I was at Journey Community Church last Sunday when we read Matthew 22:37. When Jesus was asked what must someone do in order to inherit life, Jesus responds “Love the Lord your God with all your heart with all soul and with all your mind.”
Jesus was quoting Deuteronomy 6:4. But in Deuteronomy there are four things in which we are to love God: heart, soul, mind, and strength.
Matthew was written to a Jewish audience.
Jews would notice that strength was left out…
Matthew was writing about the kingdom of God…
What does God want strength used for with the kingdom of God? If Christ was the God-man, what did he do with his strength? Could Christ hang on the cross and summon all the angels to rescue him?
If Christ surrendered his strength, then than perhaps we can love God not by our strength but by surrendering our strength. And by having the strength to surrender, through that, the love of God is revealed.
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Isaiah - Uzziah
Isaiah 6:1 begins in the year Uzziah died.
Uzziah was a king of Judah. Israel and Judah split and all kinds of controversy surrounds that- long story short. It's a power struggle. God is backing the Davidic line because out of that Christ will come - which is being upheld in Judah.
Uzziah had a couple attributes that we need to address:
1. He was honorable in God's sight. He had the favor of God.
2. He did not take down the pagan temples. This was a pattern of about 4 kings at this time. All honorable none took down pagan temples. This created a problem of people becoming more pagan and not recognizing God. This also didn't make God any different from the temple down the street.
3. Because Uzziah didn't see God any different from the temple down the street, He went into the temple and burned incense (something which was a priestly duty) and because he forsook God, he was stricken with leprosy.
4. He spent most of his reign in seclusion.
Uzziah was a king of Judah. Israel and Judah split and all kinds of controversy surrounds that- long story short. It's a power struggle. God is backing the Davidic line because out of that Christ will come - which is being upheld in Judah.
Uzziah had a couple attributes that we need to address:
1. He was honorable in God's sight. He had the favor of God.
2. He did not take down the pagan temples. This was a pattern of about 4 kings at this time. All honorable none took down pagan temples. This created a problem of people becoming more pagan and not recognizing God. This also didn't make God any different from the temple down the street.
3. Because Uzziah didn't see God any different from the temple down the street, He went into the temple and burned incense (something which was a priestly duty) and because he forsook God, he was stricken with leprosy.
4. He spent most of his reign in seclusion.
Isaiah - Israel - Idolatry
Israel literally means one who wrestles with God. This is the picture throughout the Hebrew Scriptures - one who is wrestling with God.
It seems sometimes that God is just looking in on Israel and has set expectations that are being let down. But something else is going on. God had made an agreement, a covenant with Israel. God views this arrangement like a marriage.
When Israel is "unfaithful" and is worshiping other gods, this is a problem for God. God wants Israel to himself and doesn't want to share. It's like being married and your spouse says after the honeymoon, "I love you, but I still want to date around a little." It's not going to fly... well, at least for me.
So when idolatry is being practiced, it is a big thing for God. Giving yourself to someone else is a major offense to God.
So one of the main issues before we get to Isaiah 6 is idolatry. Israel is unfaithful and God wants to talk to them about what that means. So in chapter 6, we see Isaiah is recruited for the job.
It seems sometimes that God is just looking in on Israel and has set expectations that are being let down. But something else is going on. God had made an agreement, a covenant with Israel. God views this arrangement like a marriage.
When Israel is "unfaithful" and is worshiping other gods, this is a problem for God. God wants Israel to himself and doesn't want to share. It's like being married and your spouse says after the honeymoon, "I love you, but I still want to date around a little." It's not going to fly... well, at least for me.
So when idolatry is being practiced, it is a big thing for God. Giving yourself to someone else is a major offense to God.
So one of the main issues before we get to Isaiah 6 is idolatry. Israel is unfaithful and God wants to talk to them about what that means. So in chapter 6, we see Isaiah is recruited for the job.
Tonight!
So I am preaching tonight and so I am going to post a couple thoughts up. Some of these things are more random than others, most of which are because I think they are relevant to the passage that I am preaching on (in one way or another) and it would take too much time to talk about everything.
I'm always a little nervous when I get up and preach but I have to do it today for a class. I think what is more unsettling for me is making sure that I go by the format of the class.
So let's get started with what I can't include with first - how should I read the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament). I think it is first with an open heart. Reading the Old Testament can be a very daunting task and a little overwhelming.
Most importantly: REMEMBER CONTEXT! If you read the bible without recognizing context, you can come away with a much different view of what the text is saying. Isaiah is part of a bigger picture of kings and war. There are heavy political powers at work and so it is vital to look at what is going on in the text before drawing application.
I'm always a little nervous when I get up and preach but I have to do it today for a class. I think what is more unsettling for me is making sure that I go by the format of the class.
So let's get started with what I can't include with first - how should I read the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament). I think it is first with an open heart. Reading the Old Testament can be a very daunting task and a little overwhelming.
Most importantly: REMEMBER CONTEXT! If you read the bible without recognizing context, you can come away with a much different view of what the text is saying. Isaiah is part of a bigger picture of kings and war. There are heavy political powers at work and so it is vital to look at what is going on in the text before drawing application.
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