Christ is Greater – Introduction to Hebrews

Posted on November 2, 2018 by dkoop

We’re diving into the wonderful epistle to the Hebrews.  Husbands and wives have you ever had a disagreement over whose job it is to brew the coffee every morning?  The Bible says it’s the husband’s job. This says He-brews, not She-brews!

The book of Hebrews uses the word “greater” 6 times and “better” 11 times to describe who Jesus is and what he has done for us.

People in our world are asking life’s big questions:

  • Who has the power to help me where I need help?
  • What is God’s plan for my life?
  • Where can I fine true meaning and happiness?
  • Will there be an end to my suffering?
  • How do I know I can put my trust in God?

The book of Hebrews was written to a group of persecuted Christians, Jewish Christians.

They were asking those big questions, because life was very hard.

And so this letter was written; with a clear message for them, but also for us today:  The answer to all of our questions is JESUS!   Jesus is the main topic of Hebrews.

Because Jesus is greater than: fill in the blank.  Jesus is greater than anyone, anything, any idea, any authority, any king, any priest, any prophet, Jesus is simply greater.

And you’ll see that theme developed as we work through this book. Some of us have been attending church a long time.

We may know basic theology. We may know how to navigate a potluck or a communion.

We might even be able to pray in public.

But I’m often amazed at little Christians know about Jesus.   Hebrews will teach us a lot about Jesus.

Only God knows who wrote this book.   Some think it’s Paul, but Paul began every one of his letters by identifying himself in the salutation. Like, “Paul, and apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ to the saints in Corinth.” His usual greeting was “grace and peace be unto you.” This letter has neither his name nor his trademark greeting.

There are many theories about who could be the author of Hebrews. Some speculate Barnabas, Apollos, or even a woman named Priscilla!  I won’t go into the theories because when it comes down to it, God is the author of all of scripture. Whoever may be the writer; he or she got one thing right—that Jesus Christ is GREATER than anything or anyone else

Let’s dive into verse 1

1  In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, Hebrews 1:1 (NIV)

God Has Spoken

The author starts with a big picture statement to begin building their case.

In the past, God spoke many times.

When we read that, it immediately raises some questions.

Who Did God Speak To?

This letter is written by a Jewish author to a Jewish people.

And so they write, “our forefathers”.

And any good Jewish man or woman could have immediately pulled up some famous examples.

  • God spoke to Abram saying “Go to the land I will show you.”
  • God spoke to Jacob and said, “I’m changing your name to Israel.”
  • God spoke Moses in a burning bush.
  • God spoke to Adam and Eve, Sarah. He spoke to all kinds of people.

And when we read the Bible we might get the idea that God spoke directly to everyone, but that’s not true.

Most people heard God speak through prophets and priests.

And that’s what vs. 1 tells us. But an important question to ask is

Why Does God Speak To Us?

Lots of reasons! We could suppose God has things he wants us to know. That’s reasonable.

  • At times he spoke to his people to encourage them.
  • At other times he spoke words of correction/judgment to them.
  • He spoke giving them instructions about how to live.

It’s essential to realize that God has spoken to people then and to us today because He wants to know us and be known by us.

Our God is a personal God, that wants a personal relationship with us. That’s why he spoken to us, he not a mystery.

He’s not a concept. He isn’t distant and unavailable.

That’s why he’s spoken!

Imagine if God had remained silent?

  • We wouldn’t know who we are.
  • We wouldn’t know who God is and what he thinks.
  • We would know right from wrong.
  • We wouldn’t have the Scripture.
  • We wouldn’t know how to pray.
  • We wouldn’t exist because God spoke the world into existence.
  • There wouldn’t be hope for hurting people.
  • There wouldn’t be a place to take our doubts and fears.
  • There would be no expectation of anything greater to come if God had not spoken.
  • We’d be empty, alone, afraid, and without faith.

And there are many who live like that right now.

They need to know that God has spoken, and hear what he has to say!

If God spoke many times and in many ways to the Old Testament people.

What did he say?

How could we summarize all that was said in the OId Testament?

  • Every Old Testament book was pointing to something that was coming.
  • Every prophet had something to say about what God was doing.
  • Every the Old Testament book anticipated some new thing that God was preparing.

The prophet Jeremiah was told of a new Covenant nad a new day promised by God.

Verse 2 tell us what you’ve probably already guessed.

2  but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son… Hebrews 1:2

When we hear Last Days we may start thinking about end times.

But Last Days in our Bibles simply refers to the time from Christ’s ascension to his return.

We are in the last days, or final days. We have been in the last days since Christ ascended into heaven.

The Old Testament people were living in the days of God’s promises…when he was preparing people for something new.

The writer of Hebrews says the waiting is over! God has spoken again, to us, with something new to say.

What Has God Spoken To Us?

The final word: Jesus.

Throughout history God’s main communication method was through the Old Testament prophets. But once Jesus came to planet earth God said, “This is my final way to talk to you, through my Son, Jesus.”

Since Jesus, there have been others who have claimed they got the final message. Six hundred years after Jesus was born in Bethlehem, an Arabian man named Muhammad claimed to have received a final message from God. He wrote it down in the Qur’an. He claimed his revelation superseded that of Isa, or Jesus, who was considered a great prophet.

In 1830, Joseph Smith claimed he received a more final revelation from God, a new gospel.  It is called the Book of Mormon. But with apologies to our friends the Muslims and the Mormons, Jesus is the final Word from God.

God is still giving fresh new illumination to the study of His Word, but it’s important to understand that God isn’t giving in any new revelation of His Word. So when we hear anyone saying “God told me something” we should be very skeptical unless what they say completely agrees with scripture.

The Old Testament is about promises and the New Testament is the fulfillment of those promises.

In the Old Testament God spoke many times in many ways, in the New Testament God has spoken to us by His Son. One message through one messenger….Jesus Christ.

We’re going to see a bunch of this kind of “then and now” comparisons in the book of Hebrews.

And what we’ll discover is that everything God promised in the Old Testament was fulfilled in persona and work of Jesus Christ!

That means that Jesus is:  a big deal.

In these last days, God has given us the last word, and it’s a word about his Son, Jesus.

In the next post we will see 7 Facts about Jesus.

Darrell

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The Power of Love

Posted on October 17, 2018 by dkoop

Do you remember the 80’s song, “The Power of Love” by Huey Lewis?  Here’s a few of the lyrics:

The power of love is a curious thing
Make a one man weep, make another man sing
Change a heart to a little white dove
More than a feeling, that’s the power of love

Love is powerful.

The Bible has a lot to say about love. In fact, from beginning to end that is its theme – God’s love for each of us, & our love for Him, which results in our loving one another. God has a lot to say about love.

But so does the world. The problem is that the world doesn’t say the same thing that the Bible says. And because we hear the world say so much about love, we tend to get the two mixed up.

In a “Dear Abby” column in the news-papers, a man wrote: “Dear Abby, I am in love & I am having affairs with two different women other than my wife. I love my wife, but I love these other women too. Please tell me what to do, but don’t give me any of that ‘morality’ stuff.” Signed: “Too much love for only one.”

I think Abby’s answer was “classic.” She wrote: “Dear ‘Too much love for only one.’ The only difference between humans & animals is morality. So you need to write to a veterinarian.”

I think Abby got her point across. We have been made in the image of God, & God expects better of us than to fashion our lives according to the instincts of a beastly nature.

Sometimes our children understand love better than we do.

Some children were asked what love is. Their answers were interesting:

One said, “Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you’ve left him alone all day.”

Another said, “Love is when my mommy makes a cup of coffee for my daddy & takes a little sip before she gives it to him to make sure it tastes okay.”

One boy said, “When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You just know that your name is safe in their mouth.”

Another thoughtfully responded, “You really shouldn’t say, ‘I love you’ unless you mean it. But if you mean it you should say it a lot, because people forget.”

And finally, 7 year old Bobby said, “Love is what’s in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents & listen.”

So let’s consider once again what the Bible has to say about some of the attributes of Christian love.

As we continue our study of Paul’s first letter to the church in Corinth we come to the 13th chapter, verses that are the best known when it comes to describing the power of love.

This is a very popular chapter.  Prime Minister Tony Blair read it at the funeral for Princess Diana.  It’s a passage that has become a staple at weddings. I’ve heard it read at many weddings.  Most people should be very familiar with these words.

1  If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2  If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3  If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

Why is Love Powerful?

Love is the greatest gift.   

To give us a little context: I Corinthians Chapter 12 focuses on spiritual gifts.  In the passage above, I underlined the spiritual gifts mentioned. Chapter 14 goes into some of the problems the Corinthians have with their gifts. Chapter 13 is sandwiched in between—and Paul was inspired to do it this way to underscore the truth that if we get love wrong—we get spiritual gifts wrong. In fact, Paul says that without Godly love—self-sacrificing love—all other things—including wonderful things like helping the poor—are nothing. Teaching as well-spoken as that of Apollos is just noise unless every word is prompted by love. Even faith and hope is empty without love. I’m reminded of something Richard McBrien wrote: “Love is the soul of Christian existence; it is the heart of every other Christian virtue.  For example, justice without love is legalism; faith without love is ideology; hope without love is self-centeredness; forgiveness without love is self-abasement—fortitude without love is recklessness; generosity without love is extravagance; care without love is mere duty; fidelity without love is servitude. Every virtue is an expression of love. No virtue is really a virtue unless it is permeated, or informed, by love.”

Like the Corinthians we need this power in our lives in order for us to be effective as Christians—and as a church. But to be more specific, we don’t need power, at least power as we define it and I say that because we usually equate power with control.  But for the Christian true power is not being in control, but rather under the control of a power much greater than us—namely, God.

To quote another part of that Huey Lewis song, “With a little help from above, you feel the power of love.” And Lewis is right because that’s the way it works. We experience the true power of love when we put God in control of our lives. We feel the power of love when Christ becomes greater and we become less. It is impossible for you and me to love in the ways described in this love chapter—without Jesus in us—empowering us to do so.

In the Greek language there are four kinds of love. There’s phileo — the love between brothers or friends.  There’s storge – the love of a family or a community. There’s eros — a physical love.  And finally there’s agape — a self-sacrificing kind of love.  The first three are common in this world—but the last is rare. Agape is the love used in this passage. It’s a no strings type of love.  It’s a choice.  Agape is a love that works for the good of the one loved even if it costs the love-er everything.

What does love look like?

4  Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
5  It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
6  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
7  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

I John 4: 16 says, “God is love.”   Sometimes I put God where it says, love.  God is patient, God is kind.

Love Overcomes Evil

One of my favorite illustrations of the nature of love is to think about the fake plastic food that we find in displays at the store. Sometimes they are very real looking. I remember picking up a block of cheese, only to discover it was not real cheese. It was rubber! Let’s say we look at a barbecue grill and there is a steak on it.  We can’t tell whether it is real or not. One way to test it is to light up the grill and start grilling the steak. If it were a real steak, what would happen? It would first start to sizzle. It would let off a pleasing aroma. Juices would start running off the steak as it begins to turn into a golden brown color. Our stomach would start growling as we anticipate a good steak. Now, let’s say it is a plastic steak. What would happen then? It sure wouldn’t sizzle, but would start to melt. Instead of a pleasing aroma, it would let off toxic fumes. Instead of your stomach growling, we would probably get sick to our stomachs at the fumes. Instead of turning brown, the steak would melt and turn into an ugly, sticking, useless black lump of burnt plastic.

That is the different between “real” love, the love of God, and other kinds of love. When the heat gets turned up, when things get ugly, when it gets hard, self-defined plastic love gets ugly. It can even make you sick.

As Christians, we have a high standard of what love is.  Love is patient.  How do we know if we have patience unless it is tested?   We see what’s inside of us when heat is turned up! Then we see what is there and it will cause us to pray more, depend on Christ more.

For the last aspect of love, Let me close with this story that illustrates it:

Back in 1994 in Oceanside, CA doctors discovered a lymphoma in 5th grader Ian O’Gorman’s small intestine. They operated and removed a malignant tumor and then began an 8 week chemotherapy treatment.

Back in his 5th grade class, 10-year-old Kyle Hanslik realized that Ian would lose all of his hair. “The last thing he would want is to not fit in, to be made fun of” Kyle said, and he began to talk to the other boys in the class. Then (with their parents permission) all 13 boys in the class went down to the barbershop and had their heads shaved so their sick friend wouldn’t feel out of place.

The boys’ teacher, Jim Alter, was so inspired that he, too, shaved his head.

When they visited young Ian in the hospital, he knew they cared for him.

Those boys and their teacher had faith in the doctors.

They hoped for their friend’s recovery.

But what made the real difference for little Ian was that they loved him so much they were willing to do something to show him how much they cared.

13  And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Love is lasting.

In the song, “The power of Love” Huey Lewis writes, “love might just save your life.”  Our response to the love of God in sending Jesus WILL save our life. Christ has the power to forgive all our sins, to take away the sting of death. Christ has the power to give our life abundance and purpose.  Will you join me in responding to the love of Jesus today?  I need Jesus power to love my wife, children and people in my life.  How about you?

Darrell

 

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You are Gifted – I Corinthians 12

Posted on October 10, 2018 by dkoop

Have you heard of the term “child prodigies?” Although educators often label them as “gifted and talented,” they are young people blessed with unbelievable intelligence, or amazing artistic talents, or seemingly unnatural physical abilities.  Examples of child prodigies would include Mozart who learned to play the piano at the age of four. He composed his first pieces of music at five and at age eight, he wrote his first symphony. Another example would be Pablo Picasso who had already become an accomplished and renowned painter in his teenage years. In more recent history many of you have probably seen the video of Tiger Woods as a two-year-old on the Tonight Show hitting golf balls. A few years ago a young man named Michael Kearney received national attention when he earned a $1,000,000 on the television game show “Who Wants to be a Millionaire?” He too was a “child prodigy.” Michael finished high school at age 6 and earned his first college degree at age 10. He began teaching college by the age of 17. He spoke his first words when he was four months old. At the age of six months, he said to his pediatrician, “I have a left ear infection.” He had learned to read at the age of ten months. When Michael was four, he was given diagnostic tests for the Johns Hopkins precocious math program and achieved a perfect score.

Although their stories astound us, such gifted individuals are very rare. The majority of us are astoundingly average, but I can say with confidence that each of you that know Christ is gifted! Before you deny being gifted remember that I am not the one saying you are gifted. God says it.  Listen to God’s description of how you are gifted in Apostle Paul’s inspired words from 1 Corinthians 12,

1  Now about spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant. …3  Therefore I tell you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.
4  There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit.
5  There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord.
6  There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men.
7  Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 1 Corinthians 12:1-7 (NIV)

  1. The Holy Spirit has given you the gift of faith
  2. The Holy Spirit has given you gifts for serving others

Four times in this letter that we call “1 Corinthians” the Apostle Paul used a short phrase like “now about” to transition to a new thought or topic. Remember that Paul addressed a long list of spiritual and practical concerns connected to the Christian church in Corinth. In the first eleven chapters he wrote about divisions in the church, lawsuits between Christians, sexual immorality, marriage, worship, and the Lord’s Supper. Then beginning in Chapter 12 and continuing through Chapter 14 Paul addressed the issue of spiritual gifts among Christians.

In a style that we have learned to expect from the Apostle Paul he began by simply saying, “Now about spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant.” With those words Paul was beginning a lesson on gifts given to Christians by the Holy Spirit. As he stated he was setting out to lead the Corinthians out of their ignorance into a better understanding of spiritual gifts. But this would be more than a doctrinal lesson for the Corinthians. They would learn that they were gifted people. The Holy Spirit had given them the gift of faith and the Holy Spirit had given them gifts for serving others. May we too be led to understand that those truths apply to us as well. The Lord of the Church is still speaking through these inspired words saying to each of us, “You are gifted! You too have been given the gift of faith. And you too have been given gifts to serve others.”

Perhaps I am stating the obvious when I say that any intellectual, artistic, musical, or athletic abilities that a child has are gifts. No child prodigy decided to be born a genius, an artist, or an athletic superstar. Yes, it is true that people like Mozart, Picaso, and Tiger Woods had parents that helped them develop their gifts but clearly they were gifted at birth with abilities above and beyond those of the average person.

In a similar way none of us can take credit for being gifted in the area of spiritual things. It was the Holy Spirit that first of all gave us the gift of faith in Christ. And it is also the Holy Spirit that has given each of us gifts to use for serving others.

After making the point that the Corinthian Christians were gifted because the Holy Spirit had given them the gift of faith Paul went on to remind them that they also had been given gifts for serving others. “Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.” There wasn’t a single believer at the Church in Corinth that could say he or she had no spiritual gift to use in service to God and others. Each of them had at least one gift to be used for serving others for the “common good” of all.

So are things any different for us? No. The same truth applies to each and every one of us. You and I are gifted. The Holy Spirit has given us at least one gift to use in service to others.

So what do these gifts look like for us today? “Serving” is such a broad category that it could include a nearly endless list of tasks. Helping in any ministry, mission trip, or special event the church is doing.  We have many things that need to be done each week to hold services such as cleaning, landscaping, loading message and song slides, video, lights, sound, kids classes, youth group, Connect Groups, and the list could go on and on. Obviously not everyone is able to teach a kids class, youth lesson or coordinate a Connect Group but if you are asked consider giving it a try. Maybe the Lord has given you the gift of encouragement. You are able to show genuine concern for others and lift their spirits with words of encouragement. As you look at your financial blessings perhaps the Holy Spirit has given you the gift of contributing to the needs of others.  Always remember that you have at least one spiritual gift to use for others. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you find it and motivate you to use it.

Research on child prodigies or gifted and talented children you shows one common problem that most of them experience. Gifted children are often bored in school or with life in general. Very often they are never challenged to use their gifts and so they waste them. I believe the same thing happens to many Christians. Their gifts go unused because they are never challenged or asked to put their gifts to use. I am asking every one of you right now to look honestly at yourself, find your spiritual gift or gifts, and put it or them to use in service to others.

“You are gifted!” Did you ever think someone would say that about you? Perhaps your reactions would be, “Who, me, gifted? I don’t think so!” Well, God says it about you. He says you are gifted. You may not be able to play music like Mozart, paint like Picasso, or use a golf club like Tiger Woods. But, nonetheless, you are gifted. The Holy Spirit has given you the gift of faith. And since he has given you the gift of faith you can be certain the Holy Spirit has also given you gifts for serving others. As gifted people may we now use our gifts for Christ and His body,

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Want to Discover Your Spiritual Gifts? You Can Here.

Posted on October 6, 2018 by dkoop

This week we are looking at the topic of Serving and Spiritual Gifts.  Do you know your spiritual gifts?  Would you like too?  Take the survey from the web link below and you will!

http://www.churchgrowth.org/cgi-cg/gifts.cgi?intro=1

The following Spiritual Gifts Survey is a discovery tool that provides you with a personalized analysis. Not a test, but a simple questionnaire giving you a profile of your God given spiritual gifts.

Discovering and exercising your God-given spiritual gifts allows you to experience maximum fulfillment with minimum frustration in your Christian life and ministry.

INSTRUCTIONS

This questionnaire will help you identify your God-given spiritual gifts. While there are many spiritual gifts, this evaluation covers the nine task-oriented gifts used in daily life to do the work of Christian ministry. Every Christ Follower has a dominant gift and many possess more than one. Through this analysis, you will find out in which areas you are “less” gifted and will also discover your dominant task-oriented gift. You can then begin to concentrate on further developing your dominant gift as you exercise it in daily life and in your local church ministry.

The following 108 questions or statements deal with your feelings and desires, so be sure to let your responses reflect your own opinions of yourself. As you read each question or statement, click the button in front of the most accurate answer: Almost Always (if the statement fits you 70% to 100% of the time), Occasionally (if the statement fits you 40% to 70% of the time), or Not Very Often (if the statement fits you less than 40% of the time). Remember, this is a self-evaluation; there are no “right” or “wrong” answers.

When you have completed the questionnaire, you will be able to view a bar graph of your scores for each gift, a description of your dominant gift, and several pages of personal analysis. You will also have the opportunity to print out the results.

Click Here to Begin:  http://www.churchgrowth.org/cgi-cg/gifts.cgi?intro=1

Thanks so much for your interest in Spiritual Gifts

I pray you are encouraged and empowered as you discover how the Holy Spirit has gifted you for ministry.   Let me know if you have any questions.  I am saying a prayer for you right now.

Darrell

 

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