In College, I wrote a group paper titled Modern Martyrdom:

Here is a quote from a source we used:

“The grounds for hostility to the Christians were not always the same, and often opposition and persecution were localized. The loyalty of Christians to “Jesus as Lord,” however, was irreconcilable with the worship of the Roman emperor as “Lord,” and those emperors, such as Trajan and Marcus Aurelius, who were the most deeply committed to unity and reform were also the ones who recognized the Christians as a threat to those goals and who therefore undertook to eliminate the threat. As in the history of other religions, especially Islam, opposition produced the exact contrary of its intended purpose, and, in the epigram of the North African church father Tertullian, the “blood of the martyrs” became the “seed of the church.”

Is it over? Is persecution over?

The birth of a healthy baby girl is usually a joyous occasion. But when Meriam Ibrahim gave birth to her daughter, Maya, on Tuesday, May 27, it triggered a two-year countdown to her execution.

On May 15, 2014, the 27-year-old Sudanese doctor was sentenced to death for apostasy by a Sudanese court. In addition, she was to endure 100 lashes for the crime of committing adultery—with her Christian husband. The judge ruled that the lashing would be carried out after she had recovered from delivering her baby and that her death by hanging would occur when her baby reached age two so she would have time to nurse the infant.

During her trial, the judge asked the young woman three times to recant her Christian faith, but she refused each time.[1] [I think she was released after some time]

That was recent. I read that over 100 million people are persecuted right now. A few years ago, I read that the Bible is illegal in 52 countries.

But Christianity is growing in these persecuted countries. Figure that out.

Jesus said in:

Matthew 5:10–12 (ESV)

¹⁰ “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

¹¹ “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. ¹² Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Paul the Apostle wrote in:

2 Timothy 3:12 (ESV)

¹² Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted…

So, today, we come to a passage where the Jerusalem church is persecuted. We will look at that passage. I wish to teach that passage, and I also want to talk about persecution today. Goals today:

1. Learn about Acts 12:1-5
2. Learn about persecution in the world
3. Be ready for your Christian faith to be challenged, maybe even violently, especially if you are young.

Acts 12:1–5 (ESV)

About that time Herod the king laid violent hands on some who belonged to the church. ² He killed James the brother of John with the sword, ³ and when he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. This was during the days of Unleavened Bread. ⁴ And when he had seized him, he put him in prison, delivering him over to four squads of soldiers to guard him, intending after the Passover to bring him out to the people. ⁵ So Peter was kept in prison, but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church.

1. Let’s look at the passage: the apostles are persecuted.
   1. We have seen this before, but not so brutally.
   2. Now, it says, “about that time…”
   3. Take note: We are going back a few years before some of the previous events. This Herod—he died in A.D. 44. We know this.
   4. Things were going on, and it was political. So, what is going on? He wants to win points with his constituents and harm the apostles.
   5. Verse 2: He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword.
   6. There is a church history legend that James was witnessing until his death.
   7. He was trying to convert the person who was to behead him until his death. However, we do not know if some of those stories are factual. I like to believe they are true.
   8. Now, get this: James is killed, and that pleased the Jews. Can you believe it? It made the Jews feel good that someone was dead. So, Herod brings Peter in. Peter is locked up with 16 guards. Can you believe it? 16 guards.
   9. Peter, he is a dangerous man, right?
   10. We will find out that 16 guards were not enough. Yes, they will have one job, just one job!
   11. BUT— verse 5, there was a church praying, and they were praying for him fervently or earnestly. We’ll come back to that. But let me make a note right now. The American Church cannot handle persecution. Correction: Some American churches cannot handle persecution without changing to put the Word of God and the Gospel at the forefront. Additionally, We need holistic, communal prayer. However, we all have some waking up to do.
   12. Before we move on, James died. He died. Remember that death is not the end as a follower of Christ. Death is not the end. We have an eternal hope. In 1 Cor. 15:50, Paul writes: Where O death is the sting? As we talk about persecution, remember that James was saved. We have eternal life and eternal hope.
2.  Now, let’s talk about persecution.
   1. I know that this is a very depressing subject for some. For some, it is not for some of you. You are like, “Yes, a challenge. I’ll go, send me…”
   2. Sometimes, we often send people on a mission with the wrong expectations.
   3. Jesus did not do this. But we often glance over these verses, at least in America. We have John 15:20, in which Jesus said we will be persecuted. If they persecuted Him, they would persecute us. Now, we can look at this passage in three ways.
      1. We could say. Well, maybe not always, or perhaps we are verbally attacked or something like that. This may be true because I bet most of us have not been actually persecuted.
      2. Or, we may not be persecuted because we are not doing our job as witnesses.
         1. If I am being the witness of Jesus Christ, then the devil will kick back with persecution.
         2. Ephesians 6:12 says there is a real spiritual battle.
      3. There is a third option: maybe you are not persecuted because you do not know Jesus.
   4. What about hope for persecution? I will talk about some things that may give hope in a minute. But let me give a few other thoughts:
      1. Let me say that I have read books about Christians persecuted through the ages, and their testimonies seem to talk of Spirit-filled peace with them, though not always.
      2. Rev. 6:9-11: these are saints who died as martyrs:

Revelation 6:9–11 (ESV)

⁹ When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. ¹⁰ They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” ¹¹ Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been.

• Pray to be ready-
  • Several years ago, a church member asked me about being ready for persecution; here are some personal applications that I pray for myself and my children:
    1. I will be a faithful witness in persecution as these disciples/apostles were.
    2. I must be a man of prayer, seeking the Lord, and in relationship with Him so that I am ready to be a witness in persecution. In verse 5, we see the church praying for him.
    3. I must be in the Word, always being ready to give an answer with gentleness and respect (1 Peter 3:15).
    4. I will know that persecution will come. Jesus said that we will be persecuted: Matthew 5:10-12; John 15:20: Jesus says that they persecuted me, they will persecute you.
    5. I will remember those in Acts 5:41 who rejoiced that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for Christ’s name.
    6. I will remember Paul’s words in 2 Timothy 3:12, that all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.
    7. I will remember Jesus’ words, not to worry about what to say (Matthew 10:19).
    8. I will pray for my brothers and sisters in need, as we see in verse 5, earnest prayer.

Close:

Jim Elliot wrote, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” We must be prepared to do this.

Jim Elliot wrote that and then he was martyred for Christ.

I am not going to ask you about commitment; that is implied.

I am going to ask you about prayer. Pray for the persecuted church.

Pray for the church in America, yourself, your children, and this church that we can be strong witnesses.

Others, do you know Jesus? Why would people go through this for Jesus?

For life everlasting, that is the answer. We always try to live longer, but we never will, not on our own.

God created us to be with him. (Genesis 1-2)

Our sin separated us from God. (Genesis 3)

Sins cannot be removed by good deeds (Gen 4-Mal 4)

Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again. (Matthew – Luke)

Everyone who trusts in him alone has eternal life. (John – Jude)

Life that’s eternal means we will be with Jesus forever. (Revelation 22:5)

Pray

[1] CNN and other articles on May, 16, 2014

https://www.cnn.com/2014/05/15/world/africa/sudan-christian-woman-apostasy/index.html

The Offering for Jerusalem (Acts 11:27–30)

Prepared and preached by Pastor Steve Rhodes for and at Bethel Friends Church in Poland, OH on Sunday, January 19, 2025

Think about God’s love:

Tim Keller shares:

But if you want to know that infinitely high and transcendent God loves you, and you can enter into an intimate, personal love relationship with him, the only way to find that out is in the Scripture. Why? Some people say, “What do you mean, only in the Scripture? That doesn’t really make sense.”

Sure, you don’t need to believe God is love by reading the Scripture. In fact, lots and lots of people in New York over the years have told me, “I don’t believe in the Bible, because I believe in a God of love.” They say, “When I read the Bible I see this God of judgment, and he’s got his laws and all that sort of thing, but I don’t believe in a God of judgment. I believe in a God of love. That’s why I don’t believe the Bible.” Here’s what I always do. This is very Psalm 19-ish to do.

I say, “Oh, really? Okay, that’s interesting you believe God is a God of love. Where did that idea come from? Where did you get the idea that if there is a God, he must be a God of love? Did you look at nature, with all of its hurricanes, and volcanoes, and all of its forest fires, and all of its avalanches, and all of its tsunamis, and its tornadoes? Did you look at nature? Did you look at natural selection? Did you look at how nature really works? Did you see the animals in a pack, and then one of them is diseased, and they all turn and eat it?” Bye, Mom. You know, you’re holding the pack back.

Annie Dillard, who wrote Pilgrim at Tinker Creek and won a Pulitzer Prize for it, went out into the woods by a creek in Virginia years ago to observe nature and thought it was going to fill her soul with a sense of love. It didn’t, because she saw that nature is red in tooth and claw! She saw it’s incredibly violent!^[1]

Think about that. People always think we can find ideas of love from nature, but I like how Tim Keller points out that you cannot. Christianity teaches a God of love. Christianity teaches that Christians are to love others. Someone once said, I think it was Fred Rogers, that whenever there is a tragedy, say a hurricane, look for the workers.

In this text, prophets come, and the church helps with a famine.

Let’s read the passage from Acts 11:27-30, and I want you to see that the church at Antioch agrees to help the church in Judea.

Acts 11:27–30 (ESV)

²⁷ Now in these days prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. ²⁸ And one of them named Agabus stood up and foretold by the Spirit that there would be a great famine over all the world (this took place in the days of Claudius). ²⁹ So the disciples determined, every one according to his ability, to send relief to the brothers living in Judea. ³⁰ And they did so, sending it to the elders by the hand of Barnabas and Saul.

1. As we look at this passage notice that God sends prophets to tell us of a need. This is in verse 27.
   • Notice that God had already prepared the foundation for the prophets. So, in the previous few verses, God had opened up the Gospel to the Gentiles, and here in this passage, Antioch, this major city, had become this operation center for many to receive Christ. Now Barnabas had come and encouraged people to stay true to the Lord. That was verse 23. Barnabas is an encourager.
   • Then we come to verses 25 and 26, and Barnabas had gone to get Paul, and they teach the people for a whole year and are first called Christians in Antioch.
   • Why does that matter? Why do I belabor that? Why do I go back to the context? To be Christians means that they identify with Christ.
   • Now, we come to verse 27, and the Bible says, “About that time…” or in the N.I.V., it says, “During this time…” or the ESV says, “Now in these days…” It was while God was laying the foundation of the discipleship that God sent prophets.
   • I have a strong application that just hit me square in the jaw. Am I ready to hear from God today? Are you prepared to hear from God today? Suppose a prophet came here like this; what would I do? How would I react? What would I say? How would I respond?
   • They responded positively because they were being taught the Word of God.
   • They responded positively because they were being a disciple.
   • They responded positively because they were following Christ.
   • They responded positively because Barnabas encouraged them to stay true to the Lord.
   • They responded positively because they were Christ-ians—they identified with Christ.
   • Do I identify with Christ?
   • Do you identify with Christ?
   • Are you ready to hear from a prophet?
   • They were ready, and then the prophets came during this time.
   • So, one of them was Agabus, and verse 28 says that he stood up and spoke.
   • Know that the Bible says that he spoke “Through the Spirit.” He did not just talk in any way but “through the Spirit.” He has the gift of prophecy from the Holy Spirit.
   • He told of a severe famine. This famine was to spread over the entire Roman world.
   • This is likely hyperbole. However, you should also note that there is a parenthesis. Luke tells us that this happened under Claudius’s reign. We know that there were several famines under him.
2. In verses 29-30, the church responds.
3. 1. We see that the church responds.
   2. They give.
   3. I notice here that Paul and Barnabas are willing to serve. They could have said, “No, no, no, choose someone else; I am not going on a mission trip to Jerusalem.” But they did not.
   4. I notice here that Paul and Barnabas are also trustworthy.
   5. I pray that I am trustworthy as well.
   6. I pray that I am willing to serve.

Close:

According to People magazine, two customers walked into a Lincoln, Neb., Cracker Barrel and asked to be seated with the “grumpiest” server they had. The restaurant host replied that there were no grumpy servers in that restaurant, but they did have the “happiest” server: 18-year-old Abigail Sailors.

After seating, the two patrons listened to Sailors’ life story, which included a mother incapacitated by a car crash, a father incarcerated for abuse, and a horrible foster care experience for herself and her four siblings. She finally found a forever home with John and Susi Sailors about five years ago. Sailors currently attends North Dakota’s Trinity Bible College where she majors in psychology and youth ministry and participates in basketball. But she admitted to her guests that she wasn’t sure how she would afford the next semester, since she was paying her own way.

“I’m just thankful,” she told the Lincoln Journal-Star. “Everything we went through, my attitude is: God blessed me with a lot of things. I’m doing good. That’s all that matters to me.”

One of the customers—a Trinity alumni, as it turns out—then proceeded to write a check to Sailors for $5,000 for tuition and another $1,000 for books and supplies, then left her a $100 tip. Sailors told the local media she couldn’t believe it and tried to thank them, but they both replied, “Thank God.”

Maybe you cannot serve in that way, but how can you serve?

First, do you know Jesus?

God created us to be with him. (Genesis 1-2)

Our sin separated us from God. (Genesis 3)

Sins cannot be removed by good deeds (Gen 4-Mal 4)

Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again. (Matthew – Luke)

Everyone who trusts in him alone has eternal life. (John – Jude)

Life that’s eternal means we will be with Jesus forever. (Revelation 22:5)

Pray

^[1] Timothy J. Keller, The Timothy Keller Sermon Archive (New York City: Redeemer Presbyterian Church, 2013).

The Antioch Church Witnesses to Gentiles (Acts 11:19–26)

Prepared and preached by Pastor Steve Rhodes for and at Bethel Friends Church in Poland, OH on Sunday, January 12, 2025

Think back for a minute to your days in school. What happens when there is a school bully? Okay, so there is a school bully, and there might be a few options; one option is that everyone will fight him and take him down. Everyone knows that he is the bully, so you all agree that at such and such a day, it is time to say no more, and everyone can take him out. But you know what too often might happen? No one will make the first move, right?

I love history. I love reading historical literature. One reason Rome could win so many battles was not because their army was better trained but because they could toughen things out longer. In ancient warfare, the battles were fought in hand-to-hand combat, so the battles were fought until one army fled. The Roman army was tougher. Okay, what am I getting at, you ask? Am I looking for another excuse to talk about William Wallace? No. I want to talk about Christian persecution.

Here we are in Acts 11:19-26, and it seems to be one of Luke’s common summary passages. He is referring to what has happened since Stephen’s stoning. Now, in the last chapter and the beginning of this chapter, God has opened Peter and some of the Jews in Jerusalem up to Gentiles.

Let’s read Acts 11:19-26.

My theme: the Antioch church witnesses to the Gentiles.

The application: Verses 23 and 24, stay True to the Lord, and may it be said of us like it was of Barnabas.

Turn in your Bibles to Acts 11:19-26:

Acts 11:19–26 (ESV)

¹⁹ Now those who were scattered because of the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except Jews. ²⁰ But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who on coming to Antioch spoke to the Hellenists also, preaching the Lord Jesus. ²¹ And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord. ²² The report of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. ²³ When he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose, ²⁴ for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were added to the Lord. ²⁵ So Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, ²⁶ and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught a great many people. And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians.

1. The church begins to grow in the city of Antioch (Acts 11:19-21).
   1. Those who were scattered because of the persecution. Now, you must wonder, “What persecution is he writing about?” We must look back to Stephen’s stoning, which was in Acts 8:1 and 4, and that was when Saul was breathing murderous threats upon the church. At that time, there were wolves after the church. Everyone fled, everyone fled, except… except who?
   2. I heard about this excellent illustration recently. Someone comes to the house with a gun, so everyone will run except who? The kids may flee, the neighbors or friends can flee, but the dad will not flee. The dad is there to protect his children and his wife.
   3. In this case, this was true. The early believers all flee, except the apostles. The apostles stay in Jerusalem and protect the church.
   4. Wolves were on the attack, but they knew the Lord was in control.
   5. In verse 19, they made it through different cities and then to Antioch. Antioch was a very large city. Antioch was the third largest urban city of antiquity behind Rome and Alexandria. Interesting that this is where God will launch the mission to the Gentiles. That is so awesome!
   6. But at this point, the mission is only to Jews.
   7. Then there were some, we find in verse 20, who also started preaching to Gentiles: Praise God! Galatians 3:28!
   8. A large number who believed turned to the Lord. These people trusted the message of Jesus and repented, which is what it means to turn their lives over to Jesus.
2. Barnabas comes to Antioch to encourage the believers (Acts 11:22-26).
   1. Once again, in verse 22, we see that the Jerusalem church is still the home base. They hear something is going on, so they send Barnabas.
   2. In verse 23, what does he do? He rejoices.
   3. What do you do when you hear God does something amazing?
   4. What do I do when I hear God does something amazing?
   5. Do we rejoice?
   6. We become spiritual introverts instead of extroverts; we must outspokenly praise God!
   7. He encouraged them: this means that he brought them aid. He encouraged them to remain true to the Lord.
   8. That is an application for all of us. Remain True to the Lord— don’t fall away—stay true.
   9. Barnabas saw all these new believers.
   10. He is saying, “Remain faithful.”
   11. Look at the description of Barnabas in verse 24:
       1. He was a good man (that is only given by Luke about Joseph of Arimathea in Luke 23:50);
       2. Full of the Holy Spirit;
       3. Full of faith.

1. People were saved

That is something to praise God about.

Barnabas needed help. What did he do?

He went for Saul, and he searched for him. Now, it has been about nine years since Saul has become a believer, and verse 25 describes it as though it was hard to find him, but Barnabas finds him. Saul and Barnabas teach the people for a year. They taught great numbers. The disciples were first called Christians at Antioch.

Saul may have been an outcast from his family by now for his Christianity. Also, Luke is setting this up for Acts 13 and Saul and Barnabas’s first missionary journey.

Notice something about the word “Christians”:

“It contains Jewish thought as the equivalent of the Messiah, the Anointed. (ii) It shows the Greek language in the substantive—’Christ.’ (iii) It also includes the Latin language in the adjectival ending ‘ians’ (Latin, iani). This universality is a reminder of the language of the title on the Cross.”

Something else, the “ians” means that we identify with Christ.

Close:

Swindoll shares:

Do you recall what David did after he killed Goliath? God had already appointed the young shepherd as the next king of Israel. Most young conquerors would have located the nearest Macy’s and tried on crowns. Not David. He went right back to the Judean hills to keep his father’s sheep—a true shepherd with a servant’s heart.

Paul kept a similar vigil in Tarsus. He waited patiently until Barnabas tapped him on the shoulder. Only then did he step into that critical, highly visible role of leadership. I find nothing more attractive in a gifted and competent leader than authentic humility. Paul’s giftedness was framed in the crucible of solitude where he had been honed and retooled by the living Christ.

The evangelist Dwight L. Moody, although unschooled, was a gifted man of God preaching in Birmingham, England, far back in 1875. A noted congregational minister and well-respected theologian, Dr. R. W. Dale, cooperated in that enormously successful campaign. After watching and listening to Moody preach and witnessing the incredible results of the ministry of that simple man, Dr. Dale wrote in his denominational magazine, “I told Mr. Moody that the work was most plainly of God, for I could see no real relation between him and what he had done. Moody laughed cheerily and said, ‘I should be very sorry if it were otherwise.'” No defensiveness, no feeling of being put upon, no embarrassing uneasiness. Moody was the most surprised of anyone that God chose to use him so mightily.

That was Paul. No wonder Barnabas wanted Paul to lead the program in Antioch. What a duet they sang! For an entire year these two men served side by side, and God was greatly glorified.

I love Warren Wiersbe’s succinct definition of ministry: “Ministry takes place when divine resources meet human needs through loving channels to the glory of God.” Paul and Barnabas could have sat for that portrait. Why did Paul and Barnabas experience such pleasure in serving together? No competition. No battle of egos. No one threatened by the other’s gifts. No hidden agendas. No unresolved conflicts. Their single-minded goal was to magnify Christ. It didn’t matter if the crowds multiplied to thousands or shrank to only a few. All that mattered was that Christ be proclaimed and worshipped.

Praise God for the power of two![1]

The application for us is in verses 23 and 24: stay true to the Lord, and may it be said of us like it was of Barnabas. He was a good man, full of faith and full of the Holy Spirit. So, can we pursue being full of the Holy Spirit? Can we pursue being a good man or woman? Can we pursue being full of faith?

Do you identify with Christ? Are you a Christ-“ian”? If so, go and make disciples as they did in this passage.

God created us to be with him (Genesis 1-2).

Our sin separated us from God (Genesis 3).

Sins cannot be removed by good deeds (Genesis 4-Malachi 4).

Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again (Matthew – Luke).

Everyone who trusts in him alone has eternal life (John-Jude).

Life that’s eternal means we will be with Jesus forever (Revelation 22:5).

Pray

[1] Taken from Great Days with the Great Lives by Charles R. Swindoll. Copyright © 2005 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. Used by permission of Thomas Nelson. www.thomasnelson.com

https://www.insight.org/resources/daily-devotional/individual/the-power-of-two1

Special topic: Knowing God In the Details (John 17:3; Gal. 5:22-23)

Prepared and preached by Pastor Steve Rhodes for and at Bethel Friends Church in Poland, OH on Sunday, January 5, 2025

Pastor J. D. Greear writes:

I once heard the story of a man named Steve who, when he was 2 years old, became deaf after contracting spinal meningitis. For the next 58 years of his life, he lived in total silence—no music, no laughter, no voices of his loved ones. His life was full and happy enough, especially since he couldn’t remember much of the time before he lost his hearing. He had resigned himself, for better or worse, to life without sound.

Then, in 2001, his doctor proposed a procedure that could change Steve’s life forever.

This new surgical procedure would implant a sound wave detection device that could bypass the nonfunctioning part of Steve’s ear. Essentially, the device would transmit the audio signals directly to the auditory nerve in the brain. It wasn’t a dangerous procedure, so Steve happily decided to try it. But there was an annoying catch: They wouldn’t know if the surgery had been successful for six weeks. (What must those six weeks have been like?)

Finally, the day arrived. Steve and his wife came back to the audiologist’s office, nervous and excited. The audiologist programmed the cochlear implant on his device, held his finger over the final key, and looked to Steve to ask him if he was ready. Steve gave the go-ahead, and the audiologist pressed the button.

Then, the audiologist turned to Steve’s wife and gave a silent signal, prompting her to say something. She leaned toward Steve and gently said, “I love you.” Steve’s face broke into a bright smile. Not only could he hear again, but the first sounds he’d heard in six decades were words of personal love. Both he and his wife wept as they held each other, chattering away for the first time ever.[1]

I love that story!

What does it mean to know someone? Do you ever think about how profound it is to be able to say, ‘“My’ wife,” or ‘“My’ son,” or ‘“My’ daughter,” or ‘“My’ mom.” Putting that possessive pronoun, “my,” in front of the noun changes things. It is personal. It shows intimacy. It shows a personal connection. When I married Meagan, she became ‘“my’ wife.” She is not “your” wife. She is not someone else’s wife. She is “My” wife. There is a proper personal connection there.

Likewise, is Jesus “your” Savior? Is Jesus “your” friend? Do you have a relationship with Jesus?

Zephaniah 3:17 (ESV)

¹⁷       The Lord your God is in your midst,

a mighty one who will save;

                  he will rejoice over you with gladness;

he will quiet you by his love;

                  he will exult over you with loud singing.

Today, is a special topic Sunday. Next week, we will return to Acts.

My theme is:

Knowing Jesus in the details

1. How do we know Him?
   1. John 17:3 (ESV) ³ And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.
   2. This verse is part of Jesus’s high priestly prayer.
   3. Jesus is spending time in prayer prior to the crucifixion.
   4. Jesus knew that the time had come (John 17:1) and now He is praying.
   5. Jesus talks about Himself in the second and third person. Glorify “Your” Son (John 17:1). Then, in verses 2-3 Jesus referred to Himself in the third person.
   6. In this prayer, Jesus shares how we receive eternal life.
   7. We must “know” the only true God. We must know Jesus Christ, whom He sent.
   8. Do we know Him?
   9. Do we know the real Jesus. Tim Keller shares about Heb 1:3:

      You know the average person sees … Here’s a book written to people in a setting just like ours, and it will not compromise. It starts right out saying what it says, and surely there are people today who say, “We’re never going to have global peace like this until everyone in their religion is willing to admit that all religions are equal, until everyone stops claiming, ‘My religion is the best one,’ or “My religion is the superior one.’ ”

      They say, “As long as people say things like this, we’re not going to have peace. Until everyone admits all religions are equally valid, we’re never going to have global peace.” I want to say in response to that, that is by no means the way to get global peace in the slightest. Here’s why. The only way all religions could be equally valid is if you assume either there is no God or there is a God who doesn’t hold people accountable for what they believe. Of course, that God is different than the God of all other religions.

      But do you hear what you’re saying? When you say all religions are equally valid, you are assuming a very particular view of God which you’re saying is better than what everyone else believes. Therefore, when you say, “Stop making exclusive claims! Religions have to stop making exclusive claims,” that is the most exclusive possible claim.

      Yet you won’t admit what you’re doing. What you’re saying is, “My white, Western, relativistic take on objectivity and subjectivity is the right one. Religions are subjectively true, but objectively they’re all basically the same.” You’re taking your view and putting it on top of everybody else’s.

      When another religion, when any religion says, “My religion is the best one. Convert!” there’s integrity there. There’s openness there. There’s self-knowledge there. There’s consistency there. But when you say, “All religions are equal. No religion should claim to be the superior one,” you’re making your spiritual view of reality the superior one. That’s hypocrisy. It’s infuriating to all the adherents of all other religions, and it will never lead to global peace.

      Timothy J. Keller, The Timothy Keller Sermon Archive (New York City: Redeemer Presbyterian Church, 2013).

   10. This is not referring to a one-time prayer.
   11. Dallas Willard shares: Accordingly, the only description of eternal life found in the words we have from Jesus is “This is eternal life, that they [his disciples] may know you, the only real God, and Jesus the anointed, whom you have sent” (John 17:3). This may sound to us like “mere head knowledge.” But the biblical “know” always refers to an intimate, personal, interactive relationship.[2]
   12. Do we have an intimate, personal, interactive relationship with God?
   13. First, have we “Firmly made the decision to be with Him”?
   14. Have you decided that you want to live with Him? That would mean having a relationship with Him.
   15. Have you decided “to become like Him”?
   16. Have you decided “to learn and do all that He says”?
   17. Have you decided “to arrange your affairs around Him”?
   18. If you have done that and are striving for it, then I think you know God.
   19. This assumes confessing we are a sinner in need of a Savior. That means repenting.
   20. This assumes believing in Jesus as the One and only Savior.
   21. John 14:6
   22. John 3:16
   23. This assumes trusting in Him and committing to Him (Luke 9:23).

Tim Keller shares:

Jean-Paul Sartre in his work Being and Nothingness, where he has this very famous illustration. He says imagine yourself in a room, and you see a keyhole, and you see light through the keyhole. When you get down and look through the keyhole, you see people doing things, and they don’t know you’re watching.

Wow. There’s nothing more empowering and satisfying than to be the unviewed viewer, to be able to see everything and they don’t know you’re watching. You can see them; they can’t see you. One-way mirror. You can see them; they can’t see you. Now you have power. You’re in the driver’s seat.

Suddenly, in this illustration, as you’re looking through the keyhole and feeling really good, you hear a noise and you look behind you. You see another keyhole, and you see a little eye through that keyhole. You realize your unviewed viewing is being viewed by an unviewed viewer. You are now the object, not the subject. You’re dehumanized, and it’s unbearable. Why?

What Sartre says is there’s nothing more dehumanizing than to be out of control with what people see of you. We need to control how people see us. We need to control what people see. For someone to have access, for it to be uncovered, for someone to have complete access to what you’re thinking and what you’re doing and how you’re living without you knowing it or being in control of it is utterly dehumanizing. We cannot bear it. Why?

That’s an interesting illustration, isn’t it? Of course, Sartre is an existentialist. Sartre of course does not believe in moral absolutes. Of course he doesn’t believe we’re supposed to live up to somebody else’s standards for us. Of course not. Yet he says it is absolutely endemic to every human being to desperately want to be covered. We do not want people to see who we are. We don’t want people to see what we do, how we think. Why?

What Sartre is saying is if anybody has that kind of access to us, they will see things of which we are ashamed. We will do things, we will say things, we will think things of which we are deeply ashamed, and we cannot bear to have other people looking at it, to be able to look inside, to catch us. Why would that be? It’s stupid, frankly. It’s stupid to say, “Well, you traditional people have problems with guilt and shame, but you see, we create our own standards.”

What Sartre is pointing out is we don’t live up to our own standards either. Sure, here’s a traditional society, and they say, “The meaning in life is to live according to the given standards.” Here is our modern Western society, and they say, “The meaning in life is for you to work out your own standards,” but you don’t live up to your own standards either. You’re never the person you say you want to be. You’re never the person you aspire to be. You’re never the person you claim to be. Never.

That means everybody has a problem with guilt and shame. Everybody desperately needs to be covered. Everybody desperately wants to be covered, has to be covered, has to keep people from seeing who we really are. When we are exposed, we’re filled with guilt and shame. That’s true no matter who you are. It doesn’t matter what your century. It doesn’t matter what your culture. That’s why Franz Kafka says about modern people today … He was talking about the twentieth century, but it’s also true of the twenty-first century.

He says, “The state we find ourselves in today is we feel sinful quite independent of guilt.” That’s in his diaries. All of the commentators say … It was a brilliant thing. What he’s saying is we don’t have the concept of guilt. We’re sophisticated. We laugh at this whole idea of guilt, yet we still sense there’s something wrong with us. You may laugh. “I don’t believe in heaven or hell or the moral law. I don’t believe in sin.” Yet you know in yourself, your own heart, there’s a voice that’s always there calling you an idiot, calling you a fool, calling you a failure.^[3]

We need to be covered. We need forgiveness. We know that inside. We can only get that in Jesus.

2. Firmly making the decision to be with Him gives you eternal life.

1. 1. Eternal life means that we are alive spiritually.
   2. Are you alive spiritually?
   3. Tim Keller shares:
   4. Christianity is not defined in terms of intellect or morality. It’s not defined in terms of quantity, but in terms of essence and quality, and a change of essence, and a new constitution engrafted into your being.^[4]
   5. Keller defines it more. Plant life versus animal life, versus human life.
   6. But, we are dead spiritually without Jesus. Eternal life makes us alive spiritually. This means we know Jesus now.
   7. A person who gets eternal life says, “I was as uncomprehending of holiness, of love, of eternal life, of the righteousness God gives, of adoption into his family, of the gift of salvation, of heaven and hell … I was as uncomprehending of those things as an animal is uncomprehending of beauty and ugliness, of justice and tragedy.”^[5]
   8. What happens without eternal life is the concepts of holiness and of righteousness, of heaven and hell, spiritual truths, spiritual realities either are nonsense to a person without eternal life or they are simple abstractions, but they are not solidities, they’re not realities. They don’t affect you; they don’t control you. You never act as if they’re there. All the difference in the world … A person who becomes a Christian, a person who has received eternal life says, “Suddenly, there is a whole new part of reality I never saw. It never affected me. Those realities were never there. It’s like night and day.”
   9. A Christian is somebody to whom these realities have become realities indeed. They’ve become no longer abstractions. They’re not philosophical or academic things. They are realities. They are at the center of the being. They make a difference.
   10. The truth becomes alive. Spiritual truths become alive.^[6]
   11. Are you alive spiritually? Do you know Jesus?

• Knowing Him in the details?
  1. When we know Jesus, we have a relationship with Him.
  2. Oftentimes, I have talked about this with spiritual disciplines. I have talked about prayer, Bible study, fasting, silence, etc.
  3. But, do we care about the fruit?
  4. If an apple tree did not produce apples, but tomatoes it would have serious problems.
  5. Do we pray—“Lord, help me to have the fruit of a relationship with You.”?
  6. Galatians 5:22–23 (ESV)
  7. ²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
  8. I call that knowing God in the details.

Dallas Willard shares:

Our problem is that we don’t truly see the greatness of Christ. In his book Your God Is Too Small, J. B. Phillips laid his finger on the chronic problem of failing to grasp how big God is and our failure to understand the greatness of Christ. When Christians talk about Jesus, they struggle because they have a tiny Christ, a puny Christ who doesn’t compare well with others.

My University of Southern California students have occasionally asked, “Why are you a disciple of Jesus?” My answer has been to ask, “Who else did you have in mind?” And I mean this seriously. They’ve wanted to talk about Buddha, Gandhi, or even their favorite musician or politician, but none of them compare to Christ on close examination.

The reality is that everyone is following somebody. But people are typically not thinking about what is guiding their lives. Good questions for each of us to ask are, Who am I really following? Who do I look up to? Who are my role models? No matter who that might be, that person’s goodness is finite and even limited. But the goodness of God available through following Jesus is so unfathomable you will never see the end of it.[1]

A lot of folks sitting in range of the kingdom are not there for the purpose of discipleship. Often it’s because they haven’t been challenged or even taught how to be a disciple. Other times, they’ve had it explained and have turned away. Even in the Western world, many people have never heard anything about life in the kingdom of God. They think the church is the building on the corner instead of a people who are infiltrating the whole world. This will continue until people realize the solution to human problems is not a human solution. It is learning to live in the kingdom of God through apprenticeship to Jesus Christ and increasingly becoming like him and of his kingdom.[2]

 Firmly make the decision to be with Him.

In order to become like Him, to learn and do all that He says, and to arrange your affairs around Him.

Prayer

[1] Willard, Dallas. The Scandal of the Kingdom: How the Parables of Jesus Revolutionize Life with God (pp. 83-84). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.

[2] Willard, Dallas. The Scandal of the Kingdom: How the Parables of Jesus Revolutionize Life with God (pp. 96-97). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.

[1] J. D. Greear: blog on 11.19.2024

https://jdgreear.com/the-first-sounds-we-hear-are-words-of-personal-love/

[2] From The Divine Conspiracy: Rediscovering Our Hidden Life in God. Copyright © 1997 by Dallas Willard. All rights reserved. Used with permission of HarperCollins Publishers.

^[3] Timothy J. Keller, The Timothy Keller Sermon Archive (New York City: Redeemer Presbyterian Church, 2013).

^[4] Timothy J. Keller, The Timothy Keller Sermon Archive (New York City: Redeemer Presbyterian Church, 2013).

^[5] Timothy J. Keller, The Timothy Keller Sermon Archive (New York City: Redeemer Presbyterian Church, 2013).

^[6] Timothy J. Keller, The Timothy Keller Sermon Archive (New York City: Redeemer Presbyterian Church, 2013).