A Church Without Walls

And anyone who teaches that it is Jesus plus anything…is a false teacher. So, Paul comes at them with six questions to get them thinking. And the first question is: Question #1: Who has bewitched you? What Paul is really asking here is; “who has put you under a spell and caused you not to be able to think?” Paul asks, “Who has put a spell on you and gained control of your mind? And I would like to point out that “who” …is singular…Paul knows who it is…it is someone specific.

Our message today is on hope…hope for the coming new year…and hope for our future… Hope that the world seems to be in short supply of late. Every message in this series…Love, Joy, Peace, and Holiness…has led us to this message on hope…our blessed hope…that Jesus is returning for His bride the church. The thought of His imminent return should not only give us hope…but instill in us a sense of urgency… And a desire to want to live our lives the way Jesus did…exhibiting: • Love To not only to love God with our whole being and others as ourselves… But it should give us an overwhelming desire to want to share the love of Jesus with the world…as His return draws ever closer. • Joy That our joyfulness in the midst of all the hatred, anger, bitterness, and resentment on display around the world… Would lead others to seek the same joy we have. • Peace That our peace that transcends the chaos of this world…would cause others to want to know the peace that we have. That they would want to know the source of that peace…Jesus. • Holiness That we would live our lives holy and separated unto the Lord for we do not know the day or the hour of His return… But that we would live our lives as if He could return for His bride today. And that brings us to our message today on hope…our hope in Christ Jesus…our hope in His imminent return… And I “hope,” that this message ties this whole series together for you.

It is because of the events in Bethlehem over 2,000 years ago that we celebrate the holiday we call Christmas. The word “holiday” is derived from an Old English word meaning holy day. “Holy” means special, unique, uncommon. And Christmas…even according to the world…is the most holy day of the year. Holidays should be unique, special, and uncommon, they should be set apart to celebrate and thank God for all He has done for us. So, when the world says, “Season’s Greetings,” and “Happy Holidays,” it is an attempt to make what is holy…common…common enough to not offend anyone. But when we reduce what is supposed to be a special day, a day set apart for our Lord…to a common day…the day loses its value and message. That’s why I always respond with “Merry Christmas!” when someone says Happy Holidays to me. Holy things and holy days are meant to remind us of important events, and when we make those days common…they are no longer holy.

Please note that the peace that Jesus brings is an expression of God’s goodwill toward mankind. It is God’s way of restoring the peace that was lost when Adam and Eve rebelled in the Garden. God didn’t have to come to our rescue…man rejected and rebelled against Him…He could have done the same in return… Yet because He is a God of love, mercy, and grace, He took the initiative in pursuing peace with us…by sending His Son to this earth. Before Jesus came to this earth, we were at enmity with God…that word means “hostile” … “against,” meaning there was animosity between us and God. After the fall in the garden our relationship to God was one of animosity…we had made ourselves…enemies of God. Paul wrote: For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile (at enmity with) to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. (Romans 8:6-7 ESV) In the flesh we remain enemies of God. But when Jesus came into this world, He came to rectify the condition of man… That through Jesus we could be washed clean from our sin…and be justified, sanctified. And by surrendering to Jesus…we were no longer enemies of God…but made heirs of God’s kingdom.

Jeremiah laments that if his head was a basin for water and his eyes a fountain of tears… He still would not have enough tears to shed for all those who will be killed in the coming invasion. And so, he laments that he just wants to get away from all. Ever feel that way? Ever feel like there has been nothing but bad news and you just want to get away from it and forget it. That is how Jeremiah feels…because… He doesn’t see things getting any better…he knows that what will happen to the people of Judah… Will be brought about because of the evil in people’s hearts. He knows they will bring this destruction upon themselves, and he doesn’t want to witness it. He knows that it because of their adulterous and deceitful relationship towards God that is going to cause God to bring judgment upon them. Sounds like the world we live in today…an adulterous world that has turned its back on its Creator and went after false gods… And the number one false god mankind has chased after is self…we live in a self-absorbed, self-reliant, self-centered world… And God is not going to strive with that attitude of man forever. Judgment is coming…and only a worldwide revival will delay the inevitable.

Lord willing over the next few weeks we are going to look at the story of the birth of our Savior…and unwrap the following gifts we have in Him: Love, Joy, Peace, Holiness, and Hope. We unwrapped the gift of love last week. Lord willing, we will celebrate our Christmas service on December 24th with a message on Holiness…something that is missing in the church today. And Lord willing…our series will culminate on New Years Eve, December 31st with a message of Hope. Along with this series of messages we will be extending worship and adding more and more Christmas songs to the list throughout the month of December. So, I hope that you can be with us throughout the remainder of this month and not miss any of the messages. Let’s dig into our second message in this series…Joy! Jesus came that first Christmas morning…and with Him…came joy to the world. For the people of Israel that night in Bethlehem it meant that God had broken the silence by coming to earth in the flesh. You see…from the last word of God spoke through His prophet Malachi up to the coming of John the Babtist…who was born to prepare the way for the Messiah… There had been 400 yrs. of silence…where the people did not hear from God through a prophet. To hear that on this day…a Savior was born…who is Christ the Lord…was news to rejoice about indeed… The silence had been broken…God would speak through His Son.

The book of Jeremiah is about Gods justice…and His grace. Justice refers to us receiving a just punishment…a punishment we deserve…a punishment that fits the crime. God’s grace, however, is God giving us what we don’t deserve. That doesn’t mean that God’s grace cancels out His justice…because He is both perfectly just and perfectly gracious. So how can God be just and show us grace at the same time? The answer is the cross of Jesus…it is at the cross where grace and justice meet. At the cross Jesus became sin for us…and He suffered the wrath of God for our sin…and died as a punishment for that sin. That’s Gods justice…as the wages of sin is death. But God’s grace is also on full display as Jesus took what we deserve…death…and gave us His righteousness. We deserved death for our sin but by His grace we were washed clean, justified, and sanctified by the name of Jesus and by the Holy Spirit. In the case of Israel…in the book of Jeremiah…they suffered Gods judgment for their sin of idolatry and injustice… The just punishment for their rebellion and the defilement of the land and temple…through their idolatry…was to be taken out of the land. But by God’s grace…they would one day be restored to the land.

Lord willing over the next few weeks we are going to look at the story of the birth of our Savior…and unwrap the following gifts we have in Him: Love, Joy, Peace, Holiness, and Hope. Lord willing, we will celebrate our Christmas service on December 24th with a message on Holiness…something that is missing in the church today. And Lord willing…our series will culminate on New Years Eve, December 31st with a message of Hope. Along with this series of messages we will be extending worship and adding more and more Christmas songs to the list throughout the month of December. Have you ever wondered why Jesus came when He did? Paul tells us that the time was the perfect time for His arrival…that it didn’t happen by chance…but by appointment. At that time Jerusalem was under Roman rule…but believe or not…it was the fact that they were under Roman rule…that made it the perfect time. It was right spiritually, the people were longing for the Messiah to come and set them free from the Romans. It was right historically, with Rome in charge there was relative peace in the lands it controlled which made travel and trade possible and safe. Because Rome was ruling…there were well paved roads that spread out from Rome to all the conquered territories. There was also a common language used for trade called koinonia Greek which most people could speak and understand. So, a well-connected system of roads…and a common language would all help to spread the message of the gospel. And because of that it opened the way for many foreign traders to come through Jerusalem…and hear about Jesus and His sacrifice. It was the right time Biblically, as God had shown the prophet Daniel (9:24-27) the exact day and year that the Messiah would enter Jerusalem. And that the Messiah would be “cut off,” or killed. It was the perfect time…and just note…just as His birth happened at the perfect time…His return will also happen at the perfect time. It was perfect in another way…it was the perfect time for God to show His love for the world! And that is the reason behind the Christmas story…God’s love for mankind.

God has Jeremiah stand in the gate of the temple (the Lord’s house). This may sound simple enough…but there is a lot that has led up to this moment. In 2 Kings 22-23 we learn that King Josiah was cleaning things up in Judah… He had all the idols removed, he had all the Ashtoreth poles taken down…and the alters to idols destroyed in the high places. He made Topheth, which is in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, unusable… So that no one might burn his son or his daughter as an offering to Molech. He removed the horses that the kings of Judah had dedicated to the sun god, at the entrance to the house of the Lord. He even destroyed the alters that were put on the roof…that the kings before him used to worship false gods. And he was having the temple…which had not been used for years cleaned out…and repaired. While they were cleaning out the temple Hilkiah the high priest found the book of the law.

What we see here is clearly…the hypocrisy of Peter…and not just Peter…Barnabas joins him. The definition of hypocrisy is simply: “The failure to practice what you preach.” This is what Jesus said about the hypocrisy of the Pharisees: “So, practice and obey whatever they tell you, but don’t follow their example. For they don’t practice what they teach. (Matt. 23:3 NLT). The way you can tell if someone is a hypocrite is that they appear outwardly righteous to others… But they are actually full of uncleanness and self-indulgence…as Jesus pointed out:

The key verse…and the theme of this letter Paul writes to the churches in Galatia…is found in 2:4: “Our freedom that we have in Christ Jesus.” We have freedom in Jesus! Freedom from legalism…freedom from sin…guilt, condemnation, death, and freedom from the curse of the law. Freedom that cost us nothing…but cost Him everything! Ever since his conversion on the Damascus Road…Paul…the missionary…has been busy spreading the gospel message. During his first missionary journey…with Barnabas…who had become a dear friend and companion on his long journeys… They established the churches that he addresses…as the Galatian churches… Which consist of Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe…you can find that mission’s trip in Acts 13:14-14:23. But when he leaves the province of Galatia…Jewish legalists (called Judaizers) come in and begin to teach… That the Gentile Christians also need to be circumcised and follow Torah… This greatly upsets Paul because it says that Jesus didn’t fulfill God’s promise to Abraham…

So, does God find one who does right in His eyes in Judah so that He can spare the city? Jeremiah goes on a search….and what he is searching for is the truth…someone…anyone who follows and practices the truth of God. And the first thing Jeremiah discovers in his search is that the people say, “as the Lord lives.” But they don’t mean what they say. You see “as the Lord lives” was a common saying…it was a constant reminder of Who God was and the fact that He was the center of their lives. But when the people of Judah said it…they were just empty words…because they did not treat God as if He was the center of their lives. They honored God with their lips…but the truth wasn’t in them. Even though these people would be struck down and consumed… Jeremiah can see that they will still not be corrected…they will still not repent.

We have been talking a lot about Paul and there is a reason for that…out of the 27 books that make up the NT…Paul wrote 13 of them. And if you count Hebrews…as some do…than he wrote 14. God used Paul to write half of the NT…and that illustrates how dramatically his life had changed. Let’s take a few minutes and look at the life of Paul…because the route his life was taking him…wasn’t leading him be the author of 13 NT books. Paul was born Saul…in Tarsus of Cilicia (a province of modern-day Turkey). He may have been born around the same time as Jesus. Tarsus at the time of his birth was part of the Roman empire…making Saul, a Roman citizen from birth. By the age of five Saul was would have been studying the OT Scriptures along with the Hebrew language.

Paul writes this letter to the church in Galatia…a church he planted on his first missionary journey. Galatia means “the country of the Gaul’s,” but when Rome took over…it became a province which included Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe. So, to think of the church in Galatia…would be to think of all those churches. It is believed this letter to the Galatians was written somewhere between 49 and 50 AD… And it may have been the very first NT book written. The reason he wrote this letter was primarily to deal with a false teaching perpetuated by a group called the Judaizers. They taught that you were saved by a combination of God’s grace…and our works. So, instead of a gospel of grace…they were teaching a gospel of works. Paul would have shared the gospel with the Galatians, and then he would have…presumably taught them the very basics of what it means to be saved. He would have taught them about justification…and he would have used the O.T. to teach them.

I heard someone say that Jeremiah isn’t just the messenger…he is the message. Jeremiah is broken and weeping over the people…and he displays the heart of God in his brokenness. Because God’s hear is broken…and He is weeping over the condition of His people. And despite what they have done…God says Return to Me.

As I always say…we can be dogmatic about that these prophetic events will happen…but not about how they will happen. We may not understand the how…until it actually happens. Recent events in the Middle East have put everything back on the table. Israel is now fighting a war on multiple fronts Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hams in Gaza, the Houthis in Yemen, and Iranian proxies in Syria and the West Bank. This war can turn into WWIII any day now. So, we need to take a look at the Psalm 83 war and the ancient prophecy of Jeremiah 49 against Elam. Were they prophecies like many of the ones seen in Isaiah where there was near and future fulfillment of them? I don’t know but they are interesting to look at in view of what we know is happening today… And many critics of these prophecies, who say that these prophesies aren’t relevant for today…would not have known five/ten years ago…what we are seeing today.

We need to remember that this letter is written to a church…to believers… But listen to the list of sins we read in the previous chapter…that Paul is dealing with in the church: Quarreling, jealousy, anger, hostility, slander, gossip, conceit, and disorder, uncleanness, fornication, and lewdness. You won’t find that list of sins in a churches statement of faith on their website… But these sins aren’t just prevalent in the church in Corinth…sin can be found in every church…everywhere. Because we are imperfect people serving a perfect God. Paul points out here…that every charge must be established by the evidence of two or more witnesses.

Israel has done two things that make them faithless in the eyes of God: 1. Distrust They saw the miracles God had done in the desert and in Egypt…yet they continued to test God because they still didn’t fully trust in His provision. 2. Disobedience Where there is no trust there is bound to be disobedience. If you do not trust your boss for instance…are you going to do what he/she instructs you to do? Chances are you won’t…because you do not trust them. The Israelite's didn’t trust that God would continue to provide for them in the wilderness…so they disobeyed His voice. So, faithlessness to God is being disobedient to His Word…and not trusting Him. The meaning of the word faithless as it is used in Numbers 14:33 is “whoredom,” infidelity,” adultery,” and “idolatry.” So, God said to the people of Israel that their faithlessness was akin to them “cheating” on Him. And certainly, when they threw the gold in the furnace and the calf popped out and they worshiped it… They were “cheating,” on God with a god they made with their own hands. Think about how different things would have been in the Exodus if they had to trust in the golden calf to help them. As the Egyptian army approached them with their backs against the Red Sea…can you picture in your mind them setting the golden calf up and praying it would stop the Egyptians… They would have been captured and brought back as slaves to the Egyptians. Or when they were in the wilderness and there was nothing to eat…and they called out to their man-made god to save them… They would have all died in the desert from hunger and thirst because their man-made god could not provide for them. But they never had to rely on a man-made god because the One True God brought them through all of that… Yet they still didn’t trust God.

Paul feels like a fool. We must understand the sentiment here…the false teachers…these super-apostles, as Paul calls them… Were bragging about their works…and the Corinthians were falling for it. Paul points out that he is just as good, and just as qualified as the “super-apostles.” And if the people of Corinth believed them and wanted to hang on their every word… Why didn’t they do the same with Paul? When Paul spoke…all his messages came to the same conclusion… salvation through Jesus Christ alone. Paul spoke the truth…and the truth isn’t always easy to hear… I maintain that Paul would face the same struggles today trying to teach the truth as he did in Corinth. These super-apostles didn’t have the same calling…they could compromise the truth…and water it down… To make it more palatable to people…If they taught the truth at all. And we see the same thing today…churches and speakers that compromise and water down the truth have huge followings. I think of the movie “A Few Good Men” Where Jack Nicholson says to Tom Cruise who wants the truth… “You want the truth?” “You Can’t Handel the Truth!” And sadly, that is the same way for most of the world today…and even some believers.

Listen to what God is saying to Israel through Jeremiah…because it is true for us as well. There was a time…in the wilderness…after God led them out of Egypt…that they trusted in God. They followed the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night…through the desert…through land that was not sown… Meaning there were no crops, no grain, and not enough water to sustain over 2 million people. Yet they followed God as He led them into the wilderness. And God never left them or failed to provide for them. They followed out of love…they were devoted to Him as a young bride is to her husband. And anyone who came against Israel…God destroyed. God remembers what it was like…and there is a sense that God longs for that relationship with Israel again. Just as God longs for us to meet with Him in the mornings before the craziness of our day…like we did when we were first saved. Jesus said to the church in Ephesus… “that you have abandoned the love you had at first.” (Revelation 2:4 ESV) The church had left their first love…they had forgotten what it was like in the beginning… How they started and ended their day thinking of Jesus…how devoted they were to Him… And Jesus tells them, “Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first.” (Revelation 2:5 ESV) Remember where the relationship you had with Me once was…and see how far away you have fallen from that point… Repent, and do what you did in the beginning.

This morning we are going to take a break from 2 Corinthians to focus on what is happening in Israel, the Middle East, Russia, and Iran, and why it matters to us. I understand that prophecy is not a popular topic…and neither is talking about the Middle East… I know that most churches around the area won’t be talking about Israel or prophecy this morning…or at any time. We blame the pastors for not teaching prophecy…but the blame should go to the congregation… Because on a Sunday morning people do not want to hear about prophecy and that we are living in the last days… People want to be encouraged…so they can out and live their best life now…with no thought of their life in eternity. The church has been lulled to sleep…the church is comfortable…they are planning their harvest celebrations and church bazaars. And although there isn’t anything wrong with those things…I feel the church today is more focused on staying here…then on meeting Jesus in the air. We are living in the days of Noah and Lot where people are going about their day-to-day lives blissfully ignorant of what is going on around them. And to mention prophecy or the last days is to disturb that sleep or threaten their blissful existence. Listen, God placed prophecy in the Bible for a reason…to warn us…to prepare us…and to keep us focused on the things of God and heaven. And more importantly…for us to have a sense of urgency…to know time is short and we need to share the gospel.

Jeremiah was chosen by God before birth…to be a prophet to the nations…especially Judah. And he was…he spoke the words of the Lord during the reigns of King Josiah (2 Chronicles 36:1). King Jehoiakim (2 Chronicles 36:5), and King Zedekiah (2 Kings 24:18–19). All kings that reigned in Judah during the ministry of Jeremiah. As Jeremiah began his ministry Assyria was in decline as a “superpower.” In the wings stood Egypt, Babylon, and the Medes and the Persians… Just waiting for Assyria to fall…so they could take over in succession. Much like today…as America is in decline…weakened by debt, moral depravity, and attacks on the covenant of marriage and the sanctity of life… America will at some point…no longer be considered a world superpower… We know this will prophetically come about because when Russia, Iran, Turkey, and the supporting nations come against Israel in the Ezekiel 38 war… America is nowhere to be found. Waiting in the wings for America to lose its superpower status is Russia and China.

Update on the events in Israel Paul had nothing but love for the Corinthian church…he was their biggest cheerleader… But they had fallen for these false teachers hook, line, and sinker…and they were beginning to believe what they were saying about Paul. We can only imagine what all was said about Paul…we have some of what was said about him recorded in the letters to the Corinthians. That in person he appeared weak, and his speeches were worthless. The false teachers were flashy, bold, and interesting…they came with all the bells and whistles. Paul was just an ordinary guy…who simply taught the Word of God simply. And for that…he was criticized and mocked. The false teachers had plenty to boast about…who they studied under, how many followers they had, how much they made per appearance. Paul could have boasted that he was a rabi among rabbis…that he studied under Gamaliel…a well-respected teacher. But if Paul was going to boast…meaning taking pride in anything… He was going to boast in what God was doing through him…and in how he was willing to suffer to see that work completed.

Israel rejected Jesus as Messiah…despite the overwhelming evidence to prove He is indeed the Messiah. They should have known Jesus was the Messiah just by reading Isaiah 53 That passage alone contains a perfect description of the coming Messiah. If the ancient world had BOLOs (Be on the lookout) …Be on the lookout for this person (wanted as the Messiah) and described here in Isaiah 53…. The description in Isaiah 53 describes Jesus to a “T.” Even though the truth was right in front of them…they refused to believe it. God held out His hands to them…yet they went their own way…and followed after their own devices. So, God made Himself available to a people who did not ask for Him or seek Him (the Gentiles)