SonRise Communtiy Church

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Channel • 3 Shows

Religion & Spirituality

Religion & Spirituality

Updated Biweekly
Religion & Spirituality

Religion & Spirituality

Updated Weekly
Religion & Spirituality

Religion & Spirituality

Updated Weekly

6D AGO

The Plagues, Part 1

Theres a childrens song I learned of a few years ago that wonderfully describes who God is. Many of you who have grown up in the Church probably already know this song. Its called My God is So Big and its main line says, My God is so big, so strong and so mighty, theres nothing my God cannot do. The mountains are His, the valleys are His, the stars are His handiwork to. My God is so big, so strong and so mighty, theres nothing my God cannot do. This song, as simple as it is, wonderfully describes the moment were in right now in Exodus. Today well see God begin to bring the plagues against Egypt. As He does so all of Israel and all of Egypt will learn that God is big, and mighty, and strong, and that theres nothing God cannot do. Today we begin the plagues. There is much to see in them, and Lord willing, we will see much as we go through them. But before we begin, you should know that there is an order to them.[1] Before the final and most devastating plague of all, the first nine plagues are organized and carried out in three sets of three. In each set of three the first plague begins with Moses meeting Pharaoh in the morning (plague 1, 4, and 7), the second plague begins with Moses coming into Pharaohs palace (plague 2, 5, and 8), and the third plague begins with no warning at all (plague 3, 6, and 9). This order reveals not only the presence of order in Gods attack against Egypt, but it serves to highlight the last plague which stands in the place of prominence and singular horror. Today well work through the first two plagues. See first Plague 1: A Bloody Nile (7:14-25) Then theLordsaid to Moses, Pharaoh's heart is hardened; he refuses to let the people go.Go to Pharaoh in the morning, as he is going out to the water, and stand on the bank of the Nile to meet him. Take in your handthe staff that turned into aserpent.And you shall say to him, TheLord, the God of the Hebrews, sent me to you, saying, Let my people go,that they may serve me in the wilderness. But so far, you have not obeyed.Thus says theLord, By thisyou shall know that I am theLord: behold, with the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water that is in the Nile, andit shall turn into blood.The fish in the Nile shall die, and the Nile will stink, and the Egyptians willgrow weary of drinking water from the Nile.And theLordsaid to Moses, Say to Aaron, Take your staff andstretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their rivers, their canals, and their ponds, and all their pools of water, so that they may become blood, and there shall be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, even in vessels of wood and in vessels of stone.Moses and Aaron did as theLordcommanded. In the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants helifted up the staff and struck the water in the Nile, and all thewater in the Nile turned into blood.And the fish in the Nile died, and the Nile stank, so that the Egyptianscould not drink water from the Nile. There was blood throughout all the land of Egypt.Butthe magicians of Egypt did the same by their secret arts. SoPharaoh's heart remained hardened, and he would not listen to them, astheLordhad said.Pharaoh turned and went into his house, and he did not take even this to heart.And all the Egyptians dug along the Nile for water to drink, for they could not drink the water of the Nile.Seven full days passed after theLordhad struck the Nile. The first plague is all about the humiliation of the Nile.[2] Why is this where God begins? God could begin here because when you attack a city and your aim is to destabilize it, a smart beginning is to cut off or pollute their water supply. This tactic was used a lot in the ancient world, but I dont think this is why God begins here. God begins here because for Egypt, the Nile is where all of life began. It was widely understood in the ancient world that the glory of Egypt was a gift of the Nile.[3] The Nile meant everything to them. It was their mode of transportation, their water supply, their food supply, their source of irrigation, and more. The Nile was such a supreme reality for the Egyptians that they came to believe the Nile was a god itself. They named this god Hapi, wrote hymns to Hapi, and worshiped and praised Hapi for being the source of their existence. Thus, God begins attacking Egypt by striking at this god, spilling its blood.[4] It begins in v14, actually in the same place v13 ended, the hardness of Pharaohs heart. This serves not only to remind us as readers of Pharaohs sinful stubborn state, but it serves to remind Moses that hell continue to encounter rejection and refusal from Pharaoh. But regardless, God calls Moses to go out and meet Pharaoh in the morning as he is in the Nile River. Were not told why he is in the Nile, whether he is out for a morning stroll, worshipping Hapi, or bathing as we saw his daughter bathing back in chapter 2. In v15-18 God gives Moses a message for Pharaoh. Moses is to stand on the banks, staff in hand, and say to Pharaoh, that God still demands he let the people go, but because he has not obeyed so far, God will strike the Nile and turn it all to blood. By this, God says, Pharaoh will know that the Lord is God. When this occurs Moses is to tell Pharaoh three things will happen: the fish will die, the Nile will stink, and the Egyptians will weary of drinking from the Nile. Then God gives Moses a message for Aaron in v19, instructing him to carry this out. He is to take his staff, stretch it over the waters of Egyptso that they all become blood. When he does this, notice what happens in v19? God says there shall be blood in all of Egypt even in the vessels and jars of wood and stone. In v20-21 we see all of this take place. Moses spoke to Pharaoh as God commanded, Aaron stretched out his staff as God commanded and all the water in the Nile became blood. But did it? Perhaps there is another more scientific explanation here as to why the river turned red. Maybe there was a lot of sediment in the riverbed that time of year and it got stirred up and gave the appearance of being red, as if it were like blood.[5] Maybe there had been a lot of rain recently, and it had washed loads of red soil into the Nile, giving it a red appearance. Or maybe there was a red-tide event in the Nile where red algae blossomed giving it the look of being like blood. You should know many scholars would have us believe that there really is a natural explanation to all of this, and I could not disagree more.[6] v17, v19, and v20 do not say the waters were turned into something that looked like blood, or resembled the redness of blood, no, the text is clear, the Nile became blood. Whatever scientific difficulties arise from this occurring, we must not miss that the miraculous happened here! What was God saying in this action? Well, see the results of it in v21. All the fish died so the Nile could no longer provide food for Egypt. It stank to all of Egypt, and the stench was so bad no one could drink it any longer, so the Nile could no longer provide drink for Egypt. To the Egyptians this wouldve been disturbing to say the least. Their god Hapi could no longer provide for them, why? Because God proved the stronger. Yet, before we rejoice in this see v22. The magicians of Pharaoh, by their demonic secret arts, were able to turn water into blood too. But wait a minute, how did they get water at this point if all the water in Egypt, which comes from the Nile, had already turned to blood? The answer is in v24. There we see that the people were able to get clean water through digging down for it. So presumably, this is where the magicians got it. But when they turned that water into blood, Pharaoh comforted himself with the thought that whatever happened, it certainly wasnt that big of a deal because his own magicians could duplicate it. So what does he do? v23 shows us, He didnt even take it to heart. And the Nile stayed this way for seven whole days according to v25. Again, that seven is a biblical number often meaning completion, that the river stayed blood for seven full days means God gave a full defeat to their god Hapi.[7] Thats the first plague, now see Plague 2: Egypt Befrogged (8:1-15) Then theLordsaid to Moses, Go in to Pharaoh and say to him, Thus says theLord, Let my people go, thatthey may serve me.But if yourefuse to let them go, behold, I will plague all your country withfrogs.The Nile shall swarm with frogs that shall come up into your house and intoyour bedroom and on your bed and into the houses of your servants and your people,and into your ovens and your kneading bowls.The frogs shall come up on you and on your people and on all your servants.And theLordsaid to Moses, Say to Aaron,Stretch out your hand with your staff over the rivers, over the canals and over the pools, and make frogs come up on the land of Egypt!So Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, andthe frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt.Butthe magicians did the same by their secret arts and made frogs come up on the land of Egypt. Then Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron and said,Plead with theLordto take away the frogs from me and from my people, andI will let the people go to sacrifice to theLord.Moses said to Pharaoh, Be pleased to command me whenI am to plead for you and for your servants and for your people, that the frogs be cut off from you and your houses and be left only in the Nile.And he said, Tomorrow. Moses said, Be it as you say, sothat you may know thatthere is no one like theLordour God.The frogs shall go away from you and your houses and your servants and your people. They shall be left only in the Nile.So Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh, and Moses cried to theLordabout the frogs, as he had agreed with Pharaoh.And theLorddid according to the word of Moses. The frogs died out in the houses, the courtyards, and the fields.And they gathered them together in heaps, and the land stank.But when Pharaoh saw that there was arespite,

6d ago

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6D AGO

Women's Role in Ministry

The Role of Women in Church? 1 Cor. 14 Our tough text this evening is 1 Cor. 14:33b-35 which says, As in all the churches of the saints, the women should keep silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be in submission, as the Law also says. If there is anything they desire to learn, let them ask their husbands at home. For it is shameful for a woman to speak in church. Why is this a tough text? Well, it certainly seems obvious why this passage is among the list of tough texts. What Paul says here has not only been called hateful toward women, it is directly at odds with much of our current cultural climatethat seems ever bent on not just blurring but dismissing gender definitions and roles. Our cultures insistence on this is so strong that it has many within the Church confused, such that many Christians at best have trouble knowing what to do with passages like this, and at worst many Christians no longer hold to traditional gender role distinctions. While we could, from this point, launch out into an entire evening on gender, the Church, and the Churchs role in the world, we wont. Rather, our focus tonight will be narrower, aiming more at what I think is the heart of the matter, the role of women in the Church. I want to focus on this because ones view on women in the Church is something of an orienting position. Meaning, where you land on this issue will by and large determine where you land on many other issues regarding gender. I also want to begin here because most of the modern gender debate begins right here with women. And Im convinced that if we begin on the right track, well stay on that track. So lets dig in. The Reformed tradition, rooted in the Protestant Reformation, has long wrestled with the practical application of biblical principles regarding gender roles within the church. While all branches of the Reformed faith affirm the spiritual equality of men and women as co-heirs of Gods grace and view both male and female as co-image bearers, the interpretation of specific NT passages concerning church leadership and public teaching has caused much debate. This discussion is not merely academic; it shapes the structure, ministry, and daily life of many churches around the world. The views on the role of women in the Church are most often understood in two major positions, complementarianism and egalitarianism. While the majority of believers fall in either of those camps, two more positions have emerged in our day that we need to discuss as well, soft-complementarianism and patriarchalism. Tonight Ill speak on all four of these positions. Of course I wont be able to say everything needed in our time, but it will serve as an introduction to the positions. Well begin with the major two positions, then moving on to visit the two smaller positions. Complementarianism If complementarianism were to have a motto, it would be this, equal in worth, distinct in function. Complementarianism is the dominant position within many conservative denominations. The core tenet of this view is that men and women are equal in essence, worth, and dignity, but God has designed them for different, complementary roles in the home and the church. Scriptural Foundation Where do they get this view? Complementarians base their position on two primary themes within Scripture: the created order and explicit NT patterns. The Created Order: the narrative of creation in Genesis 2 is interpreted as establishing a pattern of headship. The man was created first, and the woman was created as a helper, a term understood to teach us that the woman was made to be a necessary and powerful partner to the man, but made to have a distinct role from the mans. The fall of man in Genesis 3 is seen as a distortion of this original, good order, not where the origin of the order itself. Before the fall we see harmony. Adam leading, Eve submitting as helper, and all is well. After the fall we see tension. God speaks to this in Genesis 3:16 saying the womans desire will be against her husband, but nonetheless he would rule over her. Thus, in the complementarian view, this created order in Genesis 1-2 stands till the end of the world. New Testament Patterns: Pauls letters are considered the clearest articulation of the gender role restriction. The key texts are: 1 Timothy 2:11-14, I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet. For Adam was formed first, then Eve; and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor. Here there is evidence of Paul grounding his words in the creation order (Adam first, then Eve) and the fall, rather than in the cultural context of Timothys church in Ephesus. Similarly, 1 Corinthians 14:34 which states that women should keep silent in the churches, is seen, not as a blanket statement regarding women and any speech coming from them, but rather as reinforcing the principle that women should not take on the authoritative public teaching role of the church. How is a complementarian view applied in the Church? The practical application of complementarianism centers on the ordained offices of the church of elder and deacon. While women are not restricted from the office of deacon because it is an office of service, women are restricted from holding the office of elder and pastor, because this is the office of teaching, of rule, and authority over the congregation. However, this is not a call or command for the marginalization of women. Complementarians strongly emphasize the positive and essential roles women are called to fill, which are seen as equally valuable and vital to the church's health. In a complementarian church, every role and office within that church is seen as open and available to women, except the role of elder. Egalitarianism If egalitarianism were to have a motto it would be, full equality in all roles. Egalitarianism, while a minority position in most conservative churches, is a robust and growing view within mainstream evangelical churches as well as liberal churches. This position teaches that gender is irrelevant to a qualifications for any ministry role, including the office of elder and pastor. Scriptural Foundation Where do they get this view? Egalitarians argue that the overarching narrative of Scripture, particularly the redemptive work of Christ, supersedes any perceived gender restrictions. They highlight Galatians 3:28 which says, There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. Egalitarians teach that this verse ought to be interpreted as the definitive statement on the new order in Christ, which abolishes all distinctions within the Church, including those based on gender, making all roles within the Church equally eligible for both men and women. They also point to the examples of women in ministry found in the NT. Phoebe, who is described as a diakonos (deacon or minister) of the church in Cenchreae in Romans 16:1. They believe Junia is called an apostle in Romans 16:7. They point to Priscilla and Aquila who instructed Apollos in the way of God in Acts 18:26, demonstrating an authoritative teaching role. They point to the promise of prophecy in Joel 2:28 which says, Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy and then are eager to point out that Phillips daughters prophesied in Acts 21. What do they do about the hard texts in 1 Tim. 2 and 1 Cor. 14? According to them, they do not ignore the restrictive passages but offer alternative interpretations that harmonize them with the rest of Scripture. For 1 Tim. 2 they say the restriction is contextual, addressing a local problem in Ephesus, such as women teaching heresy or usurping authority, or even just being disruptive in nature. For 1 Cor. 14 they say the passage is seen as addressing disorder in worship, disruptive questioning or cultural customs, rather than prescribing a blanket ban on all public speech from women. Some more critical egalitarian scholars also argue these passages werent written by Paul at all. So in an egalitarian church it is often the case that youll not only find women in authoritative leadership over the church, and in teaching positions within the church, but youll find women pastors in the church as well. So what have we seen so far? While the complementarian positions holds to equality in worth and a distinction in roles, the egalitarian position holds to equality in worth as well as gender roles being interchangeable between male and female. Now that these majority positions have been covered in some detail, lets move onto to the minority positions. Soft Complementarianism This position, often found in the more progressive wings of complementarian churches and does have some overlap with complementarianism. This position maintains the gender restriction only for the ordained teaching role in the lead pastor. But apart from that role, these churches seek to maximize the role of women in all other areas. A soft complementarian church will often allow women to teach mixed gender adult groups in Sunday school, various Bible studies, and on Sunday mornings as long as the woman teaching states she is not exercising final, authoritative, pulpit-level teaching and that she is remaining under the ultimate authority of the male eldership. It will often emphasize the spiritual gifts of women and hire non-ordained leadership roles to utilize those gifts fully, usually going by other labels as opposed to the traditional ones, like ministry director and the like, instead of pastor. Patriarchalism This position, often found in the far right wings of complementarian churches is the most restrictive position well cover tonight. Sometimes referred to as Gospel Patriarchy, this view does have some overlap with complementarianism. But it puts forward a system that emphasizes the comprehensive nature of male headship

6d ago

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SEP 11

A2-In Response to Tragedy

A-Squared

Sep 11

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AUG 17

Introduction to Tough Texts

Intro to Tough Texts What do you do when you read the Bible and you come across a verse that makes you stop and think, Wait a minute, did God really say that? Do you skip it? Do you wrestle with it? Do you doubt? Do you close your Bible in frustration? Or do you pray and ask God for help? All of us have faced these moments, and those moments are what this series is all about. It is good to be with you all this evening as we embark on a new evening sermon series. As many of you know the series this is called Tough Texts, and in this series we will be looking at just that, passages in the Scripture that are difficult to handle. A few weeks ago we announced that we would be beginning this series in our various small groups, and we asked many of you to think about passages that they find difficult. Many of you went home, thought about this, and you came prepared to our most recent members meeting where I asked you to share them with me. Many passages were shared, but only 13 were selected for this sermon series, at least for this fall. I am eager to get to these texts and start working through them with you, but tonight is all about introductions. So in our time together tonight I want to tell you where we'll be going, and tell you the texts that were chosen, but I also want to tell you about the hard reality of difficult passages in Scripture, and I want to tell you why I did not choose certain passages. Let's begin there. There were many passages given to us that I did not choose, here's a few reasons why. First, I did not choose topics that were given. Meaning, I tried to stick with texts, actual messages in the old or New Testament that people find difficult. For example, someone shared that they would love to hear about the difficult topic of divine sovereignty versus human responsibility. I think that's a great topic. I think that's a needed topic. But it is a topic rather than a text. There were other examples like this, that were more a general topic then a specific passage of scripture, and while those would be good studies in and of themselves that's not really the aim of this series. Perhaps at a time in the future we can do a series called tough topics where we are not zeroed in on a specific passage of Scripture but are rather thinking more broadly and systematically through a topic presented to us in the Scriptures. All this to say, my aim was to choose specific texts rather than specific topics. Second, I did not choose texts that are near our current Sunday morning series. We are currently going through the book of Exodus in our Sunday morning gatherings and so if anything was near the book of Exodus or found in the book of Exodus I did not choose it for this series. Why? Because while those are specific texts, they are texts that we will come to and deal with in the near future in our time together on Sunday mornings. For example, someone shared that they would love to hear the passage explained in Exodus chapter 4 where many puzzling things occur. There the Lord seeks to kill Moses, there is a swift circumcision, followed by Moses's wife throwing the foreskin of that circumcision at Moses's feet, and her calling him a bridegroom of blood. This is certainly a tough text, but it is a text that we will come to very shortly on Sunday morning. Another example, someone shared that they would love to hear an explanation of the entire passage of the 4th commandment, concerning the Sabbath rest that God commands His people to make a regular part of their week. That also is a classic example of a tough text, but it's one that we will be hitting together Lord willing in 2026 on Sunday mornings. So rather than dealing with it here in the evening as well as dealing with it in the morning we will just leave things like that to the morning series. Third and lastly, I did not choose texts that were given from the book of Judges. This is not because I dislike the book of Judges and this is not because I think the book of Judges is inappropriate for us to study. On the contrary I love the book of Judges and think it's very appropriate for us to study in our time together. The reason I did not select any texts from the book of Judges is because there were so many texts given that come from the book of Judges, so many in fact we couldve spend half our evening series in that book. Apparently SonRise has loads of questions about the book. So it would not be a bad idea to consider actually going through the book of Judges sometime soon as a church, perhaps we can do that this coming Spring. That way we not only will be given the opportunity to learn from the entire book of Judges, but we will get to work through every single one of those texts that were shared and given for this series. So to summarize what I did not choose for this evening series: I did not choose anything that resembled a topic, I did not choose anything from, near, or related to our Sunday morning sermon series, and I did not choose anything from the book of Judges. Now, what did I choose? Here is the list: 8/24 Anger in Paul? (Eph. 4:26-31) 8/31 Losing Salvation? (Hebrews 6) 9/7 Holy War or Genocide? (Deut. 20) 9/14 God Hates Sinners? (Psalm 5 / 11) 9/21 Did Jesus Descend into Hell? (1 Pet. 3:18-22) 9/28 Head Coverings? (1 Cor. 11) 10/5 God Regrets? (Gen. 6 / 1 Sam. 15) 10/12 Free Will? (2 Cor. 8:16-17) 10/19 Imprecatory Psalms? (Psalm 137) 10/26 Reformation Movie night 11/2 Role of Women in the Church? (1 Cor. 14) 11/9 Sin Leading to Death? (1 John 5:16-17) 11/16 Hating Family? (Luke 14:26) 11/23 Will All Israel be Saved? (Romans 11:25-26) Lastly, I d like end by discussing the hard reality of tough texts. And to do that I'd actually like to take you to a text. So if you have your Bibles open to 2 Peter 3:15-16, And countthe patience of our Lord as salvation, just asour beloved brother Paul also wrote to youaccording to the wisdom given him, as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters.There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction,as they do the other Scriptures. Notice right away what Peter says. He is honest about the contents of Scripture. He isnt shy about it, he doesnt try to hide it, or cover it up, no, he tells us plainly that there are passages in Scripture that are hard to understand. Not only notice how Peter refers to the writings of Paul as Scripture, but notice how Peter is honest about Pauls writings, that there are portions of them that are hard to understand. If even the apostle Peter found this to be true of Paul, we will as well. Now, since this is true for Paul. Can we not apply this to the whole of Scripture as well? I think we can. How do we respond to this? Should we ignore those passages? Or throw in the towel and give up when we come across them? Not at all. Even though theyre hard to understand, we should work at understanding them better. The easy thing to do would be to do what Peter says some do in this passage. the ignorant and unstable twist the Scripture to their own destruction This shows us what not to do with tough texts. We should not interpret them in such a way that is ignorant or unstable. What do the ignorant and unstable do with the Word? They interpret the hard passages, the tough texts, not by reading them for what they are, no. Instead they twist them to suit their own desires, and thus make plain their own destruction. Do not do this with tough texts. Read them for what they are, rather than interpreting them in an underhanded manner. In this we see why this is not just an academic exercise, handling the Scriptures rightly really is a matter of life and death. Lord willing, part of my aim each week as we work through these texts is to demonstrate how to handle the text in an appropriately God honoring manner, rather than an unstable and ignorant manner. So we have see that tough texts exist, and what not to do with them. But lets go further. R.C. Sproul, in his book Hard Sayings says tough texts can be classified into three categories. First, a passage can be a tough text if it appears to be harsh to us in its meaning. So if a text jolts us, shocks us, or we have a kind of shrinking back from them, they are a tough text to us. Well deal with a few of these kind of tough texts in our evenings together. Second, a passage can be a tough text if it is hard to understand. While the first category of tough text is clear just difficult to swallow, this next category of tough text is different in that they are texts that are very difficult to unravel. Well also deal with a few of these kind of tough texts in our evenings together. Third, a passage can be a tough text if it is controversial in the history of interpretation. Whats an example of a text being controversial in its interpretation? Well, that kind of brings us back to the first two categories doesnt it? If it a text seems harsh to us, or if a text seems like an unsolvable puzzle, we will see a mass of interpretive options throughout the history of the Church. One last encouragement and then Ill take some questions. One way to grow in Christ and in the knowledge of the Scriptures thats not talked about very muchis focusing on the tough texts. Think about it. When you come to a text that seems greatly puzzling to you, you have a choice. The easy road is to ignore it and move on, staying close to those portions of Scripture you do find easy to understand and digest. But will you grow like that? I mean, its always great to read the Bible, but if we only ever read those parts of it that we find easy to understand, well likely only ever stay in the shallow end of the biblical pool. But if we make the harder choice, and face those texts, really leaning into them and trying to understand them, the odds are that well end up understanding them and growing in our knowledge of God and the Scriptures. So too when you come to a t

Aug 17

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SEP 21

The Burning Bush, Part 4

SonRise Community Church Morning Sermons

Sep 21

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SEP 7

The Burning Bush, Pt 2

Id like to begin with a question this morning: what was God doing before He created the world? This is a question every Christian eventually asks. One way to answer this is to say that before God made the world He was lonely, feeling a lack, and desired to fill an emptiness within Him, leading Him to make the world and all in it. And now that the world is here and we ourselves are here, God isnt lonely anymore but feels fulfilled and whole.[1] If you took a survey of Christians from all over, asking them this question, I think youd hear something like this answer quite often. This morning Id like to propose a different answer to the question. What was God doing before He created the world? I dont think He was lonely, feeling empty, or just twiddling His thumbs, no, I think God was just fine. More than fine in fact. I think before God created the world He was infinitely content and happy in Himself. Why do I say this? Because the God of Scripture is a God who has no needs, is fully independent, and fully self-sufficient. And Church, I think this is very good news for us. Last week we arrived at one of the most foundational moments in the whole Bible, the moment where God appears to Moses at the burning bush. We took a big look last week at all of chapter 3, and when we came to v14 where God tells Moses His name I said wed spend our entire time together this week on that very reality. Well Church, here we are. Open your Bibles to Exodus 3. Again the single verse before us today is Exodus 3:14 which says this, God said to Moses, I AM WHO I AM And he said, Say this to the people of Israel: I AM has sent me to you. All kinds of books covering all kinds of things have been written on this single verse. That alone ought to let us know that this is so significant a verse that it demands at least one entire sermon. To simplify this, Ive decided to focus on two major realities this verse teaches us. First, the God not like us. And second, the God who became like us. The God Not Like Us In the context of Exodus 3 we must firstly say that this verse is Gods gracious response to Moses fearful questioning. There he expressed great doubt and fear. God had commanded him in v10 to go back into Egypt, to Pharaoh himself, to demand that he let Israel go. We saw last week how this terrified Moses in v11. He expresses his fear to God, and God responded to Moses fear by making a great promise v12. He promised Moses that His very presence would be with him as he went before Pharaoh. Yet Moses fear and doubt remained, prompting him to ask God a new question in v13. This time he asked God what he should do if one of the Israelites ever asks about Gods name. And then we see it. In v14 we see Gods gracious response to Moses fear and doubt as God reveals His divine name. While v14 is certainly Gods response to Moses questions, it is far more than a response to Moses. Here God is making an assertion of authority, a confession of eternal and essential reality.[2] When God says His name is I AM WHO I AM, and that Moses should say I AM has sent him, the name actually given here is only four Hebrew letters, YHWH. These four letters are the imperfect tense of the Hebrew verb to be, meaning I am or I will be. This name is sometimes called the tetragrammaton because it only contains four Hebrew consonants. If we supply the vowels needed it becomes something like Yahweh. Now, Jews of old believed this name was so holy and so revered that you should never utter it for fear of taking it in vain. This is reflected in our English translations. When the divine name shows up it's usually translated with the word LORD, in all caps. The KJV does a bit more, adding more vowels to the divine name, ending up with the name Jehovah. In this name we learn much. We learn that God is not like us. Why? Because Hes the I AM. Meaning He is self-existent, He is the Creator and Sustainer of all things. He is utterly separate and unique and independent over and above all things. Moses asked a question and God responded, yes. But Gods response isnt so much an answer as it is an entire theology.[3] Church, almost all of what is revealed to us here in v14 can be boiled down to one attribute of God, His aseity. Have any of you ever heard that word before? The word aseity comes from two Latin words, a meaning from and se meaning self. God is thus from Himself. Aseity is the first attribute of God we encounter in the Bible.[4] Think back to how Genesis begins, In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. In this opening chapter to the Bible we see many beginnings. The beginning of the heavens, the beginning of the earth, the skies, the sea, the land, birds, fish, creatures, and mankind. Many beginnings indeed. But dont miss that in Genesis 1:1 we also are introduced to the God who was there before the beginning, the God who never had a beginning. It makes perfect sense then, that when God reveals His name to Moses at the burning bush in Exodus 3, He reveals it as I AM. That God is the I AM, that He has aseity, leads us to think of the great difference between God and us. We are born into this world as dependent finite beings. Our existence comes from our mother and father. We are because they had us. More so, the whole of our lives, from conception to death, must be upheld and sustained by God, making us dependent not only on our mother and father, but above all on God. In other words, the whole of our life comes from God the author and source and fountain of life. Church, God is not like this. His nature isnt like our nature. Unlike ourselves and unlike everything in this world, His existence doesnt come from someone or something else. No one brought him into being and He isnt dependent on another to be sustained in His existence. We can be measured, God is immeasurable. We are contingent beings, God is not contingent on anything else. Our entire existent is grounded in Him, Gods existence is grounded in Himself alone. We are because of others, we continue because of another. God simply is. He is the I AM. St. Anselm of Canterbury described this long ago saying God has of Himself all that He has, while other things have nothing of themselves. And other things, having nothing of themselves, have their only reality from Him.[5] So while our nature is that of a derived being, having our source in God, Gods nature and essence is pure being. What does this mean? It means that God isnt like us. He and ourselves are different types of beings. While we are needy, weak, dependent creatures, God is an eternally and perfectly independent being. All this comes from the fact that God has aseity, that He is the I AM. This is weighty stuff I know. So perhaps an illustration will help. On occasion Holly and I will hear our kids get into arguments with each other making big statements of ownership. For example we will sometimes hear them say to each other, You messed up my room. Or, Dont move my stuff. Or, You knocked over my Legos. This is pretty normal for kids to talk like this, its actually pretty normal for us too. When our kids get a bit too intense in moments like this we come in, try to assess the situation, de-escalate tempers, dole out the appropriate correction/discipline, and remind them that they dont own anything. Everything they have was given to them by us as a gift. It is good parenting to remind our kids of this truth. And if its good for our kids to be reminded of this, its also good for ourselves to be reminded of this truth too. That all we are, all we have, all of usmeaning all our needs that are met, all our weaknesses that are strengthened, all our lack that is filled comes from the God who has no needs, no weakness, and no lack in Himself. Lets ask a further question then. Why does God give anything to us at all? Or perhaps a bigger question is better. Since God has eternally been fully content and sufficient in Himself, why did God create anything in the first place? Well, it certainly wasnt to fill a lack in Himself, no. He created and sustains and gives and blesses because He is gracious. And as an eternally full being, like a fountain, God cannot help but overflow. This truth has a massive effect on our worship. In Psalm 50 this comes out so clearly. There God has been stirred to anger because of His peoples sin, and they think in all their sin they can worship with no problems. God rebukes them for this saying in Psalm 50:7-15, Hear, O my people, and I will speak; O Israel, I will testify against you. I am God, your God. Not for your sacrificesdo I rebuke you; your burnt offerings are continually before me. I will not accept a bull from your house or goats from your folds. For every beast of the forest is Mine, the cattle on a thousand hills. I know all the birds of the hills, and all that moves in the field is Mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world and its fullness are Mine. Do I eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of goats? Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and perform your vows to the Most High, and call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me. Then in an astounding statement, a few verses later God rebukes us for thinking He was like us. In Psalm 50:21 God says, you thought that Iwas one like yourself. But now Irebuke you andlay the charge before you. Our worship of God, then, is not intended to meet the needs of God, as if He were insecure and our worship of Him gave Him security. No, Hes the I AM. The essence of our worship is fueled by who God is and what God has done. At His holiness, righteousness, greatness, and wisdom. And this great God has done great things, for usso we worship Him as a being utterly above us in every way possible. Church, this grand reality is the very thing Moses is hearing on the mountain in Exodus 3:14. The God Moses encountered in the burning bush was the God of absolute and infinite being, different from himself in every

Sep 7

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OCT 12

Cruelty & Confusion

Every now and then its good to remind ourselves what were doing here in this teaching moment called a sermon. Were in a sermon series where were going through the book of Exodus, yes. Were working through it verse by verse, yes. But, how are we approaching this book as a whole? Four ways.[1] Were approaching the book of Exodus historically, meaning were seeking to see the historical context in which these events occur. Were approaching the book of Exodus theologically, meaning were seeking to see who God is and shows Himself to be in Exodus. Were approaching the book of Exodus Christologically, meaning were seeking to see how Exodus points far on ahead of itself to the Person and Work of Jesus Christ. Lastly, were approaching the book of Exodus practically, meaning were seeking to see how Exodus, like everything else in the Bible, teaches us how to live the Christian life. This is how were approaching the book of Exodus. Today we come to Exodus 5:10-21. But remember whats going on in the story. Three big themes are beginning to emerge that will continue to stand out as the main themes for the next ten chapters or so.[2] First there is the demand God makes to Pharaoh to let His people go. Second, there is Pharaohs resistance to that demand which will grow in the chapters to come, even though it ebbs and flows at times. And lastly, there are the consequences Pharaoh and all of Egypt face for Pharaohs resistance to Gods commands. Its these three themes weve begun to see and will continue to see throughout many chapters ahead of us, as God and Pharaoh face off in head-to-head combat. But at this point where we are in chapter 5, weve only seen Moses first interaction with Pharaoh, Pharaohs initial stubbornness, and Pharaoh increasing His cruelty toward Israel. And yet, we must remember, Israel is moving closer and closer towards freedom, even though their suffering is increasing in the present moment. God is saving them, yet, their discomfort grows. This is the big idea set before us today in 5:10-21. A Cruel Yoke (v10-14) So thetaskmasters and the foremen of the people went out and said to the people, Thus says Pharaoh, I will not give you straw.Go and get your straw yourselves wherever you can find it, but your work will not be reduced in the least.So the people were scattered throughout all the land of Egypt to gather stubble for straw.Thetaskmasters were urgent, saying, Complete your work, your daily task each day, as when there was straw.And the foremen of the people of Israel, whom Pharaohstaskmasters had set over them, were beaten and were asked, Why have you not done all your task of making bricks today and yesterday, as in the past? So after Moses and Aarons first chat with Pharaoh didnt go so well in v1-9, v10-14 shows us the result of that poor encounter. Pharaoh said to Moses and Aaron that the people are clearly far too idle if they have time to think about going out to worship their God, so he set his mind to increasing their workload by not giving them any straw to make bricks while still demanding the same daily quota of bricks. How does Pharaoh carry out this cruel measure? v10-11 show it, Pharaohs taskmasters went out to the foreman of Israel to convey the cruel message. But notice a few things about the message.[3] It begins with the phrase, Thus says Pharaoh This is not the normal way Pharaoh would speak. He does this to make a mockery of Moses and Aarons request. Back in 5:1 Aaron said, Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel so as Pharaoh rejected the Lord and His commands, he now uses the same language to ridicule God and the Israelites. Also notice what he says after this. The message of Pharaoh is, Thus says Pharaoh, Go Why is this the first word he chooses to say? Because that was the main message Moses and Aaron came with, to let the people go. Now, in arrogant mockery Pharaoh will let the people go, not to leave, but to gather up their own straw to make bricks. This language shows us the great contest has begun between Pharaoh and the Lord. And we as readers can look back in wonder and awe because we know Pharaoh wont stand a chance in this fight. The Lord will win, were just watching it play out. In the meantime Israel suffers in many ways. The command was clear, the same number of bricks are required, but now they wont be provided any straw to make them, which means theyll have to go out and gather their own. So off they go in v12-13, scattering all over Egypt to try and get what they need while the Egyptian taskmasters are urgently reminding them of the required task. The sense we get in v12-13 is that they cant find much straw at all and have to resort to using stubble to try and make bricks. What is this about?[4] Well, normally the straw used in brick making came from the stalks of longer crops, normally from grains and vegetables in the fields. When those were harvested they would set the stalks aside and give them to those making bricks. Thats where the straw came from. And straw was an essential part of making bricks as it would reinforce the clay and help it not fall apart when it dried. You can see this firsthand for yourself in many museums around the world that display artifacts from ancient Egypt. In some of them you can see bricks with pieces of straw sticking out of them.[5] Stubble on the other hand, is different. Stubble was the short part of the stalk but the stubble was just above the root. It was not only a bad substitute for making bricks and holding clay together, it was incredibly hard to gather. Not only would it have to be harvest season to get it, but gathering the stubble required tedious cutting and careful pulling to not damage it in the process. So as Israel hears this command, a few days pass and it becomes clear the quota of bricks is simply not going to be met under these harsh new conditions, which is what leads to the dreadful scene in v14. There we see the foremen of Israel are brought before the taskmasters of Egypt, and theyre beaten. Why? Because they didnt meet the quota of bricks. And as theyre being beaten the taskmasters mock them by asking a question they already know the answer to, Why have you not done all your task of making bricks today and yesterday, as in the past? At this point the sense of crushing desperation and injustice is high for Israel.[6] Out of sheer spite and arrogant mockery, Pharaoh requires an impossible task and then beats them when theyre unable to complete it. This is a complete humiliation of Israel. One commentator described the scene in vivid detail saying, They worked out in the hot Egyptian sun all day, driven to optimum production by their taskmasters. They had no hats to protect their heads and wore nothing but thin aprons on their bodiesno one stood by to give the slaves a drink every few minutes. It does not take much imagination to conclude that the severe rigor imposed on the Hebrews resulted in many of them dying of dehydrationheat stroke and the like.[7] This comment was about their normal toil when they had straw! Can you imagine how impossible their work became when they no longer had any straw? Their enslavement was horrid enough, and now Pharaoh just made it worse. What do we learn from this? Well we certainly learn about the historical context of the Israelites enslavement in Egypt. But we can learn more. Weve already mentioned how Moses is a type or preview of Christ, and weve rejoiced as weve seen that so far in our time in Exodus. If we pull those threads a bit further, and say that Exodus gives us a powerful picture of what it means and looks like to be enslaved by sin.[8] Just as the children of Israel were held prisoner in the house of bondage in Egypt under Pharaohs cruel thumb, so too all humanity comes into the world already incarcerated in the prison of sin. Just as the Israelites had to take orders from Pharaoh and despaired in his service, so to all sinners have a worse and crueler master in the Devil, and all in his service face the greatest despair. You see, sin is a harsh taskmaster. Many have said it because of how true it is, sin will take you farther than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay, and cost you more than you want to pay. When you indulge in sin, you think its done, that youve satisfied the hunger, and you can move on. But the tricky part about sin is that its hunger only increases. It only grows and increases until it consumes everything in its path. The Devil promises great freedom, but he never tells you about the cost of life in his service. See, the more you give room to sin, the more he tightens his grip, and the more he tightens his grip, the more he binds the chains of sin around our necks. Satans strategy is always like Pharaohs, more bricks, less straw. But praise God (!), just as Pharaohs cruel yoke on Israel would be broken by the Lord, so too the Devils crueler yoke on sinners is broken by Jesus as soon as that sinner turns to Christ. Jesus said, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin but if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. (John 8:34, 36) Considering how cruel Pharaohs yoke is to Israel, how wonderful is the yoke of Christ? Matthew 11:28ff, Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and my burden is light. So to all who are weary and need rest, all who feel worthless and wonder if God cares, all who sin and need a Savior: the gospel offers welcome in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Weve seen the cruel yoke of Pharaoh, now see A Confused People (v15-21) Then the foremen of the people of Israel came and cried to Pharaoh, Why do you treat your servants like this?No straw is given to your servants, yet they say to us, Make bricks! And behold, your servants are beaten; but the fault is in your own people.But he said, You are idle, you are idle; t

Oct 12

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AUG 13

A-Squared Returns

A-Squared

Aug 13

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JUN 15

Conversion

1. The Gospel Proclaimed 2. The Heart Pierced 3. The Call to Repent 4. The Gift of the Spirit 5. The Marks of New Life

Jun 15

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APR 6

Two Prophets

Well after many Sundays together going through the Sermon on the Mount, were now drawing near the end of it. Here in Matthew 7 Jesus is wrapping up His teaching with some of His most pointed teaching and application of the whole sermon. He presses us to decision time and time again, presenting us with four sets of twos. Last week Pastor Andrew preached on 7:12-14 where Jesus puts two ways before us. Here in our text this week in 7:15-20 Jesus puts two prophets before us. The passage after this one, 7:21-23, Jesus will put two disciples before us. And ending it all is 7:24-27 where Jesus puts two foundations before us. In each of these sections all of us hearing Jesus words come to a crossroads where we must choose one way or another. Today that choice before us is regarding those who teach. Specifically in v15-20, this whole passage is a warning against one kind of person, the false prophet. We need to hear this warning. Why? Because Jesus doesnt want us to be unaware of the fact that not everyone who stands up before you to teach in the Church has your best interest in mind. Some are false. We need to know that. We need to know that false prophets and false teachers exist. We need to learn how to recognize them. And we need to know the end theyll come to. Thats what this passage is all about. But when we see that for what it is, well also see the glory of the true prophet, the Lord Jesus, for His true ministry, true teaching, and true living. Lets turn to these things now. The Reality of False Prophets (v15) Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheeps clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. Right away as v15 begins Jesus presents with a stark reality. False prophets exist, and were to beware, be on the lookout, and carefully watch out for them, lest they creep into our midst, deceive us, and destroy us. But who and what exactly is a false prophet? That can be answered easily enough by turning the definition of a prophet on its head. A prophet is Gods mouthpiece, one who speaks for God. As the priest stood in the gap speaking to God on behalf of man, the prophet stood in the gap speaking to men on behalf of God. A false prophet then, is one who claims to speak for God but in reality doesnt. Rather, they speak for themselves, speak for other causes, and even speak for other gospels. A true prophet could honestly say Thus saith the LORD while a false prophet couldnt but would likely say it anyway. Its hard to know if Jesus had a particular group of people or individual person(s) in mind as He says these things, but the term false prophet is large enough to cover anyone who falsely claims to set forth the things of God.[1] Sadly, OT Israel knew many false prophets. Balaam in the book of Numbers who attempted to curse Gods people, the prophets of Baal who stood against Elijah on Mt. Carmel, the prophets in 1 Kings 22 who always gave the king good and encouraging words while the prophet Micaiah always gave the truth, and of course the most famous of all were the popular prophets who would calm the people down shouting Peace! Peace! when Jeremiah was constantly warning the people against impending exile for their many sins. So too, the NT Church knew false prophets running amuck in their own day. After Paul encouraged the elders in Ephesus to pay careful attention to the flock God bought with His own blood, he warns them in Acts 20:29-30 that after he leaves he knows many fierce wolves will come in speaking twisted things to lead many astray. Paul later on even mentions two men by name in 2 Tim. 2, Hymenaeus and Philetus, whos teaching was already upsetting the faith of some. These are just some of the examples we see in Scripture. And no surprise, just as OT Israel and the NT Church experienced false prophets, every generation since has had their own false prophets to watch out for. Notice though, in v15 the false prophet is one who comes to you. This little phrase means theyre from outside of us but they come to us and present themselves to us as if they were with us, as if they were one of us. In other words, they appear on the surface to be something theyre not. Jesus says they come to us in sheeps clothing meaning they dont come to us with signs hanging around their necks with the words FALSE PROPHET on them. No, they will come among us, looking like one of us, acting pleasant and sincere, seeking to win us over because they want to be accepted by us. And because they look the part and talk the talk, no one will suspect them. This will be their outward form, yet lurking just underneath this shiny sheep-like exterior is a wolfish grin. Jesus tells us this. Outwardly they look like sheep, yet inwardly theyre ravenous wolves with an insatiable appetite for devouring sheep. So held within their identity as ravenous wolves is their aim. They seek to devour, seek to destroy, and seek to undo us. This is the false teacher. Jesus doesnt say they might or may come into our midst, but that they will come. Church, we must be aware of this and learn that people, when they claim to speak for God, cannot just be taken at face value and be trusted.[2] They must be tested. What kind of tests? See what Jesus says next The Recognition of False Prophets (v16-18) You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Here we see the tests we must employ regarding those who claim to speak for God. Tests that will reveal if theyre true or false prophets. Tests that are all about fruit. But what fruit are we looking for? Jesus doesnt define what fruit He has in mind here in this passage, so how do we know what Hes talking about? We might initially think Jesus is referring to fruit in teaching. This would lead us to ask if the one teaching is faithful or faithless in their teaching? Perhaps a false prophet subtracts from the Word, by leaving out certain doctrines or certain texts that they know people find difficult. Perhaps a false prophet teaches to entertain or to tickle the ears of their hearers to please them or humor them, rather than teaching to please the Lord. Perhaps a false prophet teaches to make much of themselves by showboating or putting on a performance to show others how great they are. Perhaps a false prophet adds to the Word, by teaching things that contradict what is in Scripture. Now, I do think theres a conversation to be had regarding these false teachers in our day and what they teach, it is certainly a problem in our day, as it has been in every generationbut I dont think this is the kind of fruit Jesus has in mind in this passage. What kind of fruit does Jesus have in mind then? Well, think of what weve already learned. In v15 we learned the false prophet will come into our midst in sheeps clothing, meaning they will look like us and talk like us. I think its safe to conclude then that the teaching of a false prophet will sound right and true and orthodox, so right sounding in fact that we wont notice a difference at first. So, I dont think the tests about fruit are primarily theological or about the false prophets teaching. What fruit are we testing then? Well, lets examine how Matthew uses this word fruit in his gospel.[3] In 3:8 he speaks of bearing fruit in keeping with repentance. In 12:33 he speaks of the fruit of ones mouth that shows the true condition of the heart. In 13:23 he speaks of bearing abundant fruit in life and character after hearing the Word preached. In 21:19 he speaks of fruitlessness in life as faithlessness toward God. And finally in 21:33-43 he speaks of fruitfulness as the kind of life the Kingdom of God produces. Taking all of this together I would argue that Matthew primarily uses this word fruit to speak about character and ethical matters, he uses it mainly to speak about how one lives their life. This then is what I think Jesus is referring to in our passage in chapter 7. You will know a false prophet by their fruit means, you will know a false prophet by their false life. However plausible their words are, however sheepish, however true and right they sound, the true test is how they live their life. Is their godliness there or is there godlessness there? Just as grapes dont come from thornbushes, and figs dont come from thistles, the fruit of a godly life doesnt come from a false prophet. Thats v16, where Jesus shows us the basic principle at work. He then explains more in v17-18. Here He brings up the nature of a tree in relation to its fruit to illustrate His teaching. He mentions two kinds of trees, healthy trees and diseased trees. By appearance alone it might be impossible to know the difference between these two trees. One thing displays the difference, its fruit. v17 shows the truth from the positive side, saying a healthy tree can only produce good fruit while the diseased tree can only produce bad fruit. v18 shows the truth from the negative side, saying a healthy tree cannot produce bad fruit while the diseased tree cannot produce good fruit. These two kinds of trees function like this in relation to the fruit they bear because of their nature. Healthy trees only produce good fruit because its their nature to do so. And diseased trees only produce bad fruit because its their nature to do so. These two trees cannot produce the opposite of what they are, it would be impossible for them to do so. Such is the false prophet. By nature of who they are, they can only produce fruit in line with their nature. So the false prophet, being false, will only and always produce bad fruit in their false living. Its who they are. For them to bear good fruit would be contrary to their nature. I do think Jesus is being pretty clear here, but we have trouble with this in our day. How so? We often assume a ministry is healthy or a ministry must be of God if

Apr 6

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This channel features the ongoing weekly morning and evening sermons and seminars of SonRise Community Church in New Port Richey, Florida.

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Two Prophets

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