we want you we want you to bear with one another why because that's what God has done with us instead he doesn't go you again he and again when I was growing up I used to hear that we serve a god of second chances I think it's way more than second don't you it's more like the god of the two millionth chance you know what I mean it's like it's infinite it it just it never runs out his mercies are new every single morning for you and into our relationships with the people we deem most complicated it says make allowance think about that word allowance perhaps you've used to get those remember when that was nice somebody would just give that to you for taking out the trash now you just take out the trash and you get nothing and so but an allowance it's a what is it it's a specific amount I'm going to give you a specific amount and once you run out you run out but you're going to get it every week I'm going to I'm going to give you an allowance imagine if we did that emotionally and relationally with the people in our life where we said hey um this week I'm going to give you an allowance an allowance and in in an allowance specifically for your faults make allowance for other people's faults in other words you're going to walk into your job you're going to walk into your to your homes you're going to walk into Thanksgiving you're going to walk in with your in-laws you're going to walk into the gym you're going to walk into the classroom and you're going to go hey I realize that you have some faults and I ought to leave some allowance in my back pocket for them you're going to say something infer something you're going to have some body language you're going to do something that might offend me you might steal a sale from me you might make a smart remark at me or you may not compliment me the way that I think you should you might not tell me that I'm beautiful like you might make me feel some type of way but guess what I'm actually going to make an a allow for you what does that mean it means I'm going to give you a break before you need one I've already decided I'm going to give you a break because uh here here's what happens anytime we're having a conversation with somebody in it's tent and you find out they're behind the scenes you go oh my bad I didn't know I had a long day assume that they're going to have one uh I had a friend tell me once he said I was asking him about another coworker I said hey how's everything going with Greg he said they're dead to me I said dead they died how they died what happened dead to me oh my goodness this such a strong language what did this man do to Merit this emotional funeral you just gave them but here's what's interesting uh it gives us interesting math when we cancel other people they hurt me let me just get rid of you and to stay away from you you're dead to me but if I hurt someone else our natural inclination is well give me a break come on man you didn't know what I was going through during that time I had covid I was sick I lost somebody I lost a job I lost a friend I lost a house I was going through a divorce I found out that my who I thought was my best friend actually wasn't I found that that they cheated on me I like did you know what was going on with my life and when we find out somebody's behind the scenes we go oh my bad and we let them off the hook here's what I'm going encourage you to do assume that they have a complicated behind the scenes and just give them the break early don't wait and the reason I know that they have a complicated behind the scenes is because you do and so give them the break that you wish someone was giving to you give them the allowance for their faults let me ask you this um do people in your life have an allowance with you does your spouse have an allowance with you or are they always on strike too are your kids do they have an allowance with you Do Your Leader does your colleague does your neighbor does your coach does your teacher do those parents that have all these crazy requests for you do they have an allowance with you it's like why would we give them that we shouldn't they don't deserve it but that's kind of the point that's the point of God's grace you didn't deserve it Christians are a group of people that simply give away what they didn't deserve to people that don't deserve it that is the point of God's Amazing Grace so if we want to get better at dealing with complicated people we have to actually accept the fact that we are one of those people in other words I'm not teaching you how to deal with complicated people I'm teaching you how to deal with you and if you learn how to deal with you you'd be surprised how you treat other people the second thing I think is Chapter 5: Take Control vitally important for us to deal and work with complicated people is never let their behavior dictate ours we cannot let somebody else Behavior dictate ours and sometimes when dealing and working with complicated people you and I find ourselves in a position where we are letting their behavior dictate ours but what I want to give you the power to do today is to take control of your life and take control of your relationships it doesn't mean you're controlling it means you're intentional it means you're the one that's going to say I'm going to set the temperature of this relationship and there might be some things that we disagree on but I can disagree with you without disrespecting you and so yes I I can control that by the tone in which I speak to another human being because that's I'm in control I'm not going to let your behavior dictate mine I love what we see in Acts 8 verse one it says and Saul approved of his execution who's his this a guy named stevenh is one of the first people to be killed for his faith in Jesus Christ and Saul just so happens to be the same guy that wrote two-thirds of the New Testament is sitting there approving it he's approved of this execution he has struck fear inside of Christians in this region and it says this it says and there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem and so what they do well they all they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria they all took off running but then the scripture gives us three words three very powerful words it says except the apostles everybody's on the Run except the apostles there's a lot of reasons to have fear but except the apostles the apostles are going y'all should run but we are in exception why well because this guy asked us to follow him and nobody picked us but he did for some odd reason he shouldn't have half we didn't even know what he's talking about half the time we were just as confused as everybody else but nevertheless we follow this guy around and guess what he kept telling us that he was going to die and be buried and come back to life and then he pulled it off and took us to breakfast we've never seen anything like this in our life and so guess what we ain't going nowhere because we know real power we'll be all right everyone's running that way but the Apostle said we're not going to let them and we're not going to let a government we're not going to let Saul at the time we're not going to let where the herd is going dictate who God has called us to be another example that we see in the Old Testament 1st Samuel 30:9 you may if you are a Christ follower and and you follow the life of David you may have heard of a moment in David's life where the scripture says and David encouraged himself in the Lord and David encouraged himself in the Lord the reason he had to do that was because the amyes actually took captive his family in all of their stuff in a whole village and so David was sad and then the scripture says then David encouraged himself in the Lord and once he encouraged himself in the Lord he said boy strap up let's go we're going to go get our families back and we're going to get our stuff back and then 1st Samuel 9 says David and 600 men with him came to the basor valley where some stayed behind 200 of them were too exhausted to cross the valley but David and the other 400 continued their Pursuit 200 of the men went I'm tired of fighting I'm tired of being on the run we're just too to exhausted David and the remaining 400 said let's keep going in verse 17 it says David fought them from dusk until the evening of the next day and none of them got away except 400 young men who rode off on camels and fled David recovered everything the amyes had taken including his two wives they've been fighting all night long we got our stuff back and then verse 21 says then David came to the 200 men who had been too exhausted to follow him and who were left behind at the bizor valley they came out to meet David and the men with him and David as David and his men approached he asked them how they were they sitting they sitting by the Brook chilling they we just fought all night David walks up and says how are you doing and this indign the people with him it says but all the evil men and troublemakers among David's followers said because they did not go out with us we will not share with them the plunder we recovered however each man may take his wife and children and go but they not getting our stuff and then David has given us what do you think you Chapter 6: God is Fair own you think we won the battle because you're awesome you did it he goes on to say it was God who protected us oh yeah it was God who delivered into our hands the raiding party that came against us who will listen to what you say the share of the man who stayed with the supplies is to be the same of that of him who went down the battle all will share aike David made this a statute and ordinance for Israel from that day to this it's like David that's not fair you got all of these men who worked really hard for something and like you're giving it to some people that were too weak we were strong when they were weak we deserve more this is not fair David but what about the gospel is fair a perfect man was crucified for us there's nothing about this that is fair because it's so unfair for Jesus Christians are not this elitist group of people that think they're just better than everybody else Christians are a group of people that think we're just going to treat people like somebody died for us it's not fair I know but what about the gopel El is fair I want to encourage you to be one of those people this weekend that doesn't let where they where they work determine how they work don't let where you live determine how you live some of us are we feel like we're products of environments you don't have to you don't have to be that way I just want you to know today that you got choices you got an opportunity to be a different kind of person that does doesn't let other people's behavior dictate your behavior I I recently had a friend he came to me he said hey Ronan can I talk to you for a second I said I'm introvert so you got about five minutes so hurry it up what you need what's going on he said hey man uh I really want to talk to you I said man talk to me tell me what what's happening he said man we we're having this conversation in Frisco and he says man I don't know how to tell you this but I got this friend I don't know what to do with him I said well what did he do he said man I just found out that this friend he's he he's a republican I said in Texas how did that happen he's like so what do I do I'm like well what are our options he goes man I guess I could cut them off I went you going to need a lot of scissors bro you going to need like you're going to have to get rid of like so many people in your life like it's crazy same thing happened I was talking to a friend in California he goes dude I found out a Democrat goes to my church I'm like you did and what did you do when you saw this person did they did they try to punch you did they like what it's like what should we do with these people I don't know what did you do in 2023 before you knew you just like I don't know love them crazy concept you ask them how they were doing you were and why am I bringing this up and in what can be an awkward election season is yes I think we all should vote and I think our vote has a lot of power but it should not have enough power to change somebody else's Behavior you should not let somebody else's vote turn you into a person you wouldn't even want to be friends with you shouldn't have that much problem power so what would it look like for you to be the kind of person that says man I I know I live in America and I love the place God has but I can't let where I live determine how I live and I might work at a in a job environment that's got a lot going on it might be a toxic environment but that does not mean you have to be a toxic person you do not have to let somebody else's Behavior dictate yours I was out to eat with my siblings in Chicago and we were at a nice restaurant and we began to have a conversation about tip culture cuz tip culture is getting out of hand you know what I'm say saying you could be at Starbucks and they're like hey could you answer this question you know what the question is don't act all surprise it's a tip question you could pick up a water at a gas station they're like tip I'm like you did nothing but what am I supposed to do here and so we were having this tip conversation and like everyone was going around the table and kind of sharing their philosophy on how they think tipping should be and I'm not going to throw my sister under the bus and put her name out there because she might be watching this right now hey Lana nevertheless um and and my sister began sharing her tip philosophy and she gave her number and I don't want to put her number out there you know it was like 10 15% I was like oh my goodness um and she began to share a number and she goes well Ryan what what's your number like what do you what do how do you like to tip people I go well you know my wife and I we try to do you know 30 to 40% she goes what I said Lana I said her name again my bad listen I said to this random person I said to my sister I I said hey sis here's the deal like in light of the family we want to be in the impact we want to make in the Chapter 7: Gods Perspective world we've just decided that generosity is going to be one of our top values in our home this is how we want our kids to behave we in our house we're givers and then she asked a question she said well what if it's bad service I said then the tip's even better because our tip is not an indication of their character our tip is an indication of ours and the kind of people that we want to be I refuse to let a stranger dictate the kind of person that I know God has called me to be I don't know if you guys some baby mama drama headed to your house over the holidays and you might be in a very dramatic family I just want to let you know you don't have to be in the make allowance for this family I'm G to make allowance for the people in my life the third thing I think is vitally important for us to work with complicated people people is number three look for God's perspective on them there's a story in the book of Acts between a guy named Peter and Cornelius they're on opposite ends of any kind of spectrum you can think of in Acts 10 vers1 says at cesaria there was a man named Cornelius a centurion of what was known as the Italian cohort a Roman military officer a devout man who feared God with all his household gave arms generously to people and pray continually to God this is a good man he's trying to make a difference in his community but he's not Jewish and for Peter that's a deal breaker about the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God come in and say to him Cornelius and he stared at him in Terror and you would too if a giant Angel rolled up into your master bedroom um and he said what is it Lord and he said to him your prayers and your arms have ascended as a memorial before God and now send men to japa and bring one Simon who was called Peter right away that with does Angel is asking Cornelius to do he's like I don't think he's come but scripture says verse 9 the next day as they were on their journey and approaching the city Peter went up on the housetop about the six hour to pray and he became hungry you ever been trying to pray and you and you got hungry so he's like man let me get a snack real quick that's what happened so he wanted something to eat but while they were preparing he fell into a trance and saw the heavens opened and something like a great sheep descending being let down by its Four Corners upon the Earth in it were all kinds of animals and reptiles and birds of the air and there came a voice to him rise Peter kill and eat but Peter said by no means Lord for I've never eaten anything that is common or unclean I want you to notice the two men's different responses Cornelius said what is it Lord Peter said by no means Lord you ever told God no you know what I mean it's like God you got the wrong guy I like I like your stuff but that's not for me and then acts 10:15 it says ' and the voice came to him a second time God's like hey Peter it's me again I'm trying to get your attention what God has made clean do not call common this happened three times sometimes we're those kinds of people that make God put in extra work to get our attention and while Peter was pondering the vision verse 19 the spirit said to him behold three men are looking for you rise and go down and accompany them without hesitation for I have sent them he goes to cornelius's house and Peter as he talked with him verse 27 he went in and found many persons gathered and he said to them you yourselves know how unlawful it is for a Jew to associate with or to visit anyone of another Nation but God has shown me that I should not call any person common or unclean if you remember in verse 14 it says by no means Lord for I I've never eaten anything that is common or unclean but just 14 verses later he says but God has shown me that I should not call any person common or unclean anything became any person in prayer you have a complicated person in your life somewhere in your world maybe online maybe offline I'm just going to ask you to pray about seeing them a little bit different I'm going to encourage you to try and look for God's perspective on the person that is making your life a little bit more complicated if you're married today one of the most powerful things you can do is to say Lord how do you see this person that you've given me if you've been blessed with children one of the best things that we can do is say Lord could you give me your perspective on these children adult children maybe even a child that isn't on speaking terms with you right now you may not be on speaking terms with your parents I just can only imagine what it would look like for you to say dear God how do you see my parents how do you see my mom how do you see my dad how do you see the people in my life that perhaps I've deemed complicated and in that moment I can only imagine what God will do in your heart let me say it this way I can only imagine what God will do with your eyes you just see them different because what I know about every single person under the sound of my voice today is we all got to complicated behind the scenes and I have to imagine what it would look like for us to look upon the people in our life with a little bit more grace in our hearts and in our eyes so in summary number one if we're going to work with complicated people we got to get in the boat with them we have to realize our own complications hi my name is Ryan Lee and I'm complicated don't forget it's your turn number two never let their behavior dictate ours you've got some people in your life that can get up under your skin you could get up under their skin but you don't ever want to do the eye for the eye thing you're better than that so be better than that be the kind of person that says I'm going to set the tone at family dinner I'm going to set the tone at our job I know there's some things going on here that I don't think are right but I I can learn to disagree without disrespect and I can be one of those Catalyst people that say you know what I'm going to speak with I'm going to actually treat people like somebody died for me because they did his name is Jesus and lastly we're going to look for God's perspective on the people that can drive us the most crazy and we can only pray that they're doing the same thing for us that's how I think we can work with complicated people God I thank you so much for this amazing church I pray Lord that you would indeed help us see people through your eyes I pray God that you would help us move towards people that we would typically steer away from help us to do the tough thing help us to do the Jesus thing in Jesus precious name I pray everybody said amen you go ahead and stand at your feet

Is a Fetus Really a Person? Scientific Facts from a Christian Neurosurgeon At the young age of 35, Dr. Timothy Cheves is a force of nature. He’s earned multiple doctoral degrees from Yale University, Emory University, University of Arizona and Butler University. He’s worked in 15 hospitals and eight clinics, including a long-term stint fighting COVID in NYC at the height of the pandemic. Tim has also completed an estimated 64,000 patient visits, and he now serves as a neurosurgeon in Tucson, Arizona. Roger and Julie have known Tim since he was a young kid, growing up at Casas Church with Roger as his pastor. He is our guest author for “Ask Roger” this week, along with some additional content added by Brie Barrier Wetherbee. Please note that Tim included some excellent references within his arguments. They are listed at the bottom of this article along with some further recommended resources. Hi Roger and Tim, In my heart, I know that abortion is wrong. I see babies move on sonograms; I even spent time in the NICU when my daughter was born at 29 weeks. That’s barely in the third trimester. I can’t imagine how people can make the argument that she—or any other pre-born child—isn’t really a person. My daughter was and is. I want to be able to talk about abortion with truth and compassion, not emotion and anger. Will you help me? Love, Eva Hi Eva, This is Tim. I recently sought to answer whether abortion could be morally and ethically acceptable, focusing on the concepts of personhood and human rights. My goal was to determine whether personhood and the associated human rights apply to a fetus. To approach this, I believe a stepwise method is essential. First, for abortion to be morally wrong, a fetus must possess the right to life. For a fetus to have a right to life, it must first be shown to be a person. And to be considered a person, it must be established as a living human being. This creates four fundamental questions in which the arguments for or against abortion hinge: Is the fetus a living human being? Is it a person? Does it have a right to life? Can we morally take away that right? Let’s begin: 1) Does an unborn fetus qualify as a living human being? For something to be deemed “alive,” biologists came up with seven characteristics that must be met. It is with these same characteristics that astronomers look for life on other planets, botanists look for life in phytology, and microbiologists look for life on their slides. While some resources only call for the presence of metabolism and motion, most others call for seven postulations which can vary in terminology. (1,2) A living thing must (3): be composed of a cell or cells have order utilize energy grow and develop have reproductive potential respond to their environment adapt to that environment. Without going into great detail (as this is not the overall aim here), I find even a zygote, the unicellular antecedent to a fetus, fulfills all these stipulations. One could argue that a fetus has no reproductive potential, however, by just 16 weeks a female fetus not only has formed genitalia, but her own oocytes. (4) The fetus is indeed alive, even at the start of fertilization. In fact, it is this moment that in vitro fertilization (IVF) specialists try to re-create. It isn’t the isolation of the sperm or ovum. It isn’t creating a multi-cellular blastocyst. It’s the moment of conception they work toward. Without it, there is no life. With it, there is life instantaneously. A functioning, living sperm meeting with a functioning, living ovum can only do one thing: continue that life as a functioning, living human. Now that we know when life begins, turning this biology-related debate into more of a philosophical one where the question now asks, “Is this a person”? 2) Does the fetus qualify as a “person”? In the context of abortion, personhood is the defining requirement for individual rights. A Princeton philosopher, Peter Singer, holds the view that abortion is acceptable since the fetus is not a person, which he defines as someone who is rational, conscious, and self-aware. (5) However, this definition is severely lacking. Under this definition, every time I go to bed at night, I cease to be a person. When someone is stressed in traffic and drives unsafely in a moment of irrational thought, they too cease to be a person. No, Singer’s definition lacks consideration of the nature of the entity in question. An embryo can’t rationalize, be conscious, or self-aware (at that moment), but that’s due to how old it is, not what it is. An amoeba, on the other hand, can’t exhibit any of these sentient aspects either; not because it hasn’t developed them yet, but because it’s not in its nature to. With the embryo, it is in its nature to rationalize, be conscious, and self-aware. After the atrocities of the Holocaust, the United Nations proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. (6) Along with the preamble, which states human rights are the “rights of all members of the human family”, Article 3 explains “Everyone has the right to life, liberty, and security of person.” Article 6 declares “Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law.” Lastly, Article 7 says “All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law.” The fact that you are human automatically assigns you human rights. When speaking of animal rights, the necessary requirement is to be an animal. Women’s rights call for the person to be a woman. Would it not logically follow that all that’s needed for human rights is for you to be human? Therefore, it is what you are that defines your personhood (and human rights) not when (how old) you are. However, one can easily argue a separate definition of personhood altogether. I found many to consider the fetus void of personhood by defining a person as someone who displays intentional, goal driven action. (7) This agent must show deliberate action in line with their own reflection and desires. Nevertheless, science shows a fetus to fulfill this definition as well. By 14 weeks, the unborn child shows goal-driven movements. As the limbs reach its target, there is marked deceleration; a hallmark of intentional action. Other studies show an exploratory and sensation seeking nature of the child as early as 10 weeks’ gestation. (9) Using real time ultrasonography, researchers saw the lips, cheeks, ears, and parietal bone (areas rich in innervation) frequently being touched by the hands (also richly innervated). Fetuses were also observed to explore the boundary between innervated and non-innervated regions of the developing body. As the nervous system grows and boundary lines change, so too does fetal exploration of these boundaries. Even with the new definition of personhood, findings show fetal humans to be persons. Yet, what of the mother’s rights? Isn’t it her body, isn’t the fetus part of her body? 3) Does the fetus have a right to life? Some argue because the baby is grown inside, dependent on, and therefore part of the mother, she has her own human rights that supersede that of the baby’s. Along these same lines, another argument has also been made: The fetus is not attacked by the mother’s immune system; therefore, it must BE the mother’s body. Normally, when someone has a foreign body in them, their immune system is activated to fight it off. If the fetus is a biologically separate entity, then wouldn’t it be destroyed as well? We all know this not to happen, so we may conclude that the fetus is, in fact, not its own biologically separate entity. These are fair arguments, but, again, ones that science does not support. The answer lies in a structure called the decidua. Along with the fetus having its own separated blood supply, unique DNA, digestive system, et cetera; the decidua is a specialized protective layer around the fetus functioning to blind the mother’s immune response. The presence of the baby literally changes the cells’ genes in this area to inactivate the inflammatory markers that bring about immune response. (10) When this decidua is defective, the mother’s immune cells will attack. This proves the fetus to be its own entity; from, not of, the mother. As such, the baby has his or her own rights (rights professed and upheld by the United Nations) that are to be held at the same level of the mother. 4) Is it morally acceptable to take that right away? Going back to our stepwise argument, the unborn child fits the seven characteristics of life used by all scientific disciplines. The child also attains personhood, found not only in what they are, but in exhibiting goal driven actions. In consequence, the child is worthy of human rights by definition of personhood, as well as the defining proclamations given to the world by the United Nations. With life, personhood, and human rights status achieved, the only rational conclusion to the abortion debate is this: It is morally and ethically wrong in every stage of life. It steals away the individual’s innate human rights, objectifies the personhood out of the individual, and dehumanizes an unmistakable human being. Eva, this is Brie. Now that Tim has shared some undeniable truths from science, I’d like to close with a corresponding biblical truth you may find helpful. I used to have tons of conversations with my dad (Roger) about how much our Creator God loves His creation. Take a look at one of our favorite Scripture passages: For You made the parts inside me. You put me together inside my mother’s womb. I will give thanks to You, for the greatness of the way I was made brings fear. Your works are great and my soul knows it very well. My bones were not hidden from You when I was made in secret and put together with care in the deep part of the earth.Your eyes saw me before I was put together. And all the days of my life were written in Your book before any of them came to be. (Psalm 139:13-16) This absolutely blows my mind. The infinite God of the universe, the one who placed the stars in space and molded the mountains with His hands, knows every part of you and me before we’re born. He knit us together. He planned every day of our lives. We have exceptional worth in His eyes … and so should every child, born or unborn. Well, Eva, I hope that this article helps you understand more about the personhood of the pre-born … and gives you helpful ways to discuss this extremely difficult issue with family and friends. May God bless your words! Love, Roger, Tim, and Brie Citations: 1. McKay CP. What Is Life—and How Do We Search for It in Other Worlds? PLoS Biology. 2004;2(9):e302. doi:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.0020302 2. Phoenix Mars Mission - Education - Mars 101 - Habitability and Biology. Arizona.edu. Published 2019. http://phoenix.lpl.arizona.edu/mars141.php 3. NASA Astrobiology. astrobiology.nasa.gov.https://astrobiology.nasa.gov/.../characteristics-of-life/ 4. Hill M. Timeline human development - Embryology. Unsw.edu.au. Published 2018. https://embryology.med.unsw.edu.au/.../Timeline_human... 5. Marquis D, Singer P. Abortion and Infanticide: A Critique of Peter Singer's Views - Princeton University Media Central. Media Central Princeton University. https://mediacentral.princeton.edu/media/Abortion and InfanticideA A Critique of Peter Singer%27s Views/1_440ax19m/13495602. Published March 29, 2006. Accessed October 26, 2017. 6. United Nations. Universal Declaration of Human Rights. United Nations. Published December 10, 1948. https://www.un.org/.../universal-declaration-of-human-rights 7. Martin J, Sugarman JH, Hickinbottom S, Springerlink (Online Service. Persons: Understanding Psychological Selfhood and Agency. Springer New York; 2010. 8. Castiello U, Becchio C, Zoia S, et al. Wired to Be Social: The Ontogeny of Human Interaction. Rustichini A, ed. PLoS ONE. 2010;5(10):e13199. doi:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0013199 9. Piontelli A, Springerlink (Online Service. Development of Normal Fetal Movements : The First 25 Weeks of Gestation. Springer Milan; 2010. 10. Nancy P, Tagliani E, Tay CS, Asp P, Levy DE, Erlebacher A. Chemokine Gene Silencing in Decidual Stromal Cells Limits T Cell Access to the Maternal-Fetal Interface. Science. 2012;336(6086):1317-1321. doi:https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1220030

Spiritual Practices Prayer Objective: Discuss what experiences you’ve had with prayer and what you may want to add to your prayer practice. CONNECT What were some of your reflections from last week? How would you describe prayer to someone who didn't know what it was? What do you like about prayer? What is difficult about prayer? LEARN Which of these have you viewed God from (Angy Tyrant, Santa Claus, Exasperated Parent) and how has that shaped the way you pray? What are some ways you may need to adjust your mindset/view of God in the practice of prayer? A few ways to pray were listed: Praying the text Praying in Picture Fixed Hour Prayer Take a look at some of these additional ways to pray: Contemplative Prayer: Practicing a kind of prayer that culminates in silent attentiveness to God, a prayer that is about listening and receiving rather than speaking and expressing. To start, let go of all the thoughts, tension, and sensations you feel and begin to rest in the love of God who dwells within. Then, choose a word to center and focus on for a period of time. At the end of you time with the word you are centering on, take time to pray. Examen of Consciousness: Take a few moments at the end of each day to go back over the events of the day and invite God to show us where He was present with us and how we responded to his presence. We can ask ourselves: How was God present with me today? What promptings did I notice? How did I respond or not respond? Some of us may find it helpful to keep a journal of our responses to these questions. Once you've completed thinking through these questions, end this time in prayer. Express gratitude and ask for awareness. Prayer journaling: Writing out prayers of journaling the things you are praying about. There is no set formula to this. Journaling your life and prayers in a way that allows you to see what God is doing over time in your life. Was there one that stood out to you or that you'd' like to try in the week to come? Is there one that does not appeal to you, is difficult, or intimidates you? Why? Spiritual Practices Prayer APPLY This week: 1. Practice quieting the soul - We can quiet our soul by seizing on idle mom ents and doing nothing. Allow yourself to relax. To inhale and exhale with slow deep breaths. We cannot commune with God with cluttered minds and hearts. Allow all the things that clutter and divide to leave you heart, spirit and mind as you breathe out. a. Remember to start small (maybe 2 minutes) then work towards longer periods of time 2. Choose one way you'd like to pray this week and incorporate it into your week. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES Praying the Text: Try starting with Psalm 23 Praying the text/Meditation: Deeply Formed Life by Rich Villodas Contemplative Prayer: The Sacred Way by Tony Jones Examen of Consciousness: Sacred Rhythms by Ruth Haley Barton Practicing the Way by John Mark Comer (digital resources available at https://www.practicingtheway.org/prayer)

WHAT HAPPENS to the CHRISTIANS? Jesus’ Olivet Discourse #3 Matthew 24:26-41 S-1745 Pray for Julie and me as we go to the Middle East to minister to missionaries there. We have so much, they have so little: teaching, worship; security; heat… Today we continue a four-Sunday emphasis on Jesus discussion concerning future events in the Olivet Discourse of Matthew 24. We call this series, “Fast Forward.” Remember, Jesus leaving Temple for last time: Declared that Temple would be destroyed. Disciples were stunned. They asked three questions. :When will this (the destruction of the Temple) happen? (Romans in 70 a.d.) What will be the sign of your coming? What will be the sign of the end of the age? Matthew 24:27: For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Quick; “twinkling of an eye” from Paul (light from retina to lens) Trying to take lightning picture at Cassim house. Couldn’t react fast enough. Had to leave the lens open. Can’t react fast enough when Jesus returns. Matthew 24:29: “Immediately after the distress of those days “‘the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’ This obviously describes the horrors of the seals, trumpets and bowls of Revelation. Matthew 24:30-31: “At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. 31 And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other. All nations of earth will mourn: Judgments of sheep and goats (Matthew 25:31-46) Personal, individual application Application for the nations. How a nation treated Israel will determine how they are welcomed—or—not into the millennial kingdom. Where is the U.S. in prophecy? Send angels for elect (Rapture?) These all appear to occur at same time. In fact, a separation must occur. Remember the Mountain Peak Principle. Events that appear to occur at the same time may well be separated by varying amounts of time. (Act Out this principle) Matthew 24:36: “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 37 As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39 and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. The return will be quite unexpected. Great sin and debauchery, wars and killings, etc. How is God feeling about all of this? He is grieving (Genesis 6 as in the days of Noah.). Jewish Rabbinical Story. Angels watching the destruction of the Egyptian army in the Red Sea. Look over at throne and God is weeping. Matthew 24:40-44: Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. 41 Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left. This event is commonly referred to as the Rapture—or the catching away of Christians into Heaven. What is this? When does it occur? Seems to occur at time of Second Coming. Again Christians endure all the persecutions until Christ returns (post tribulation). Hope for Mountain Peak to be real. This we know: People are taken out-caught up—disappearing in an instant will certainly cause fear and confusion among those who are not taken. Here is a video that will give us some flavor of those awful times (Used with permission from the Left Behind Series. VIDEO: Play video of the rapture Matthew 24:42: “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. 43 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you think not. Dr. Bob: ““Jesus said that He is going to return in an hour when we think not.” He looked around and surveyed our class and said, “I know that Jesus is going to come back sometime before 8:00 a.m., because if there’s anytime when I think not, it’s before 8:00 a.m. PLEASE SWITCH TO ROGER’S COMPUTER :“Let the Reader understand”—Daniel. Review The Framework Of The Last Days Is Outlined By The Prophet Daniel. Draw: The Multi-Metalic Man (Daniel 2:31-35) (Describe the dream and the Interpretation.) Golden Head Silver Arms Brass Belly and Thighs Iron Legs Feet and Toes of Iron Mixed with Clay Rock Descends from the sky and hits the Man on his toes. Man is crushed to fine powder which the wind blows away. Rock grows into a Mountain which fills the earth. Draw: The Seventy “Sevens” Prophecy (Daniel 9:24-27) God has a 490 year (70 X 7 “sevens”) program for Israel. The prophetic clock started on March 4, 444 b.c.. After 69 “sevens” (483 prophetic years) the Anointed One (the Christ) was to come. 483 years after the beginning date Jesus Christ rode into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday 32 a.d.. At that moment God’s prophetic time clock stopped. During our present generation we are now in a prophetic “time out.” There is still one “seven” year period to go. The 70th “seven” described in Daniel 9:27 allows us to gaze into the future. All prophetic passages of the last days hang on this seven-year time period. DANIEL 9:27: He will confirm a covenant with many for one ‘seven.’ In the middle of the ‘seven’ he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on a wing [of the temple] he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him.” Gematria: Who Is “HE?” The Anti-Christ? Draw: Revelation 13 tells us that the number of his name is 666. Jesus = 888 Ι=10 + η=8 + σ=200 + ο=70 + υ=400 + ς=200 = 888 Perfection = 777 Anti-Christ = 666 (Revelation 13) Bartholomew =666 Roger (777) Not really. 100+70+3+5+100 = 278 (Humbling: I am really a sinner. I am closer to antichrist than I am to Jesus. Not close to perfection. Tried Roger Barrier = 278 + 318 = 594 (2+1+100+100+10+5+100=318) Still not close to perfection. Draw on blank slide: The prophetic clock will restart—the final seven years begin —the time out will be over—when the Antichrist makes a peace covenant with the nation of Israel. In the middle of the “seven”: Stops sacrifice and offerings. Many see this as time of setting up or Abomination of Desolation in (desecrating image of Anti-christ in Temple. Indicates Israel will have a Temple! Seals, Trumpets and Blows of God’s wrath in the Book of Revelation will be poured out in judgment against the antichrist and his forces. Son of Man returns with Armies of Heaven and defeats him. The Antichrist is cast into Hell. Battle maps of Ezekiel 38-39 and Revelation. [map of Israel] Not amazed by the ’67 war, open Golan Heights, Syrians thought it was a trap. [Draw on blank slide]Possible Time Schedule: 4 horses of Apocalypse (Revelation 6) White horse: Peace treaty: 1st seal in first 3.5 years. Red horse: war Black horse: famine Pale horse: death Trumpets during next 3.5 years. begin at Abomination of Desolation. Read Revelation 8:6 The seven bowls are poured out. Read Revelation 16:1. Christ returns after 1260 days. Daniel 12:11-13 mentions 75 more days after return of Christ. Daniel 12:11-13: “From the time that the daily sacrifice is abolished and the abomination that causes desolation is set up, there will be 1,290 days. Blessed is the one who waits for and reaches the end of the 1,335 days.” 1290 days: for final wars. 1335 days: The extra 45 days will be necessary to judge the nations re how they treated the nation of Israel (Mathew 25: Jack next week.) 7.5 years no one enters the land—clean up nuclear waste. “Blessed is the one who makes it for the entire 1335 days and is able to enter into the kingdom.” WHERE WILL THE CHURCH BE DURING ALL OF THIS? DRAW Parenthesis— This is the Great Parenthesis or Church Age which occurs between Pentecost and the Rapture. The plan is for Israel not for the church. Apparently, Christ’s Second Coming Is In Two Stages: The Rapture And The Revelation. RETURN COMPUTER SLIDES CONTROL TO TECH SUITE UPSTAIRS 1 Thessalonians 4:17: “…we will meet the Lord in the air.” Zechariah 14: 4-5: His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives. 1 Thessalonians 5:2 and Revelation 16:15: He will come in secret, as a “thief in the night.” Revelation 1:7: “every eye will behold Him.” Titus 2:13: the return of Christ is a time of blessing and hope. 2 Thessalonians 1:8-9: the return of Christ is a time of punishment and judgment. 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 and John 14:2-3: He will come “for” His saints. Zechariah 14:5; 1 Thessalonians 3:13; Revelation 19:11-16: He will come “with” His saints. PLEASE SWITCH TO ROGER’S COMPUTER The only way to reconcile these verses is to understand that Christ’s Second Coming is in two stages: DRAW: The first stage occurs when Christ comes in the air, in secret, in great blessing and hope, for His saints to remove them to Heaven. This is called the Rapture, which means to catch away. The second stage occurs at the end of the last seven-year period when Christ comes to the ground, with every eye on Him, with His saints, to bring judgment and punishment. This is called the Revelation. In 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 Paul Carefully Laid Out The Events And The Order Of Events Of The Rapture Of The Church. RETURN COMPUTER SLIDES CONTROL TO TECH SUITE UPSTAIRS 1 THESSALONIANS 4:13-18: Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord’s own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words. He shall return in the clouds with a shout! And with the blowing of the trumpet. That shout will penetrate every grave, pierce to the deepest seas and be heard by every saint upon earth. Read John 5:25: I tell you the truth, a time is coming … when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live.” It is Jesus Christ’s voice! What will he shout? With Lazarus in tomb: “Lazarus, come forth.” – If Christ hadn’t singled out Lazarus every grave in graveyard would have opened. “Christians come forth!” The Bodies of those who die outside of Christ stay in the tomb. Be raised up at the end of 1000 year reign of peace to be judged as fit only for Hell at Great White Throne. Christian bodies all over the world. Majority in man-made graves. However, many Christians have gone down at sea; some burned to death; some lost in wild places of earth; some cremated; some died in deserts and bones left to scorch in heat; some torn to bits in explosions. Doesn’t matter to Jesus. He knows everything and He knows where they are. Spirits will come in the air with Christ and unite with their bodies to make a spiritual body fit for heaven. Now remember, the earth still goes on. Christian people just disappear as far as earth is concerned. Enter time of horrible trials and persecution if left behind. “When Does this rapture occur?” Pre-Tribulation: Before the last seven-year period (Dwight Pentecost: Things To Come) Mid-Tribulation: During the middle of the last seven years (Robert Van Kampen: The Sign) Post-Tribulation: At the end of the seven-year period (George Eldon Ladd: A Theology Of The New Testament) Pan-Tribulation: Everything will all pan out in the end. Pre-tribulation: God has rescued His people from great trouble in the past. He will do so in the future. Closed the door of the ark and Noah and his family were saved from the flood. He opened the Red Sea to make a way of escape for Israel from the Egyptians. Daniel 3 and fiery furnace: Daniel is absent. He misses the fire. Prefigure of deliverance in the Rapture. Remember Some Of The Purposes Of Studying Prophecy. 1. Prophecy is a call to holy living. 2. Jesus expects us to be ready at any moment for His return. (“We are to plan as though He weren’t coming for a thousand years, but we are to live as if He were coming in the next ten minutes.”) 3. Fortunately, the return of Christ is our “blessed hope” (Titus 2:11-13). Titus 2:11-14: For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. 12 It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, 13 while we wait for the blessed hope — the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, 14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good. A father and a girl of ten years, both good swimmers, entered the water off a New Jersey seashore resort a few summers ago. When some distance from shore they became separated, and the father realized they were being carried out to sea by the tide. He called out to his daughter:” Mary, I am going to shore for help. If you get tired, turn on your back; you can float all day on your back. I’ll come back for you.” Before long many searchers in boats were scurrying over the face of the water hunting for one small girl. It was four hours before they found her, far from land. She was calmly floating on her back. Cheers and tears of joy and relief greeted the rescuers with their precious burden as they came to land. The child took it calmly. She said, “He said he would come for me, and that I could float all day, so I swam and floated, because I knew he would come.” May such faith in our Heavenly Father sustain us in those hours in which we must swim and float and wait.

I never dreamed how many sermons my husband would preach in a bullet-proof vest (36 in all). I never dreamed I would have to wear one myself. My missionary friends in the Middle East are always under siege, but I assumed that church was a safe place. But after my husband preached forty-five sermons in the itchy bullet-chaser, I have learned differently.   My most vivid memory was recalling the escapades of a looney husband of one of our members. He was probably schizophrenic and definitely delusional, but he made a hit list and Roger was on it. For two months, undercover policemen sat in the congregation and Roger sweated through his vest while he preached four services, looking over his shoulder and shaking in his boots. One spring morning before dawn, the mad man went on his spree. He jumped into his Dodge Ram, packed up his pistols, rifles and four hundred rounds of ammunition. Then he careened down I-10 to a nearby town and shot the first family on the list. Those of us on the “Tucson” list were next. The police cornered him on the highway after a high-speed chase and “Bob” shot himself in the head before they arrested him. I grieve for him. I really do. But I have to admit, I don’t miss looking at those cops in the service, or the stake-out on our cul-de-sac.   One guy typed a “death threat” e-mail to the church, naming all the terrible things he would do to me and to Roger. Most hate e-mails are overlooked, but this one was menacing because it gave specifics. It just so happened Roger and I were preaching a team sermon from Job that week called “When Fears Come True.” I had to borrow a bullet-proof vest from a lady cop who lived down the street. I am ashamed to admit that my first question to my pastor hubby was “Does this vest make me look fat?” The mysterious perp was subsequently arrested and is no longer a threat. Doesn’t that sound like spiritual warfare? Again we kept doing what we were called to do, and trusted God for His protection and care.   An ex-marine with a psych discharge tried to stop a Christian artist’s concert at our church one Sunday night. Roger had to pull him offstage when he tried to stop the service. The ex-marine turned off the lights in the room and pushed Roger into a corner. In the darkened room, he pulled a metal cylinder from behind his back, placed it under Roger’s chin and pulled the “trigger.” A flash of light convinced Roger he had been shot.  The man turned on the light in the room revealing that the metal cylinder was not a gun barrel, but a flashlight. He flicked it on and said, “I only wanted to tell the congregation to walk in the light.” Oh, great. Couldn’t he have said that before they descended the stairs? Roger was admitted to the hospital with atrial fibrillation from the shock.   But don’t get me wrong. Every pastor and pastor’s wife need bullet-proof vests. Many missionary couples don’t have them, but they certainly need them. Every day. Some pastor’s wives feel like they are walking around with a target on their backs. They know their husband has one on his back. Zing! The head deacon blasts him for his stance on tithing. Zing! The budget lines don’t meet the finance committee’s expectations. Zing! The sermon wasn’t up to par. What does the pastor do all week? Golf and gamble? For you, dear servants of God, I am so sorry. God sees your pain and He weeps with you when you suffer. Find somebody safe to weep with you and comfort you when the going gets rough.   The arrows will always fly. I’ve been in ministry since I was eighteen years old, and of this I can be sure. The more God works, the madder Satan gets. I don’t welcome the arrows, but I have learned to trust in Psalm 91:3: “Surely He will deliver you from the snare of the fowler, and from the perilous pestilence. He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall take refuge.”   I am not sure whether a “fowler” is a chicken hunter or a classy name for Colonel Sanders, but I sure like those protective wings of the Almighty. I have learned that bullet-proof vests don’t protect me and my family, God does. And when He has work for me to do, I’d better be prayed up and connected to some great prayer warriors!    Read “Upside Down” to learn more about mourning your pain and receiving comfort.   Take a listen to “When Fears Come True” (Fear Series) by Roger and Julie Barrier

Can we choose our identity? Daniel Day Lewis is known as one of the most committed method actors of our time. When he takes on a role, he embodies the character not only on camera but off camera, and he only responds to his character’s name. For the movie In the Name of the Father, Day-Lewis lost fifty pounds and spent three days in solitary confinement without water. For his role as a man with cerebral palsy who could only use his left foot, Day Lewis lived like the character off-set, getting carried or wheelchaired, and was hand-fed all his meals. During the filming of Gangs of New York, which was set in nineteenth-century New York, Day-Lewis caught pneumonia because he insisted on wearing period-specific clothing. He then refused to take modern medicine and almost died as a result. “That is crazy!” we exclaim. And yet, many of us have spent our lives embodying roles that are not our true identities. We have lost track of what ultimate reality is. Humans have been wearing emotional masks since we exited the garden of Eden. We try on identities, attempting to discover one where we find affirmation, peace, and security. We put on masks of vocation, role, and achievement, hoping to find the contentment we desperately long for. No matter how many masks we put on, happiness eludes us. Rates of depression and suicide have never been higher. Marriages fail at alarming rates. More individuals in the United States have substance addictions than those who have cancer.2 The happiness our masks promise remains out of reach for most. How then can we find happiness? How can we be at peace? We believe the answer is found in two words: true identity. But how do we discover our identity? Is it something we can choose? I could be literally anything Recently we were listening to a podcast with an influential leader. She gushed about her mom: “When I was little, she never stopped telling me I could be literally anything.” There is something beautiful in that encouragement. And her statement contains a seed of truth. For many of us, our identities formed with this sense of un- bounded possibility. There was nothing we couldn’t do if we put our minds to it. And yet, almost anyone outside of a late twentieth- and early twenty-first-century Western context would find this sort of un- bridled encouragement completely befuddling. The idea of having boundless vocational options—or any options, for that matter—is a peculiarly modern and Western notion. We are told that we are defined by our independence. If we have a birthright as Americans, it is our freedom. We are told it is the most important commodity we possess. We are free to do what we want, be what we want, love who we want. We don’t want to be hemmed in or controlled. The idea of growing up as most in the history of the world have—with a predetermined vocation and spouse—makes us scoff. No one could possibly live like that. Our hearts tell us we will be happy if we have more options, but radical freedom actually has the opposite effect. Surprisingly, psychological research tells us that increased choice diminishes our happiness. A child without a bedtime, nutritional guardrails, or discipline is not only ill behaved but anxious and unhappy. Spirituality Is Our Sacred Space In the modern West, our freedom extends beyond our ability to choose our vocation and spouse. We have the freedom to create our own spirituality. We believe that the spiritual world is a private world, a place we can craft to our own liking. The sacred is personal. The personal is sacred. The notion that our spirituality is located in a private place between us and our experience of the divine is a relatively new idea. It is also a rare point of agreement between those who are ideologically on opposite sides of the spectrum. It seems we all can agree that no one should dictate another person’s religious beliefs. For some, the true north on their compass is their conception of love. For the other side, the true north is their conception of truth. But for both, their spiritual lives are their own. It’s no surprise that church attendance has so dramatically dipped in the past decade.  For everything we in the West fight over, we appear to agree on one thing: no institution will define our spirituality. Our spiritual life is ours, and whatever beliefs we craft in that deeply personal space are unimpeachable. We think we are creating a meaningful path. Yet many have a haunting sense that they are lost in these spiritual woods. If our compass comes from within, how do we know it is directing us somewhere that actually exists? Where is our destination? And how do we know we will get there? Star of the Show There are a lot of conversations today about building your platform and your brand. Many claim the job title of “influencer” or “social media influencer.” There is something attractive about wielding influence. “What could I do with fame?” we ponder. “What impact could I have?” You can pour your energy into building your own kingdom. But what will last of it? Who will remember you? What are you living for? Most of us live our lives longing for our five minutes of fame (how about seven for me, God?), yearning to be discovered, hoping our YouTube video goes viral. In our heart of hearts, many of us want the world to revolve around us. We want our lives to be on a big- ger stage. It’s why there is a business of selling followers on social media. We want a bigger audience, even if it’s an audience of fake people. A 2017 survey showed that millennials value fame highly. Thirty percent would prefer to be famous rather than to be a lawyer; 23 percent would choose fame over being a doctor; and 8 percent would cut off ties to their family in exchange for fame. How foolish of us! Can you tell me the names of any of your great-great-grandparents? Can you tell me one thing they did in their lives? Friend, from a human perspective, we will all be forgotten. Poet Henry Austin Dobson once wrote, “Fame is a food that dead men eat.” The irony is that when we pursue our own glory and platform, we are living in true enslavement. The apostle Paul wrote, “If we have been united with him [Jesus] in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin” (Rom. 6:5–6, my emphasis). Sin—grappling for self—is a cruel master. There is never enough fame, glory, money, love, respect, sexual gratification. “Am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ” (Gal. 1:10). Our flesh demands more and more. It is not only hard drugs that have diminishing returns. It is anything of the flesh. And so, even as we seek more, we find ourselves with less. Freedom to Serve God has not given us self-actualizing independence. He did not in- tend for us to twist the freedom he gives us for his purposes into freedom to be used for our own agendas. To use our freedom for our personal gain is to buy into the lie of the Enemy. Surprising to our Western sensibilities, the Bible unflinchingly refers to Christians not as individualists but as servants or slaves (in Greek the word is duolos, which can be translated as either servant or slave, depending on the context9). Servants are those who choose to serve another. Slaves are those who must serve someone else because they are owned by that person. In Christ, both senses are true for the Christian. Because Christ has paid our ransom, we can joyfully be his slave and choose to serve him. Our Western individuality is undone when we see ourselves as servants. Servants seek the fulfillment of their masters before they seek fulfilling themselves. This hardly fits with our American notions of what our lives are supposed to look like. It’s not surprising, then, that more than a few pastors and churches have erased the biblical call on us to be servants of Christ. Unfortunately, doing so causes us to miss out on freeing truths about who we are. Peter’s perspective is profound: we are free in Christ, and yet that freedom is to be used for our Master. Peter says, “Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God” (1 Peter 2:16). We are tempted to believe that freedom is found when we achieve self-mastery. But true freedom is only found when Christ is our Master. This excerpt is from Trading Faces: Removing the Masks that Hide Your God-Given Identity by John and Angel Beeson. Available on Amazon.com.

Dear Roger and Julie, I have wrestled with questions about God for as long as I can remember. How do I know for sure that He is real? Sincerely, Joe People of all ages have serious questions that cry out for answers. “Why does God seem to answer some people’s prayers and not others?” “If God is all loving and all-powerful, why does He allow so much suffering in the world?” “How could a loving God send anyone to Hell?” But the one we hear most often is this: HOW CAN I KNOW THAT A GOD I CAN’T SEE REALLY EXISTS? “Without faith it is impossible to please God. Those who come to Godmust believe that he exists. And they must believe that he rewards those who look to Him.” (Hebrews 11:6 NIV) “Does God exist?” is an age-old question. Many of us were educated in schools and universities where we were taught that everything in the universe evolved by chance. We were made to feel that to believe in God is to be mentally weak, unintellectual, or not politically correct. What a shame. We don’t have to check our brains at the school room door. Any reasonable person can easily defend the existence of God. LET’S TALK ABOUT PROOFS FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD. 1. The Causal Proof: Creation requires a cause. Imagine that I am holding a hula hoop and everything in the universe is located inside this circle. Ask the question, Who or what caused all of this to exist? The answer can lie in only one of two places. The ultimate cause must either be located inside the circle or outside the circle. If the cause of everything is located inside the circle, then you still must ask, “Where did that cause come from?” The only rational explanation for all that lies inside the circle is to locate the cause and source outside the circle! See the universe; there must have been a Creator outside of it who caused it. Does the Bible have anything to say about this? Take a look at these two verses: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1 NIV) “Jesus is over all creation. All things were created in Him. He created everything in heaven and on earth. He created everything that can be seen and everything that can’t be seen. He created kings, powers, rulers and authorities. All things have been created by him and for him. Before anything was created, he was already there. He holds everything together.” (Colossians 1:15-17 NIV) Everything has a cause. 2. The Teleological Proof: God must exist because every design has a designer. Look at the intricacies of the universe. The teleological proof answers the question: “Who is responsible for the design, symmetry, and order that we see all around us?” The teleological proof also challenges the modern argument that life and the created order came into existence by chance. For centuries, man looked at the complexities, beautiful intricacies and symmetry of the universe and assumed that there was a master designer behind it all. This view was totally unchallenged until the 1800s. During the Age of Reason, many believed that science could explain everything. God was taken completely out of the equation and the supernatural was explained away in terms of the natural. Hebrews 11:3 teaches that God created the universe. It had a cause and design: “By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.” Scientists teach that the universe is a random chance collision of floating gases set into motion by a random series of events that produced random amino acids which swirled together to produce a molecule and eventually evolved to us today. How reasonable is this theory? No scientist can adequately explain where the gases came from in the first place. Many blush in embarrassment at the mathematical probabilities of a chance collision of gases producing even a single structured molecule … let alone a process as complex as photosynthesis or as breathtaking as an eagle in flight. Here is our challenge for you. Take the back off your laptop computer, look at the tiny circuits, crystals, switches, and components—then go and sit out under a tree and ask yourself if that laptop computer was designed and assembled by an intelligent being, or if it was the result of a random explosion in a metal factory? This will give you an appreciation of the teleological argument for the existence of God who alone can account for the order, symmetry, and beauty we see around us every day. Next time you hold a baby, ask yourself: Is this fantastic, complex being really the result of a cosmic accident? “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above declares His handiwork.” (Psalm 19:1 NIV) 3. The Ontological Proof: The existence of humankind implies the existence of God. Consider the question: “Why do we find men and women all over the world worshipping a higher being?” Our very existence points to God. Every culture believes in a higher power; someone or something that is greater than we are. Deep down, we all know that we are created beings … that we come from somewhere. C.S. Lewis once said that it takes much more faith to be an atheist than to believe in the existence of God. In other words, it is much harder to believe we came from nothing than that we come from something … or Someone. Does the Bible talk about this? “So, Paul saw all of the Greek idols and proclaimed “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you.” (Acts 17:22-23 ESV) 4. The Anthropological Proof: God must exist because all humankind has a moral code that reflects a moral Creator. God must exist because a universal moral code is stamped on the hearts of all human beings, transcending culture, race, language, and location. The existence of this moral code demands that humankind was created in the image of a moral God. If human beings simply evolved from chance collisions from primeval gases, if we are simply grown-up germs, or a recent improvements of apes, how does one account for the fact that around the world we find a moral code of truth over deceit, kindness over violence, loyalty over backstabbing, love over hate, justice over injustice? Can chance produce a consistent moral code? Pose the moral code question to an atheist: “What is your theory regarding the moral code of humankind?” No one has an answer, ever. “Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts sometimes accusing them and at other times even defending them.” (Romans 2:14-15 NIV) The four classical proofs above are all very reasonable. Thousands of scientists, theologians, and philosophers have written to support each one. In concert with them, we believe that any reasonable person must examine them and conclude that God exists. But I know that most people don’t come to God out of reason. They come out of experience. To the four classical proofs, I will add a fifth. 5. The Religious Experience Proof: Millions of people have had a personal experience with God. God must exist because hundreds of millions of well-adjusted people all over the world claim that they have experienced the love, forgiveness, peace, comfort and presence of God. This can’t be taken lightly, especially when we consider the similarity of those experiences across the ages. There are also many, many experiences with God recorded in Scripture, from His visual and verbal interaction with Moses at the burning bush to His heart-to-heart conversations with David to Jesus’s time with the disciples. A loving God has attempted on many occasions to establish contact with every living creature on the face of this earth. Honest people can all remember an occasion late at night when God came near and said, “Come on, come on, you know that I am real. Stop pretending that I am not, that you don’t need me. Open your mind and your heart and see what I can do with your life.” Every person here can remember a visit from God sometime in your life journey. The question is, what did you do with it? How did you respond? What action did you take? Now, put all five arguments (cosmological, teleological, ontological, anthropological, and religious experience) on the scale and watch the scale tip in favor of the existence of God. People who don’t believe in God have a lot of explaining to do. That is why, ultimately there are only two religions in the world. Man saves or God saves. Every world religion other than Christianity comes down to “Man saves by earning God’s favor.” Christianity is accomplished by God, not God and man. God sent His Son for us. Through His Son, He bestows perfection and righteousness as a good gift … the free gift of eternal life. You must respond. The biblical requisite for heaven is faith—trust. Transfer your faith from you to the cross. Well Joe, We hope that these proofs are very helpful to you as you work through your own beliefs regarding God’s existence and as you discuss your thoughts with others. Love, Roger and Julie

AT THE FEET OF JESUS Luke 10: 38-39; John 11:32; John 12:3 S-1759 ·BACKGROUND SLIDE #1: Turn to Luke 10 ·SLIDE #2: Apologize for dog and cat comments from last week. Susan DeBake Cat Biscuit. (That is one cat you don’t want to meet in a dark alley.) We are equal opportunity pet lovers. We do not practice feline discrimination. ·SLIDE #3: Preach It Teach It features ·SLIDE #4: LUKE 10: 38-39: “As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said.” ·SLIDE #5: Humbling to sit at someone’s feet pedicures ·SLIDE #6: Julie’s feet ·SLIDE #7: Roger in the Snow in Jasper, Canada ·SLIDE #8: Roger at the Blue Mosque in Istanbul ·SLIDE #9: Roger and Julie on a mountain trail in Switzerland ·SLIDE #10: Baby feet ·SLIDE #11: I wonder if Jesus had Sweaty Dirty feet!? Mary of Bethany is mentioned only three times in the New Testament, and every time we find her in the same place—kneeling at the feet of Jesus. ·SLIDE #12: LUKE 10:39: “She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said.” Now keep your place there and turn to John 11. We have a second episode of Mary meeting with Jesus which occurred four days after the burial of her brother Lazarus. ·SLIDE #13: JOHN 11:32: “When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” Then, turn the page John 12. The third episode occurred in Bethany at a dinner a few days before He was crucified. Jesus, His disciples and Lazarus were reclining at the dinner table— ·SLIDE #14: JOHN 12: 3: “Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it out on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house filled with the fragrance of the perfume.” Wiping his feet means what? She is on her knees at his feet. Her outward actions picture the inward dimensions of worship. ·SLIDE #15: In Luke 10 she found at His feet her blessing. In John 11 she brought to His feet her burden. In John 12 she gave at His feet her best. Mary lived out worship before our eyes where we can’t miss it. SWITCH TO ROGER’S COMPUTER ·DRAW SLIDE #16: Mary illustrates Philippians 3:10—the key verse for becoming like Christ: “That I may know Him” (That’s Luke 10 receiving a blessing.). “And the power of His resurrection” (That’s John 11 bringing her burden.). “And the fellowship of His sufferings” (That’s John 12 giving her best.). ·SLIDE #17: In LUKE 10: SHE FOUND AT HIS FEET HER BLESSING. Now the big question that we have to answer today is this: Where do I get my blessing? ·DRAW SLIDE #18: God-shaped vacuum I am continually amazed where people go to get their blessings in life. The television set Sports Job Other persons Crafts and hobbies Restaurants ·SLIDE #19: There is only one place that will bring ultimate blessing and fulfillment”: kneeling at the feet of Jesus. We find our blessing at the feet of Jesus. SWITCH BACK TO TECH’S COMPUTER ·SLIDE #20: Flying to San Antonio several weeks ago with Julie to lead a conference for Pastor’s and wives. Argued with lady at ticket counter over Julie’s ticket. “By the way, I want a window seat.” She gave me 38F. Plane was empty. Not more than 60 or 70 on the plane. I kept walking back to 38F and I began to smile. I wonder? Sure enough. Last row in the plane. Galley on left, can’t see out that side. The window of 38F is covered by the engine nacelle. You can’t see anything out of seat 38F. Flight attendant: “What did you do to get banished back here?” Smiled and told her what happened. She looked at me and asked, “Are you a believer?” Yes.” Are you flying on business?” “Yes, Julie and I are on the way to lead a pastors’ conference. “Move to 37F where you can see out. May I talk to you after we take off? I have a bunch of questions I want to ask you? I soon discovered that this 45-year-old-single-Delta-flight attendant gave up a lucrative career in the insurance business to have a personal ministry flying across America ministering to hurting flight attendants. There were two stewardesses working the coach section of that afternoon flight. She was happy and bouncy and full of excitement. The other was cordial, but hurting. “I want you to meet my partner.” She’s hurting a lot isn’t she? Yes. How did you know? I watched her for a moment. It was not hard to miss. “Would you talk with her?” “I am 24 years old and outwardly everything in my life is great. I have a great job and good friends and things going on every moment. I am involved with all kinds of activities, and I’m miserable.” Some of you could give this same testimony. Could it be that she was looking to the wrong people, and to the wrong things, and in the wrong places for a blessing? ·SLIDE #21: The miserable flight attendant reminds me of Mary’s sister Martha. Martha’s life was filled with bustling activity. Martha was not a very happy person. The Bible portrays her as worried and anxious and harried. ●SLIDE #22: LUKE 10:40. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” Jesus: Why don’t you take a load off your mind and sit down.” ●SLIDE #23: Dr. Alan Redpath, former pastor of Moody Church, had a slogan on the wall of his office. “Beware the barrenness of a busy life.” America is a land of Marthas. We’re busy – busy, busy people. Let me tell you what happens when life gets so busy. We get all out of sorts. We run from activity to activity; we don’t sleep; days are filled with ceaseless activity. No one enjoys it. In fact, Jesus disappears from our lives when we get too busy. ·SLIDE #24: Have you ever played Where’s Waldo? Look and look for Waldo. ·SLIDE #25: It is like playing Where’s Jesus. Look and look. Where is Jesus. ·SLIDE #26: Oh, there He is! He should not be so hard to find. Jesus has a lot of competition these days. Blessing at someone’s feet. Imagine kneeling to propose and your fiancé said yes—wasn’t that a blessing? Wanted daughter’s boyfriends to kneel before me when they asked for my girl’s hands in marriage! Derrek proposes: took me to lunch. Ricky proposes in his underwear. We have been bonded ever since. ·SLIDE #27: Kneeling at Swindoll’s feet. Would do anything for that man. Brie is a Chucklet writing his speeches. Kneeling at Gary’s feet. Rabbit, castrating bulls, sitting on tractor—deep thinker. Watch and listen before speaking—and have something worthwhile to say. Kneeling at Steve Dowdle’s feet. Eric Kendle I want to recommend to you – I know that you have a lot to do – that you begin your day at the feet of Jesus. It will save the day for you. ·SLIDE #28: IN JOHN 11 SHE BROUGHT TO HIS FEET HER BURDEN. Don’t ever get the idea that because you’re in the will of the Lord that you won’t have any burdens. You will. Burdens come to Christians. We carry burdens that are natural to human beings. Our bodies are getting older and perishing. Some of us are more perishable than others. People come to you with their burdens. What are you going to do with them? Where do you take your burdens? As a child, where did you go? When you suffered the inevitable hurts of life. Struck out with the bases loaded, did not get cheerleader, teased on the bus. Where did you go? Sad thing is, most of you went nowhere. You suffered alone. ●SLIDE #29: JOHN 11: 17: On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days…. ●SLIDE #30: JOHN 11: 19-20: and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. 20 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home. Martha accosted Jesus: “Why didn’t you come. I know there is resurrection some day. But, we wanted him here now. If you had come you could have healed him and he’d still be with us. ●SLIDE #31: JOHN 11:29: And after she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. “The Teacher is here,” she said, “and is asking for you.” 29 When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him. Martha ran right out as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming. Mary didn’t. Mary, you see, was waiting and praying – waiting for His message to come to her. And in verse 28 it came. One of the great blessings of sitting at the feet of Jesus is learning how to wait. I can see Martha as she paces up and down… looks out the window… paces up and down… goes out to the edge of town… looks. “Where’s Jesus?” ●SLIDE #32: Now impatience leads to fretting. Fretting. Oh, how people fret. Some of you are doing this now. You’re like Martha. Fretting and worrying. Problems in life you want fixed. Why aren’t you answering! ●SLIDE #33: Impatience: picture of train and subway doors closing in Europe. American woman getting rear end stuck in closing tram in Chicago. Some of you are living with a squeezed rear end. Take the next tram. ●SLIDE #34: Mary had learned to wait on the Lord. When a child of God is in the will of God and the hand of the Lord seems in no hurry, it’s often because He has something better for you. And He did for them. ·SLIDE #35: JOHN 11:32: “When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” Jesus had in mind a resurrection! ·SLIDE #36: What might bringing our burdens look like? Talk about an interactive lifestyle with the Holy Spirit inside. Talk about my Journals filled with burdens. Talk about story of putting all burdens by the side of the road driving out of Tucson last summer. Talk about the body of Christ ministering to needs. I go to Julie, Gary and Pete. Talk about going to Pete yesterday. “I am really discouraged. Please pray for me.” SWITCH TO ROGER’S COMPUTER ●DRAW SLIDE #37: So she found at His feet her blessing and she brought to His feet her burden. Now don’t reverse these. You can’t bring to His feet your burden unless you get your blessings at His feet. There are some Christians who ignore their Bibles and don’t spend time in prayer and who don’t know what it is to worship and then trouble comes and they run to the Lord! ·SLIDE #38: IN JOHN 12 SHE GAVE AT HIS FEET HER BEST. SWITCH BACK TO TECH’S COMPUTER Wednesday night, two days before the crucifixion: As the Lord Jesus was reclining at the table, ·SLIDE #39: JOHN 12: 3: “Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it out on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house filled with the fragrance of the perfume.” Mary knew the secret that the Lord Jesus was going to go to the cross and die. “The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him.” Do you know any of God’s secrets? And she had been saving a pound of very costly perfume. I can imagine that when Lazarus died Martha went to the shelf and brought down the ointment and said, “I’m glad that we have this to anoint his body.” And Mary replied, “No, we’re saving the best for Jesus.” This is worship. This is giving our best at His feet. Love always costs. Have you ever fallen in love? It costs. Thought Julie cost a lot when we were dating. After I got married, I found out how much a wife really costs. Say you are in love and it doesn’t cost you anything. I will tell you it is not true. Say you love Christ and it never costs anything, I will tell you it is not true. Remember when you were dating, the value of your gifts increased as you became more intimate? Remember the first gift I gave Julie: a pair of blue earrings. One day I gave her a ring. After we were married the gifts got even more intimate. Frederick’s of Hollywood: “There is not much to it, is there?” First gift she gave me was a pair of paper-mach clowns. ·SLIDE #40: Then one day she gave me a home made candle book and poem. ·SLIDE #41: Let me open it up and read the poem. This is when I knew she was serious. Mary’s gift meant a lot to Jesus. Probably perfumed Him on Saturday night. ·SLIDE #42: Less than a week later He was hanging on the cross. No bath. Used perfume to smell good. Some powerful perfume. Take it to the fragrance on the cross….”What’s than I smell? Ah, Mary.” What might sacrificing for Jesus look like? Matthew 25: Volunteering to teach children, crisis pregnancy center, meals on wheels, money in offering plate, sharing the gospel. ·SLIDE #43: Greg and Jen—life changed. Do all for children—top priority—sacrifice is love. Greg and Jen 744-2136; 465-3107c John 21—because you love Jesus John 21:16: Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you truly love me?” He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.” ·SLIDE #44: Because Mary lived at Jesus’ feet, God used her to be a blessing. ·SLIDE #45: In John 12 she was a blessing to the whole house. She anointed the feet of Jesus, and the house was filled with the odor of the ointment. She was a blessing to the whole household. What does your house smell like? ·SLIDE #46: Mary was also a blessing to her friends. READ JOHN 11:45: Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, put their faith in him. Mary’s friends found faith, Martha’s didn’t. Why, because Mary’s Jesus was attractive to people. ·SLIDE #47: And she’s even a blessing to the whole world. READ MARK 14: 9: I tell you the truth, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.” Mary was a blessing. Why? Because she was talented? No. There are many talented people that God has bypassed. Because she was gifted? No. Mary was blessed and Mary was used because she learned the secret of where to live: At the feet of JC. ·SLIDE #48: In Luke 10 she found at His feet her blessing: That I may know Him. ·SLIDE #49: In John 11 she brought to His feet her burdens: And the power of His resurrection. ·SLIDE #50: In John 12 she gave at His feet her best: The fellowship of His sufferings. ●SLIDE: The feet of Jesus is a pretty good place to spend the rest of our lives.

Surviving the Waiting Room of Life– part 1-Jeremiah 29:4-14 Nine months before Covid hit our big world, my husband Gary was diagnosed with a brain tumor. While he never got Covid, the protocols that were put in place made it especially difficult for us to navigate his diagnoses. Let me give you one example: After Covid started spreading, we arrived at the oncology center for his regular cancer treatment, and they would not let me go in with Gary because of Covid fears. I said to them, “You do realize he has a brain tumor and he will not be able to answer your questions?” “Yes.” They said, “Don’t worry, we will take good care of him.” So, I went back to my car to wait for him to get his treatment. Soon a nurse was standing at my car door with Gary by her side. In the waiting room they called out Gary’s first name so he had stood up not realizing there were two cancer patients named Gary at the center that day. This is how my husband ended up getting a shot that was intended for a Leukemia patient and not his regular treatment for his brain tumor. Fortunately for us and for the cancer center the injection had no ill effect on my husband’s health. In fact he seemed to feel a little better for a while. After this incident they always let me go in for Gary’s appointments. Gary was very concerned that the nurse who made the mistake would lose her job. If you knew my husband you would know that this sounds just like Gary. As soon he could, he assured the oncologist he was not upset. How could my husband hold this benevolent attitude? Even though Gary knew he was dying he still wanted to witness to this woman and he didn’t want her to suffer because she had made a mistake. I on the other hand was very tempted to start collecting offenses. I was exhausted. How could she do this to my husband when he was so sick? This would not be the last time I felt emotions of anger, confusion, and depression. With Gary’s illness I was no longer in control and I felt like I had moved to the waiting room of life. I know I am not the only person who has struggled with feelings of helplessness. I want you to think about this for a moment. What are some circumstances that might make you feel like you have moved to the waiting room of life? Maybe it is when a loved one has lost their job, or you have a child who has been diagnosed with an incurable illness. Maybe you are going through a divorce, or you have lost your home to the bank because you can’t make your payments. In big and small ways, you feel trapped.  I would define the “waiting room of life” as any time in our lives when change has been forced on us, when we are not free to make the choices we used to make. All of us will have seasons in life when we are not in control and we can’t play God. So, how do we live out the freedom that is ours in Jesus, when we don’t understand what God is doing? There is a precious passage in the Old Testament book of Jeremiah that can give us clear insights into living the victorious life we find in Jesus. Just like us, the ancient Jews who were carried off in the Babylonian captivity found themselves forced to live with the unknown. They were probably wondering, what God was doing? I can imagine they were easily confused with their new address. Most of them were never going to see Jerusalem again. They were dazed by natural feelings of exhaustion, shame, fear, defeat, depression, disappointment, and anger. Life was not turning out as they had planned. In the past they had been a free people, but now they found themselves captives in a strange land, with a strange language, and living under a strange culture. What were they to do? A famous verse comes out of these troubling times in Israel’s history from the book of Jeremiah that I am sure many of us can quote. In Jeremiah 29:11 we read these words… 11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. NIV These words do comfort, but it would be dangerous for us to rip them out of context. For example what does the verse above Jeremiah 29:11 say? Let’s read both of these verses in context. 10 For this is what the Lord says: “When seventy years for Babylon are complete, I will attend to you and will confirm my promise concerning you to restore you to this place. 11 For I know the plans I have for you”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“plans for your well-being, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. CSB Reading these verses in context completely changes the meaning. Seventy years! Did Jeremiah really say they would be in Babylon for seventy years? These words must have felt awful. I wonder if this pronouncements reminded them of when their forefathers were afraid to enter the promise land, and then were sentenced to wander in the desert for 40 years. But, 70 years, that was almost twice the number of years Israel wandered in the desert.   So, let’s go back and read more of Jeremiah’s message in chapter 29. Before you start reading this passage please pray and ask Jesus to speak to you through his word, then read Jeremiah 29:4-14. 4 This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says to all the exiles I deported from Jerusalem to Babylon: 5 “Build houses and live in them. Plant gardens and eat their produce. 6 Find wives for yourselves, and have sons and daughters. Find wives for your sons and give your daughters to men in marriage so that they may bear sons and daughters. Multiply there; do not decrease. 7 Pursue the well-being of the city I have deported you to. Pray to the Lord on its behalf, for when it thrives, you will thrive.” 8 For this is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: “Don’t let your prophets who are among you and your diviners deceive you, and don’t listen to the dreams you elicit from them, 9 for they are prophesying falsely to you in my name. I have not sent them.” This is the Lord’s declaration. 10 For this is what the Lord says: “When seventy years for Babylon are complete, I will attend to you and will confirm my promise concerning you to restore you to this place. 11 For I know the plans I have for you”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“plans for your well-being, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. 12 You will call to me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“and I will restore your fortune sand gather you from all the nations and places where I banished you”—this is the Lord’s declaration. “I will restore you to the place from which I deported you.” CSB Notice that in verse 4, and also in verse 8, God refers to himself as the LORD of Armies in the CSB translation. Other translations will use the phrase LORD of Host. Host is an old English word which means armies, so if I were to say “she cooked for a host of people”, I would mean she cooked for an army. Why would God choose this name, the LORD of Armies, when addressing the exiles in this passage? The Israelites had just been defeated by a huge Babylonian army, so God is reminded them with this name “I am in control. It may look like Babylon is in control, but I am in control”. “I say to this army go this way and to another come here. I am the LORD who controls armies.” This is an important name to be reminded of when we are exhausted. God and God alone is in control. This name “the LORD of armies” is used 285 times in the Old Testament, 71 times in the book of Jeremiah. So, it is a very significant name. When we don’t like our circumstances it is easy to be tempted to believe that our God is not strong enough to fix them, when this is not true. Our God is mighty, he is the LORD of armies. If God is asking us to live in an uncomfortable place there is a reason. Every time we travel with God into the unknown our trips will be full of purpose. God had specific activities he wanted the Jews to accomplish while they were living in captivity, and God has specific assignments for us when we find ourselves living in a hard place. Look again at Jeremiah 29:4-6. 4 This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says to all the exiles I deported from Jerusalem to Babylon: 5 “Build houses and live in them. Plant gardens and eat their produce. 6 Find wives for yourselves, and have sons and daughters. Find wives for your sons and give your daughters to men in marriage so that they may bear sons and daughters. Multiply there; do not decrease. CSB 1) When we remember we serve the LORD of Armies, we can multiply while still living in the waiting room of life. Jeremiah 29: 4-6 Jeremiah knew it was imperative that the Jews increase and not decrease while they were living in the city of Babylon. To do that they had to put down roots. They had to build houses, plant gardens, they had to marry, they had to have children, and they had to let their children marry. It had been foretold that the Messiah was to be born in Israel, a Jewish nation. If the exiles didn’t continue to increase while they were living under these severe circumstances, there was a risk that there might not be a Jewish state for the Messiah to come to. Multiplying in harsh living conditions is only possible if we believe we serve the LORD of Armies. Like the Jews in captivity, God wants us to come out of our exile stronger than when we went in, and he wants us to come out with more influence. He wants our tribe to increase. Jeremiah did not want the Jews to decrease while they were in exile, but in our modern day circumstances our fruitfulness in exile might look differently than what Jeremiah describes. Instead of growing the number of our descendants, we might find the strength to witness more freely than we could before. Remember, there is nothing inherit in suffering that would keep us from multiplying. We may be tired, we may be exhausted, but when we suffer people are still watching us, we still have influence, and if there are people observing our actions than our tribe has the ability to increase. While Gary was sick and even after I was widowed I was amazed at the number of people who were suddenly curious as to where my strength came from, pointing them to Jesus was one of the greatest privileges of my life.  2) When we remember we serve the LORD of Armies, we can bless others while still living in the waiting room of life. Jeremiah 29:7 Jeremiah challenges the exiles to pray for the city they now live in because their welfare is tied to its welfare. This must have been very hard for them to hear. In their strength this would have been an impossible request. But, God often ask us to do things we can only do in his strength. Think about this, God was asking them to pray for the very people who had destroyed their temple, killed their loved ones, and carried them off to captivity. Look again at Jeremiah 29:7 Pursue the well-being of the city I have deported you to. Pray on its behalf, for when it thrives, you will thrive. CSB Some translations use the word prosper instead of thrive. Why would Jeremiah ask them to pray for the people who had hurt them?   These words kind of sound like Jesus’ words. Remember when Jesus taught us to pray in the Lord’s Prayer, “Forgive us our trespass as we forgive those who trespass against us.”? We learn in the Lord’s Prayer that our forgiveness from God is tied to our ability to forgive those who had trespassed against us. Jeremiah tells them, your prosperity is tied to the prosperity of the city you live in. If the city of Babylon was having a good year, so would they. Have we made this connection? Do we know that if our city prospers we will prosper? It is something we should consider. One of the best ways to bless people is to pray for them. When we find ourselves living in exile, struggling to understand why God is allowing this turmoil it might seem strange to realize he is asking us to pray for our city. Interceding for our city will transform our attitude, shift our focus from our trial, and realign us with God’s eternal perspective. God is not just concerned about today. He is working to change us, and use us to bring heaven to earth. Praying for our city is also a great way to love our neighbor as ourselves, and nothing about moving to the unknown can keep us from praying for our city.  No matter what situation we find ourselves living in, we are strengthened when we remember our good God is in control. One of his most precious names in the Bible is the LORD of Armies. In this lesson we looked at two tasks he wants us to accomplish when we have been taken into captivity, and we will look at two more in our next lesson. When we remember we serve the LORD of Armies, we can multiply and bless others while still living in the waiting room of life.     After my husband Gary had endured about nine months of chemo therapy, his brain tumor started growing again. The oncologist advised us to try a new experimental drug, but that meant going to a different medical center and seeing a different doctor. Amazingly, In the midst of this bad news my husband was still thinking about others. He wanted to do something special for the people who had been trying so hard to save his life. So, we took some cupcakes and brownies as a thank you gift to those who had been administering his chemo therapy. While experiencing nauseating symptoms, my husband was trying to make a difference. Gary knew his future in heaven was secure, he was not so sure about the nurses, radiologist, and technicians he had befriended. In the midst of his suffering, he was still trying to multiply and advance the kingdom of God in Tucson. We too can do this when we know we serve the LORD of Armies. Jeremiah believed that our prosperity is tied to the prosperity of the city where we have been sent. This world is not our home, so where ever we live on earth, we are living in the “waiting room”. For those who know Jesus, heaven is our home. I believe Jesus wants us to pray for our city, so we can take as many people as possible with us to heaven.

King David knew that he had sinned against the Lord, but he hadn’t completely dealt with the ramifications of broken lives that surrounded his choice. One aspect of repentance is to comfort and help those who have been wounded by our mistakes. King David apologized to God for his adultery with Bathsheba in Psalm 51:4: “Against You, and You alone I have sinned. I have done what is evil in Your sight.” Wait a minute! King David sinned against a whole host of people! And we never hear of an apology to any of them. Did he apologize to Bathsheba? Did he apologize to Uriah? Did he say “I’m sorry” to Joab and the brave warriors who were sent to their deaths when David “arranged” his cover-up assassination? Did he show remorse to Bathsheba’s family? Probably not, since Bathsheba’s grandfather, Ahithophel, joined bitter Absalom to overthrow David’s kingdom (2 Sam.15:31). The casualties of this once humble king multiplied overnight. David lost his son with Bathsheba (2 Sam. 12:14). David lost his firstborn, Amnon, when Amnon raped his half-sister Tamar and caught the vengeful blade of Absalom in his back (2 Samuel 13:28-29). David lost 70,000 Israelite men shortly after when the insecure king, incited by Satan, numbered his troops (1 Chron. 21:1-14). What did the “man after God’s own heart” cause? Pain. Desolation. Destruction. And a trail of broken hearts. Our sins don’t happen in a vacuum. A sea of concentric circles of hurt wound, cripple and embitter others. Not only do we need to confess to God. We need to repent and humbly, deeply apologize to others. David, too lazy to battle the Ammonites and too proud to summon Bathsheba himself, made all of his servants unwitting accomplices. The entitled King came. He saw. He took (2 Sam. 11:1-4). He made Bathsheba a one-night-stand and never looked back. Perhaps the wife of Uriah was performing the ritual of purification at sunset, as the Law prescribed (Lev.15). The men of Israel were supposed to be on the battlefield. If the mighty King David summoned her, could she say no? Highly unlikely. Could you imagine her fear at the unwanted pregnancy with a man who was not her husband? Her grief when the baby was taken from her? Nothing at the Palace goes unnoticed. Uriah had probably heard the rumors. That’s one reason theologians postulate he refused to sleep with his wife. (2 Sam. 11:5-27). Possibly Uriah was angry, even enraged at the betrayal. The King referred to his friend as Uriah the Hittite. Many scholars say that Uriah was one of the loyal comrades who fought by David’s side at Adullam, Ziklag or Hebron (2 Sam. 23:18, 24; 1 Chron. 11:26). Hittites were despised. Lower class. Why would David demean his dedicated commander by calling him a Hittite? Why would he so cruelly betray a trusted ally? General Joab suffered deeply. His missed his King battling by His side. Then David commanded him to surreptitiously kill one of his soldiers (2 Sam. 11:14-17). Shortly after, Joab begged David not to number his fighting men. Joab spent months counting fighting men all over Israel, knowing full well that all would suffer for David’s sin. David owed his leader an apology. A big one. The devastation of the three-day plague rocked the nation as 70,000 men paid the price for David’s pride (1 Chron. 21:1-5). David knew how to repent. Just read Psalm 51. He admitted he was wrong and that he had sinned (verses 1-4). He recognized that he lied (verse 6). He was specific in his confession. He claimed responsibility for his actions and did not justify or minimize the hurt they caused (verse 14). He did not make empty promises he didn’t intend to keep (verses 16-17). His apology was emotional and profound (verses 8-9). He asked God to repair and restore the damage that had been done (verse 18). Good things happen when we confess to the one we’ve hurt and secure forgiveness for what we’ve done. The one we have hurt has an opportunity to process and heal the hurt that’s occurred.We have the opportunity to reconnect and hopefully reconstruct our relationship with that person. We can expect consequences when we sin. How different would our marriages, our families and our friendships be if we could learn to humbly ask for forgiveness? Why don’t we start today?

Imagine four people on four different street corners who simultaneously witness the same automobile accident. We know that their descriptions will not match, because each one saw from a different perspective. We now know that four observers standing on the same corner will not see the same thing. The brain is not like a tape recorder. It observes the high points of what it sees and fills in what it assumes happened between the high points. The brain is quite unreliable for deciphering exactly what happened. Matt Bradley,  Genome According to the Old Testament law, two or three witnesses were needed to verify an account. Just think; God gave us four—that’s two extra Gospels for good measure! One witness is not enough to convict anyone accused of any crime or offense they may have committed. A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.”  ( Deuteronomy 19:15 ) Next, the word “Gospel” means “Good News.” It’s good news that Jesus died on the cross to forgive our sins. Yet to all who received him, to those who believe in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.  ( John 1:12 ) The Gospels Are Not … The Gospels are not biographies . For example, we know basically nothing about the first thirty years of Jesus’ life. The gospel writers give only enough information about Jesus’ background to prepare us for His death, resurrection, and ascension—and the significance of all three. The Gospels are in no way objective, and they were never intended to be . They are powerfully, persuasively written to convince people that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world ( John 20:30-31 ). The Gospels are not in chronological order . Each gospel writer organized his material under the influence of the Holy Spirit for best presenting the “good news” about Jesus. The Gospel of Matthew is a great example of the use of this literary tool. God superintended the writing of each gospel, but He didn’t dictate them . He utilized the personality and individual style of each gospel writer. The Gospels Are Divided into Two Groups Matthew, Mark, and Luke are called the “Synoptic” Gospels. “Synoptic” means “to see together.” These first three Gospels record the life of Christ from much the same perspective; they look alike and follow one another. John’s Gospel is not at all like any of the other three. How Mark Wrote the Gospel of Mark About 60 A.D., Mark decided to write down an account of Jesus’ life and ministry from his perspective. Mark used Peter’s sermon to Cornelius ( Acts 10:37-42 ) as the outline for his book: You know what has happened throughout the province of Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached—how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him. We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a cross, but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen. He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen—by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead. Papias (130 A.D.) wrote: “Mark is a copy of one of Peter’s sermons.” Irenaeus (180 A.D.): “Mark transmitted to us in writing the things that Peter preached.” In summary, Mark presents Jesus Christ as a servant: “The son of man came to serve” ( Mark 10:45 ). Perhaps that’s why Mark has no birth story. Mark has no genealogy. Who cares about the ancestry of a servant? The book just begins. Mark uses the word “immediately” often, as the servant moves rapidly from one task to the next. Mark provides little interpretation or teaching. Jesus’ actions and miracles simply speak for themselves. By the way, Mark puts his signature on the book in  Mark 14:51-52 . He camouflaged himself in the Garden in order to witness the arrest of Jesus. A Roman soldier grabbed him by his robe; but Mark wiggled out of his robe and ran home naked. Only Mark could have known this story. How Matthew Wrote the Gospel of Matthew About five years after Mark wrote his account, about, 65 A.D., Matthew used at least four sources to compose his gospel: He had a copy of the Gospel of Mark. He had in hand a copy of  “Q.” Q  source is a thought to be a collection of the sayings and teachings of Jesus which both Matthew and Luke used in writing their Gospels. Since the material in Q is identical to both Luke and Matthew, there is a very good chance that Q existed and was available to them when they wrote their Gospels. Nothing from Mark or John is found in Q. Also, we have not discovered the Q sources itself … yet. Matthew used the birth narratives from Joseph’s side of the family. Matthew alone tells us about wise men, kings, gifts, messenger angels, moving stars, King Herod, worship and killing babies—the kind of things in which kings are interested. Matthew records his own personal experiences with Jesus (most of which appear in no other gospel). Matthew was a Roman tax collector who was interested in the power and authority of Rome. He began his gospel with a lengthy genealogy that validated Jesus’ royal lineage for the Jewish leaders. Ernest Hemingway wrote that if he were composing the Gospel of Matthew, he never would’ve started with a boring genealogy. He obviously would begin with the resurrection story to get everyone’s attention. However, it’s important to note that Matthew’s genealogy includes five women, which was unheard of in those days. He included Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, “Uriah’s wife” Bathsheba, and Mary, all women who followed God in difficult circumstances. Matthew alone presented five teaching sections describing how to live in the kingdom, spread throughout his gospel. Finally, Matthew alone included the Great Commission Jesus gave to His followers in the same way that a king would give orders ( Matthew 28:19-20 ) to his subjects; Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. How Luke Wrote the Gospel of Luke About five years after Mark wrote Mark and during the time that Matthew wrote Matthew, about 65 A.D., Luke used at least four sources to compose his gospel: He had in hand a copy of the Gospel of Mark. He had access to  Q source  (see above). Luke shares the birth narratives from Mary’s side of the family. Luke alone tells us about shepherds, Mary’s visit to Elizabeth, the visit from the angel Gabriel, Mary’s positive choice to be impregnated by the Holy Spirit, the singing of shepherds and angels, and Mary’s song which she sang after visiting Elizabeth. Research from those who met Jesus personally. (Luke is the only gospel writer who never met or saw Jesus.) Luke was a Gentile physician born in Greece. He had a heart for people in need. The book has a special emphasis on women and children. He tells the birth story from Mary’s side of the family. Luke includes things that she would be interested in—like shepherds, mangers, baby clothes, singing and angels. Luke’s genealogy is from the human side of Jesus. It’s obvious that some of the material in Luke was the result of talking to others who knew Jesus personally. The Good Samaritan parable is unique to Luke, as are the stories of the lost sheep and coin. Finally, the Gospel of Luke is the first volume of a two-volume work written by Luke known as “Luke and Acts.” He addressed it to a man named “Theophilus,” which means “God Lover” ( Luke 1:1-4 ;  Acts 1:1-6 ). How John Wrote the Gospel of John By 95 A.D., most of the original followers of Jesus were dying out. One reason that John wrote his Gospel was to get a written record in place before all the eyewitnesses had gone to heaven. He also wrote to fill in some of the gaps omitted by Matthew, Mark, and Luke. John utilized essentially no material from the Synoptic Gospels, except for the miracle of the feeding of the 5,000 which is recorded in all four accounts. More than any other Gospel, John presents Jesus Christ as God. For example, John didn’t include a genealogy because God doesn’t have one. John also included long discourses and teachings by Jesus which are not included in the Synoptic Gospels. He also left his signature as “the one Jesus loved” ( John 13:22-25 ). One of the most unique, persuasive elements in the Gospel of John are the eight miraculous signs he selected to prove that Jesus Christ was God. Changing water to wine ( John 2 ) Healing the centurion’s son ( John 4 ) Healing the lame man at the pool ( John 5 ) Walking on the water ( John 6 ) Feeding the 5,000 ( John 6 ) Healing the man born blind ( John 9 ) Raising Lazarus from the dead ( John 11 ) The miraculous catch of fish ( John 21 ) What Did Jesus Look Like? Just for fun, I want to share with you the  Letter of Lentulus,  which was likely written from the Governor of the Jerusalem to the Roman Senate to give a physical description of Jesus Christ. It dates back to the second century A.D. and is obviously a forgery. Nevertheless, there’s a good chance that it contains a reflection of Jesus’ real “appearance”: There has appeared in our times, and there still lives, a man of great power (virtue), called Jesus Christ. The people call him prophet of truth; his disciples, son of God. He raises the dead and heals infirmities. He is a man of medium size; he has a venerable aspect, and his beholders can both fear and love him. His hair is the color of the ripe hazelnut, straight down to the ears, but below the ears wavy and curled, with a bluish and bright reflection, flowing over his shoulders. It is parted in two on the top of the head, after the pattern of the  Nazarenes . His brow is smooth and very cheerful with a face without wrinkle or spot, embellished by a slightly reddish complexion. His nose and mouth are faultless. His beard is abundant, of the color of his hair, not long, but divided at the chin. His aspect is simple and mature; his eyes are changeable and bright. He is terrible in his reprimands, sweet and amiable in his admonitions, cheerful without loss of gravity. He was never known to laugh, but often to weep. His stature is straight, his hands and arms beautiful to behold. His conversation is grave, infrequent, and modest. He is the most beautiful among the children of men. However, St. Augustine has the final word. He wrote in the third century: “We are utterly ignorant of the earthly appearance of Christ.” Personally, I imagine a picture of Him in my mind, but I look forward to seeing Him someday!