SALT AND LIGHT: February 2013

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

THE VIRGIN BIRTH

Luke 1:26 ( ESV )

²⁶In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth,

· After the announcement to Zechariah and Elizabeth six months later Gabriel visits Mary.

· When he talks about Galilee the nation was divided into three parts. Judea, Samaria and Galilee. Galilee was in the northern part. It had the richest and most beautiful parts of Israel. Yet, this is the area was covered with Gentiles and was looked down upon for this fact. It was known for its spiritual darkness. Is. 8-9

· If this was not bad enough in some people’s eyes it was also in Nazareth which had a Roman military outpost. It was known for its corruption and vice. Mary though lived a godly lifestyle in this town.

Luke 1:27 ( ESV )

²⁷to a virgin betrothed^£ to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary.

· What is even greater is that Mary remained a virgin in this sin polluted town. The word here is not young maiden but virgin. Is. 7:14, “ And behold a virgin shall conceive and bring forth a son and thou shalt call Him Immanuel.”

· This was more than an engagement period in that they were looked upon as being man and wife except for sexual union and living together. She was pledged to a man by the name of Joseph who was of the house of David. According to the scriptures Messiah would come from this line. Gen. 49:8-10 and II Sam. 7:16. The Messiah had to come from the line of David.

Luke 1:28 ( ESV )

²⁸And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!”^£

· Nowhere does it say she is above all women but was endued with grace. (Same phrase is used of other believers in Eph. 1:6. She is not above all women. She is the first person in scripture to call Jesus, Savior in Luke 1:47 so she needed a savior as well. How did she react when she saw Gabriel?

Luke 1:29-30 ( ESV )

²⁹But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be.

³⁰And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.

· She was troubled or agitated like a roaring sea. She began to deliberate in her mind at what the angel was saying to her and what his message from God might be. What would God say to a young teenage girl? Why me?

· Do not be afraid was his words to her. She would not experience fear but the Grace of God given to a sinful man. For the word favor means Grace that is undeserved.

Luke 1:31-33 ( ESV )

³¹And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.

³²He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David,

³³and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

· Can you imagine the sense of wonder she had at this announcement? His name was to be Jesus or Jehovah is salvation. O.T. equivalent of Joshua. The deliverer who led the people out of the desert to the promised land. This one would deliver them spiritually

· The Most High was a term used for God and God alone. Even one of the demons would call Jesus this in Mark 5:7.

· He would be a king but not just any king, coming from the line of David He would be Messiah. Not only would He rule over the house of Jacob but the world. The people wanted a Savior who would deliver them from Rome. He had come to be king of kings and lord of lords over all the earth.

Now Mary asks the question HOW?

Luke 1:34-35 ( ESV )

³⁴And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”^£

³⁵And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born^£ will be called holy—the Son of God.

· Mary is not rebuked like Zechariah for two reasons. One, Zechariah knew God had opened up the wombs of Sarah and Hannah from his O.T. readings. Two, A virgin birth had never happened and will never happen again.

· Evidences in the passage for the Virgin Birth: NIV virgin or know in KJV means to have sex. Mary had not had this happen to her yet. She is described as a virgin not once but twice in 1:27. In 1:35 pregnancy would happen by the power of the Holy Spirit. In John 3:23 Jesus was called the son of Joseph so thought. It completed the promise of Is. 7:14. Church fathers claimed her as a virgin.

· Why is this so important? Deny this and you make Jesus a mere sinful man who could not make atonement for sin. Scripture would be in vain if this was not true. What would you believe and what would you not believe? To deny the virgin birth also denies the fact that the God of the impossible was able to do the impossible.

· The Spirit of God would come over her. One illustration is like that of how the Shekinah glory fell upon the tabernacle. Thus without human father the Son would not inherit the sin nature. He was known as the Holy One the one who knew no sin according to II Cor. 5:21 and II Peter 2:22. He did not sin and had no sin in Him. I Jn. 3:5

Luke 1:36-37 ( ESV )

³⁶And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren.

³⁷For nothing will be impossible with God.”

· As a sign to her Gabriel tells her of her cousin Elizabeth in 1:36. If God could do this He could allow her to give birth to the Son of God. Mary, God is able to do this because there is nothing in this world that He cannot do. He allowed Abraham to have a child. He also will use this phrase with the apostles in Matt. 19:26 of how that man cannot save himself. Only God can save man. When everything seems like it is impossible, there is always hope for God can bring hope to the darkest night. He is the God of the impossible.

Luke 1:38 ( ESV )

³⁸And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant^£ of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

· Without further questions she shows her immediate obedience to God. (She was willing to give up Joseph, suffer humiliation.) No matter the cost I am willing to do whatever you want me to do. I AM YOUR SERVANT.

Saturday, February 23, 2013

LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS

According to Isaiah 8:16-22 the land of Israel had become a spiritually dark place. The shadows of darkness, false idols and witchcraft like practices abounded. This is the truth that we see in other places as well. Yet, what I love is how that Isaiah 9 says how a child would be born that would take that darkness away and bring light. He would need a forerunner who would proclaim his coming and now we are introduced to the time of John the Baptist.

How dark was the time? Would there be light in the darkness?

Luke 1:5-6 ( ESV )

⁵In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah,^£ of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.

⁶And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord.

· It was the time of Herod who reigned over Jerusalem. Herod was an Edomite tyrant. He married at least 10 women, was known for his cruelty and how he disdained the Jews. He allowed the temple to be built to gain favor with them.

· Zechariah means the Lord remembers and was from the course of the priest of Abia. As there was around 20,000 of them at this time their duties were divided by family leaders. His wife Elizabeth was from the tribe of Aaron as well. Her name meant the oath of God. Put them together and you have the Lord remembers the oath of His covenant. How godly were they?

· Not just one but both of them walked rightly before God or uprightly. They walked this way in front of God whether men saw it or not. They were clean when it came to both moral and ceremonial laws. They were not perfect but lived a life where they could not be accused of evil.

Luke 1:7-8 ( ESV )

⁷But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years.

⁸Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty,

· They were childless and men of that time looked at this as being a curse. She was barren despite her walk with God and was past child bearing age. Yet despite unanswered prayers in this area they still served God. Would I do the same?

The honor

Luke 1:9-11 ( ESV )

⁹according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense.

¹⁰And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense.

¹¹And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense.

· So many people were priest they were chosen by lot for their responsibilities. Now for a once in a lifetime he would be able to offer up incense. This represented the prayers of the people of Israel. While he did this according to verse 10 outside of the doors people were praying. Zechariah was the focal point of the point of the nation. Zechariah had lived a godly life in front of his world and now by the grace of God he is allowed this special event in his life.

· According to tradition not scripture it was stated how God would appear on the right side of the altar of incense. Yet, look who appears there. An angel of the Lord, (Gabriel v. 19) Why? Because at the start God wants people to see how vain their traditions were. God would run His program as He saw it would be not according to men.

How did he respond? What did the angel say?

Luke 1:12-19 ( ESV )

¹²And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him.

¹³But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.

¹⁴And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth,

¹⁵for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb.

¹⁶And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God,

¹⁷and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”

¹⁸And Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.”

¹⁹And the angel answered him, “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news.

· Zechariah was startled like a calm sea taken by a storm. Fear gripped him. (Not like supposed visions of today. Men of God are terrified because we see His holiness and our total unworthiness.)

· Gabriel now offers comfort by saying your prayer is heard. God had heard their prayer after all this time and it would be a boy. John would be his name, the gracious giver or the grace of God. Their son would proclaim Messiah’s coming.

· He would be a joy-Personal blessing knowing their son would be the Messenger. Others would be blessed by his message as well. He would be great not in the sight of men but in God’s eyes.

· Not drink-Take on a Nazarite vow. He would be totally controlled by the Spirit of God. Ephesians 5. He would bring the people to God and see people come to know Christ.

· His ministry was one who would go before or to prepare the Lord’s way with power or the dynamite strength from the Spirit of God.

· Like us he would say, How can I be sure of this? He only looked at the physical situation instead of trusting the message and the messenger.

· Who was this angel? Gabriel the one who was the messenger to Daniel in Dan. 8:15-16. Zechariah’s punishment for his unbelief, he would not be able to talk until after his son’s birth.

Meanwhile back at the ranch.

Luke 1:20-25 ( ESV )

²⁰And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.”

²¹And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they were wondering at his delay in the temple.

²²And when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple. And he kept making signs to them and remained mute.

²³And when his time of service was ended, he went to his home.

²⁴After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she kept herself hidden, saying,

²⁵“Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among people.”

· Meanwhile-Outside the doors the people who had been praying were now concerned about their priest. He had lingered in the temple to long. When he comes out he cannot speak. He tried to get them to understand. They finally realized he had seen a vision in the temple.

· Zechariah was faithful instead of leaving what God had called him to do, he stayed and ministered till his time was up. He was faithful. Can you imagine what joy filled his soul as they would see the prophecy of Gabriel fulfilled before their eyes. Elizabeth became pregnant and hid herself for five months. Why? So that she might show the world the full proof of God’s accomplishments. Those who once looked down upon her with shame now saw her shame taken away.

Monday, February 18, 2013

THE WITNESS OF LUKE TO THEOPHILUS. LUKE 1:1-4

We are all destined to be on a quest. I love reading books that deal with the pursuit of something or someone by an individual who is willing to sacrifice it all. Here are just a couple of examples: King Arthur and his search for the Holy Grail. Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island. I will always love the line from the Natural by Roy Hobbs, “I always wanted to be a baseball player. To be the best there ever was and the best that there will ever be.”

All of the above though seem to fall short when we think of Paul’s words in Phil. 3:10 I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His suffering. To know Christ is that of the greatest quest known to mankind. This is the reason that we want to study the book of Luke so that we like Paul might be involved in the greatest quest, “TO KNOW CHRIST.”

First of all who is this guy Luke? Can we trust him to tell the truth? I think it’s fair for us to ask especially if this deals with my eternal destiny. Can he be trusted? He is what the Bible says about him in the following passages.

· Col. 4:14 Our dear friend Luke the Doctor. Physicians are detailed people in their profession. We see this is true of Luke when he not only describes the man with the withered hand but even tells us that it was his right hand. Yet also in this passage he is also called Dear or Beloved. Literally speaking he was a favorite or a respected one.

· II Tim. 4:11 Only Luke is with me. At the end of Paul’s life he had a faithful companion in that of Luke. He stood beside him no matter what came his way.

· Philemon 24 Luke my fellow worker. He was not ashamed or fearful of getting his hands dirty.

· Lastly his name means a light giver. Now he wants to shine forth that light as we enter into Luke 1:1-4.

Luke 1:1 ( ESV )

¹Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us,

· During this time many were speaking about Christ but it was largely done through oral means. They wanted to fulfill the great commission and proclaim the Gospel to all generations. Very little in the churches infancy was written.

· Luke felt it was necessary to get the Gospel in an arranged order and a narrative form so it could be read and proclaimed as well. Being led by the Holy Spirit who inspired his words Luke now wrote the following narrative. You see oral tradition may accurately transmit the truth but it is not as authoritative as the written word.

· John’s purpose in writing his Gospel according to John 20:31 was for the following reason, “That we might believe and by believing we might have eternal life.

How can we know that the Word of God is true? Go now to verse 2

Luke 1:2 ( ESV )

²just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us,

· First of all it is backed up literally by eyewitnesses to the events of Christ’s life. Detailed accounts about Christ from the beginning as he talks about John the Baptist and Christ birth are put in terms like one who was there.

· By inspiration of the Holy Spirit. II Timothy 3:16, “All scripture is inspired…” The Holy Spirit of God helped him to put it into order.

· He probably went to people like Peter who were “eyewitness of His majesty.” Christ told his disciples they would be witnesses because they had been with Him from the beginning in Jn. 15:27. They had to speak about what they had heard and seen. Acts 4:20

· These were not made up stories but reliable witnesses could testify to them. These people could be trusted because they were servants of The Word. When we truly know Christ we want to be His servant and declare His glory.

Luke 1:3 ( ESV )

³it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus,

· Not only do we have eyewitnesses but also Luke had a perfect or exact understanding of what had happened. He had thoroughly examined all of what had taken place in Christ life and was detailed in his investigation. The idea of the words used here is that he searched it out from top to bottom. (Example: Like a newspaper reporter checking his facts over and over again.)

Who is he writing this letter to? A person who is entitled, “Most excellent Theophilus.”

· Those words for most excellent means the mightiest, the strongest, noblest they were used in addressing men of prominent rank or office. It is used of Felix and Festus in the book of Acts.

· Theophilus means simply, “Lover of God.” What kind of effect did this book have on his life? We do not know but when Luke writes the book of Acts to Theophulis he no longer calls him most excellent but simply Theophilus. It may be that he paid a cost in following Christ and lost his ranking in life.

Why does he write the book to Theophilus and us? Take a look at verse 4

Luke 1:4 ( ESV )

⁴that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught.

· So that we might know with a firmness and without a doubt who Christ is and so that we can make our personal quest in knowing the Christ who lived and died and rose again for us. Literally brothers and sisters here is the ROCK on which we can stand. Like Peter in II Peter 1:16 we can say, “We have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ but were EYEWITNESS OF HIS MAJESTY.”

Applications:

1. We can know Christ not by merely trusting others and what they say about Him but by our own reading and taking heed to the Word of God.

2. We can stand behind the Word to others because it has eyewitness, it has been investigated, by the moral character of the author and most importantly of all because it is inspired by the Holy Spirit of God.

3. Realize that by being obedient to the Word of God it might cost us. Remember the example of Theophulis.

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

BEWARE OF THE WOLVES MATTHEW 7:15-20

Background: The Lord has just taught them how there is only one gate that leads to heaven beware of those who would teach otherwise.

Matthew 7:15 ( ESV )

¹⁵“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.

· Beware-Take caution, be on the lookout. The yellow light @ the intersection. Greek word has the idea of to pay attention to.

· False prophets-Constant throughout the scriptures. (Think @ Balaam and the donkey. Is. 8 Those who seek after spirits.) Literally a pseudo prophet or an imposter who walks among you.

· Sheep's clothing-They come to you looking as though they are innocent. This largely deals with how they come across on the outside to others. His outer covering looks like everybody else in the group.

· This maybe referring to the shepherds and the clothes that they wore. They pretend to be good shepherds but instead are false.

· In context they are persuading people that the way is not straight or narrow. Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light in II Cor. 11:13-15

· Inwardly-Idea of not an outward appearance but the inward part of them is evil.

· Wolves-The legends of the werewolf. Looks normal on the outside but his true nature will be revealed. He will show himself forth for the wolf that he truly is. Paul's warning to the church @ Ephesus in Acts 20:29-30. They are ravenous and want to consume you whole.

Matthew 7:16 ( ESV )

¹⁶You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?

· You will-This is something that at some point will be revealed. Has the idea of they will be marked.

· Recognize them by their fruits-You will eventually know them by the fruit that their life produces. (ex. Have you ever bit into an apple that looked good on the outside only to have it be bad or wormy on the inside?) Main issue here is what they will produce in their lives.

· Grapes-Thorn bushes, figs-thistles-The answer is no. Genesis 1-2 Like produces like or after their own kind. Note how he uses the fruits of grapes and figs something sweet and tasty to that of thorn bushes and thistles which only produce pain. Like wheat and barley, grapes and figs were among the most valuable and widely consumed fruits of the earth; thorns and thistles were worthless and troublesome to harvesters IVP They would not bear fruit in keeping with repentance. Matthew 3:8

· These hypocrites life will be revealed to all.

Matthew 7:17 ( ESV )

¹⁷So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit.

· Healthy tree-good fruit, diseased tree-bad fruit-If they are healthy they will produce or do those things that are good. If they are diseased they will only spread their sickness. (Remember the Hymeaeus and Philetus in II Tim. 2:17 whom Paul says spread their teaching like gangrene? The word for healthy has as its secondary meaning something that is of benefit or good. The diseased tree is bad or corrupt at its core. The idea of bad here has the idea of that which will be hurtful in the end.

Some Marks of False Prophets:

1. Led people away from true God. Dt. 13

2. Words did not come to pass. 18:21-22 Dt.

3. Do not confess Jesus as coming in flesh. II John 7 and I John 4:1-3

4. Do not allow them to teach in your church or home. II John 10

5. Lives a constant lifestyle of sin. I John 3:4-10 and does not love his brother.

6. Love to put themselves always first. III John 9

7. Mockers of the Lord's second coming. II Peter 3:3-4

8. Blasphmers,Revelers, Deceptive, Adulterous, Entice unsteady souls, hearts trained in greed, forsaking the right ways, boastful, sensual, promise freedom but only enslave others, despise authority. II Peter 2:10-21

9. Bring in destructive heresies. II Peter 2:1

10. Deny that Jesus is God in flesh. John 1:1-14.

Matthew 7:18 ( ESV )

¹⁸A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit.

· It is impossibility for them to bear any other type of fruit than what they themselves are. Their teachings will produce bad results.

Matthew 7:19 ( ESV )

¹⁹Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

· Cut down and thrown into the fire-The end result of their type of lifestyle is that they will be judged and cast into the fires of hell. God will cut or bring them down to destruction. The idea of to throw has an intensity almost with that of violence.

Matthew 7:20 ( ESV )

²⁰Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.

· How will we know if they are false teachers? By the fruit that they bear.

SALT AND LIGHT