Luke 9: Math Skills!

Presented to Swift Current Corps, 28 February 2010 and Alberni Valley Ministries, 29 January 2024 by Major  Michael Ramsay.

 

This is the 2024 BC version. To view the 2010 Saskatchewan version, click here:  https://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2010/02/luke-9-dont-miss-bus.html 

As this is camp day, I have a camp story. This one is from a men’s camp we went to on the prairies years ago..

 

We men, as you know, can think of ourselves as fairly organized and when I was in teacher-training many years ago we learned that while women are generally more skilled at the creative side of things men have a much higher aptitude for math and such. So here is a math question for you. If you start off with 1 Officer and 5 other men from one town and you add 1 Officer and 4 other men from another town, how many men do you have? (11)

 

Good. Now if you subtract 1 person from the second town (who will get off the bus in Saskatoon) and add 1 person from the first town (Who will get on the bus in Saskatoon) how many men should we have on our bus as we leave men’s camp? (The one person we are going to add in Saskatoon is ‘David’, he is Major Ed’s son) How many people should we have on our bus at the beginning and the end of the trip? Do you think we could get that right? With ten men on the bus doing a head count we came up with anywhere from 6 to 11 people and we were quite content with that until we were driving away and someone asked, ‘where’s Tim?’ Sure enough as soon as we pulled out of the camp, down came Tim to where the bus was supposed to be and we were already gone - leaving Tim standing at the path wondering why we had left without him.

 

We did get Tim and were joking with him most of the way back – when we dropped off the other person and as we drove all the way through and way past Saskatoon anyway. We were joking as we were talking about how we could be so ‘out of it’ that someone could be left behind when all of a sudden, Major Ed pulled the bus over to the side of the highway: “we forgot David”, he said. In all our excitement in mocking ourselves for forgetting Tim, we completely forgot to pick up Ed’s son, David, in Saskatoon. To make a much longer story short, we called others who kindly picked up David and brought him home.

 

In Luke’s account of the Transfiguration, Peter, James and John are surprised by a head count. They find Jesus with some unexpected friends that they don’t know what to do with: Moses and Elijah. Peter offered to put up a booth or a tent for Jesus and the extra people but it says, Verse 33, that in making that offer – he really didn’t know what he was talking about. Peter would have fit in quite well on our bus trip.

 

In our text, Jesus is found alongside representatives of the Law (Moses) and the prophets (Elijah). This is interesting because we know that Jesus himself fulfills the Law and the Prophets. And when and where this scene is happening in the story, we know Luke wants us to ask the question, ‘who is Jesus’?

 

It is interesting the way Luke puts this together too because in telling the story, as we are waiting to find out ‘who is Jesus’, the Greek text doesn’t call Jesus by name - until we reach almost the end of the account of the transfiguration. Where English translations use the name ‘Jesus’, the Greek text simply says ‘he’ or ‘him’. So while the disciples may be wondering who the two people with Jesus are; the readers don’t even know that it is Jesus with the two people.  All of this is revealed –in the Greek- only at the end of the story of the Transfiguration. We are kept in suspense – though not without clues – until that time.

 

This is an important question for us today too: Who is Jesus? Luke gives us a couple of answers to that question in the rest of Chapter 9 leading up to this.

 

In verses 10-17 is recorded the miracle of Jesus feeding the 5000 with just 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish. Now this is interesting if we stop and think about it for a moment. The five thousand number was just the men. This total did not include women and children. How many people do we have in Port Alberni? 18 000 give or take a few. How many of those people are adult men? 5000, maybe up to 7000? This miracle would be similar to if Jesus had fed almost the of the population of Port Alberni on much less bread (and other food) than is donated to The Salvation Army every week! Can you imagine having a big meal here and feeding everyone in the city with just 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish? Who is this person in Luke 9? Who is Jesus? Well, he is quite a miracles worker if nothing else but Luke tells us to that he is much more.

 

In Verse 22 it is recorded that Jesus gives us a glimpse of the resurrection – as part of his answer to this question of who he is - “saying, ‘The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised’.”

 

In Verse 26, it is recorded that he is the Son a Man and that he will come not only in his glory but also in the glory of God the Father and of the holy angels. Jesus then continues speaking as Luke sets the stage for the transfiguration scene. Jesus says, “I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God.” Eight days and three verses later, Moses and Elijah appear before Peter, James, and John with Jesus atop the mountain. Peter, James and John do see the Kingdom of God.

 

It is an interesting observation that the Greek word Luke uses to mean that Jesus’ face ‘was altered’ in Verse 29 points us to the divinity of Christ. It reminds us of how Moses’ face shone when he met God on the mountain in the Old Testament.

 

There is the cloud here as a further symbol of divine presence as well: We remember the cloud pillar through which God led the Israelites out of Egypt and the cloud that filled Solomon’s Temple at its dedication. This is very likely another symbol that Luke uses here to point us to the divinity of the Christ, Jesus.

 

A part of Jesus’ identity is revealed through his company atop this mountain as well. We know Elijah: He is the famous prophet used by God to begin and end a drought throughout the Promised Land. He is the one God used to prove His power on top of Mt. Carmel over the false prophets of Baal. He was an instrument to show the power and glory of God – on a mountain.

 

We know who Moses is as well. Moses is known as the great lawgiver. He was the one God used to deliver the people out of slavery in Egypt. He is the one through whom God delivered the Law and the 10 Commandments atop Mt. Sinai. God used Moses as an instrument to show the power and the glory of God on a mountain.

 

Now here they are: Moses, the representative of the Law, and Elijah, the representative of the prophets, being used as instruments of God on top of the mountain to show the power and the glory of God to Peter, James, and John and to all of us.

Here we have the representatives of the Law and the prophets as well as the symbolism of the cloud and all the other things that we have mentioned pointing to the divinity of Christ who is the completion of the Law. It is finished. The cloud envelops the people on the mountain, like it did at the dedication of the Temple, and when it raises only Jesus remains – Christ alone. Where the law and the prophets once stood now there is only Jesus (verse 36). “And a voice came from out of the cloud, saying, ‘This is my Son, my Chosen One; Listen to him!’”  As we obey the voice when all else has passed away and when we look up seeking our Lord – like Peter, James and John on the mountain – surely we shall see Jesus.

 

Jesus is the fulfillment of the Law and the prophets. I encourage us to turn our eyes upon Jesus who is standing in our midst. When we do, truly I say unto you that we will find Him not only sitting on the heavenly bus of our salvation but we will find that indeed He is our driver and he wont forget us! and He is taking us home. And as we remain with Him, He will neither leave us behind nor forsake us.

Let us pray.

www.sheepspeak.com

Jonah 3-4: But What if You Don’t Love Your Enemies?

Presented to Alberni Valley Ministries, 21 January 2024, and to the Swift Current Corps of The Salvation Army, 13 May 2012 by Major Michael Ramsay

 

This is the 2024 BC version. To view the 2012 Saskatchewan version, click here: https://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2012/05/jonah-3-4-get-rid-of-your-enemies.html 

 

Many times the Gospel has been boiled down to something as simple as loving one another. The Law and the prophets are summed up by Jesus (Matthew 7:12) as “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” and (Matthew 22:37-40) “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind… Love your neighbour as yourself.’ But what happens when we don’t? The story of Jonah.

 

Jonah hates. Jonah hates the Ninevites so much that rather than obey God and point them to salvation, he runs in the opposite direction (Jonah 1:1-3).  Jonah hates the Ninevites so much that when the opportunity presents itself, he decides that he would rather die than obey God by pointing them to salvation (Jonah 1:12). Jonah does not want to preach to the Ninevites because he knows they will be saved (Jonah 4:2); he hates them so much that he wants them destroyed (Jonah 4:3). He wants no part of their salvation.

 

Are we ever like this? Do we ever hate a person or group of people so much -a political party, country or leader, neighbour, family member, boss, colleague… that we wish they just didn’t exist or that they would just be wiped off the face of the earth? That is the way Jonah feels that way about Nineveh…

 

Jonah was an Israelite. An Israelite was a citizen of ancient Israel. We know that when Jonah’s story was taking place, it is many years since Israel’s civil war split the nation into two countries (1 Kings 12, 2 Chronicles 10): Judah in the south and Israel in the north. Jonah was a northerner, an Israelite.

 

Nineveh, the city whose citizens Jonah hated, was the capital of Assyria. Assyria was a country near modern day Iraq and Assyria would eventually destroy Israel (721 BCE; cf. 2 Ki17). Sargon II, King of Assyria (722/21–705/4) wrote:

At the beginning of my royal rule … I besieged and conquered [Israel’s capital city,] Samaria, led away as booty 27,290 inhabitants of it. I formed from among them a contingent of 50 chariots and made remaining (inhabitants) assume their (social) positions. I installed over them an officer of mine and imposed upon them the tribute of the former king.

About Ninevah and Assyria, J. Robert Vannoy tells us:

The brutal Assyrian style of warfare relied on massive armies, superbly equipped with the world’s first great siege machines… Psychological terror, however, was Assyria’s most effective weapon. It was ruthlessly applied, with corpses impaled on stakes, severed heads stacked in heaps, and captives skinned alive.

 

Assyria, like all Superpowers past and present, could be brutal. King Esarhaddon of Assyria, to show his power, even hung the captured King of Sidon’s decapitated head around the neck of one of his nobles and then paraded him through the streets of Nineveh with singers playing on harps leading the way. This is Ninevah.

 

From the Bible, the prophet Isaiah reports the Ninevite King boasts (Isaiah 10:13,14; cf. Nahum 2:12):

By the strength of my hand I have done this, and by my wisdom, because I have understanding. I removed the boundaries of nations, I plundered their treasures; like a mighty one I subdued their kings.

As one reaches into a nest, so my hand reached for the wealth of the nations; as men gather abandoned eggs, so I gathered all the countries; not one flapped a wing, or opened its mouth to chirp.

 

The prophet Nahum says of Nineveh: “Woe to the city of blood, full of lies, full of plunder, never without victims!” (Nahum 3:1) Nineveh rose up to be a Superpower as brutal, as prideful, and as terrible as Superpowers tend to be and Nineveh was to unleash that terror on their enemies. Israel was their enemy. Jonah was her enemy.

 

These are the people Jonah was told to love so much that he would point them to salvation. Tolstoy said, “To get rid of an enemy one must love him.” The Bible says, “… Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you,” (Luke 6:27-28); (Matthew 5:44:) “… Love your enemies…and pray for those who persecute you…” (Matthew 6:14-15), “For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” Psalm 103: God is compassionate and forgives all our sins.

 

We know this and Jonah knows this and he did not want his enemies forgiven – not after what they did. Jonah 4:2:

He prayed to the Lord, “O Lord, is this not what I said when I was still at home? That is why I was so quick to flee to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity.

 

You and I here today, we know that we are supposed to reflect God and we know that God is compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love. We know that, as Jesus said, if we do not forgive people, God will not forgive us. We know that, as Tolstoy said, “To get rid of an enemy one must love him;” so…

 

How do we do with that? How do we do at sharing the gospel and God’s love to see an enemy – or even a friend - saved for now and eternity? Are we any better than Jonah?

 

God asks you to love your neighbour and to share the gospel; do you love your neighbour who borrowed that thing from you last year and never gave it back so much that you want to tell him about Jesus so that he may be saved both for now – in all his struggles whatever they may be - and forever?

 

As God asks you to love your neighbour and to share the gospel, do you love your neighbour whom you did so much for over the years and she never even bothered to say ‘thank you’ so much that you want to tell her about life with Jesus?

 

As God asks you to love your neighbour and to share the gospel of salvation, do you love the policeman who pulled you over so much that you want to tell them about Jesus so that they can be saved?

 

As God asks you to love your neighbour and to share the gospel, do you love the person working at Tim Horton’s who gave you a double double instead of a black coffee for the third time this week so much that you want to tell them about Jesus so that they can be saved?

 

God is compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love. God says “… Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you…” (Matthew 5:44). “For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.” (Matthew 6:14-15).

 

Tolstoy, reflecting God’s sentiments said, “To get rid of an enemy one must love him.”  It is my hope that none of us here would have any enemies.

 

To Jonah’s story there is an interesting ending. Jonah is introduced at the beginning of this story as being on the inside of God’s blessing as a prophet of God (Jonah 1:1); he winds up, however, on the outside of Nineveh as it is saved: his own hatred is eating him up just as the worm is eating up the vine (Jonah4:5ff). The Ninevites, whom Jonah feels perfectly justified in not wanting saved, are worshipping God and presumably having a great time as they live out their salvation here, now and forever. Jonah, on the other hand, is not having a great time as he stays outside of the wonderful party of Salvation going on inside the city.

 

Let me tell you one more story. This is actually a paraphrase that I couldn’t readily corroborate but you’ll understand the sentiment even if the details may not be entirely accurate: Billy Graham was at a service with his wife, Ruth. The offering plate was passed around and he put in his money. Later he was looking in his wallet and he complained to Ruth, “I put a $20 in the plate by accident. I only meant to put in a five.”

 

Ruth replies, “Now that you’re complaining about it, not only are you out the twenty but you’ll only get credit for the five.” God received His twenty dollars from Billy Graham but Billy did not receive the full credit or the full blessing of that offering.

 

Jonah delivered God’s news of salvation to the Ninevites but he did not get the full blessing, the credit of eternal joy. Billy Graham gave God the twenty but only got credit for five. Today it is my hope and our prayer that as God asks each of us to love our neighbours enough to share with them the peace and joy of the Lord, that indeed, we won’t try to hold anything back from them but that we will experience the joy of our salvation as even our worst enemies come to the Lord because, as Tolstoy wrote, “To get rid of an enemy one must love him;” so then when we see them in paradise, what a day of rejoicing that should be. And if God can forgive even Nineveh when they repent, and if God can forgive even our own real and imagined enemies when they repent, then -when we repent- God can forgive even us; and then, like the hymn says, when we all get to heaven, what a day of rejoicing that will be.

 

Let us pray. 

www.sheepspeak.com

New Year's Resolutions! (Ephesians 4:1-23)

 Presented to The Salvation Army Alberni Valley Ministries by Major Michael Ramsay, 07 January 2024

  

Today I have a bit of a quiz for us. I am going to call out a verse and you tell me the reference. Let’s see how we do.

 

1.     For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)

2.     In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. (Genesis 1:1)

3.     But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. (Matthew 6:33)

4.     For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 6:23)

5.     In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (John 1:1)

6.     The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. (Psalm 23:1)

7.     In your anger do not sin: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, (Ephesians 4:26)

 

I picked the Ephesians 4:26 verse because we talk about it almost every week in prayer meeting before Church service. I believe it is one of Reinhard’s favourite verses. Does anyone have any favourite verses? Or anything that you want to see if the rest of us know? If so, call them out now…

 

New Year’s is often a time of resolutions. Did anyone here make any resolutions for the New Year? Call out some of your resolutions if anyone made any.

 

I was chatting with one friend this week who said that they gave up drinking for January – and then they thought about it a while and declared that they are giving up drinking on Wednesdays in January. This year I resolved to keep up my daily Bible readings (as I have done for many, many years now) and my daily exercises – mostly stretches. The older I get the more I find I need to stretch my muscles. It works too. I was injured during covid and walked with a limp for more than a year or even two and by my exercises God made it so that I could walk again. It is the same with our spiritual disciplines of praying and study. They strengthen us so that we do not get injured in those ways either. Those are some of my resolutions.

 

In case you are looking for some resolutions for the New Year, Paul in Chapter 4 of his letter to the Ephesians has some good suggestions for us. He says, “As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.” Some of you have verses to read out. Could someone call out:

 

·       Ephesians 4:2a: Be completely humble and gentle;

·       4:2b: be patient, bearing with one another in love.

·       3: Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

 

These are three very good resolutions. The first one is to be humble and gentle. We know what it means to be gentle. It means to speak calmly and quietly. It means to not use aggressive language such as ‘You Statements’; we know what those are, right? …Things like ‘You always do this” or ‘You always say that’ or ‘you never do that!’; often such statements can be accompanied by finger pointing or other such non-gentle non-verbal accessories. A gentle person also doesn’t interrupt people. Sometimes excited, even well-meaning, people can do  violence to people by cutting them off mid-sentence. Paul says we should try to be gentle with one another.

 

He also says we should be humble. Humility helps us to be gentle. If we are humble we don’t come across as if we always have the right answer – we may actually have the right answer but we don’t come across as if the other person’s perspective doesn’t matter. A humble person who is correct will often let the other person speak, and acknowledge their point before sharing her own wisdom in an affirming rather than a demeaning, insecure, or arrogant manner. Paul says be completely humble and gentle.

 

Paul also exhorts us to resolve to be patient with each other, bearing with one another in love. Sometimes this means we let someone finish talking and not cut them off just because we think we know what they are saying. Sometimes it means that we let someone complete a task, even if they are not as proficient at it as we are. You know how it feels when every time you try something it seems like it is not good enough for someone – they either take over from you or criticize you. Paul says, ‘don’t do that’, 4:2b: rather be patient, bearing with one another in love.

 

‘Ephesians 4:3: Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.’ This is important. Many times we argue about things that are adiaphoron, matters of spiritual indifference. It is really important to understand that whatever deep-seated matter we are speaking about: sports, politics, religion, theology, whether its pronounced tomato or tomato... as Christians we need to be unified. It is really important that we stick together on the matters of significant importance such as salvation for here and now and forever and the rest we can work out in gentle conversation and study as we make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

 

Ephesians 4:21 “when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. 22 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

 

Some resolutions Paul suggests for us that may show ourselves and each other that indeed we have put on our new selves in the New Year are as follows (Some of you have other verses to read out):

 

·       Ephesians 4:25 Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbour, for we are all members of one body.

·       Ephesians 4:26&27: “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.

·       Ephesians 4:28: Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need.

·       Ephesians 4:29: Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.

·       Ephesians 4:30-32 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.  Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

 

Ephesians 4:25: Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbour, for we are all members of one body. This is a good resolution for us all. Speak truthfully to each other. Don’t share a rumour. Don’t gossip. Don’t share wrong information. Don’t guess. This can actually be a temptation. I know that I have overheard many conversations where a person, well-meaning maybe, says something just straight up wrong. Paul tells us to resolve to slow down when we are chatting with one another and make sure that what we are saying is true.

 

Paul also says, Verse 26 “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and, Verse 27, do not give the devil a foothold.” Rheinhart reminds us of this all the time. How long have you and Christa been married? 69 years? Rheinhart tells us that one secret to a good marriage – and probably any relationship is this: do not let the sun so down while you are still angry. Resolve to settle you dispute or at least calm your anger before the sun goes down. If you don’t, by morning you may find that things have already been blown far out of proportion – or worse – you may find that the issue never gets resolved. In that case it will nibble away at you forever or until you get divorced. Really, in your anger, don’t sin and don’t go to bed while you are still angry at someone.

 

Paul also says that, Verse 28, anyone who has been stealing must resolve to steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need. I find this interesting. He not only says that we should resolve not to steal; we should also resolve to make something useful to share with others. I think that is important. It is not just that we shouldn’t take something from someone; that isn’t enough. We should actually go out of our way to make something for someone in need. I would encourage us to do this as much as we can – and if you have any skills with your hands that is a great way to do it.

 

Paul says we should resolve to not let any unwholesome talk come out of our mouths - only what is helpful for building others. When we are chatting with one another, let us encourage one another pointing out the value and benefit of each other and encouraging each other to continue to use their gifts to help out one another.

 

 

Let us resolve this year and always not to grieve the Holy Spirit. Verse 31, let us get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. And 32, Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

 

Forgiveness my friends is the key to so much in life. It is when we fail to forgive that we can be consumed by bitterness, rage and anger which can lead to brawling, slander, malice and all the rest of that. Paul asks us to be kind and compassionate instead and it is only through forgiveness that we can.

 

We know what forgiveness is, right? Forgiveness is NOT something that we do for or to anyone else. I often hear people say, I can’t possibly forgive him or her for this terrible thing that they did. Whether you forgive something or not has absolutely nothing to do with the person who hurt you. When someone does something awful to you – lying, stealing, anything – they do that thing once. When you refuse to forgive, you hurt yourself with that very same pain each and every time. A person does violence to you one – you do violence to yourself each and every time you fail to forgive that action. Whether you forgive someone or not has nothing to do with them at all. Failing to forgive someone is like being so mad at someone for punching you in the face that you punch yourself in the face over and over again until they have learned their lesson – the only one you are guaranteed to hurt is yourself. Paul says don’t do that. Instead be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

 

My friends this is my encouragement to us today – let us resolve to encourage one another in this way, not only in the new year but also in our new lives as new creations in Christ; let us resolve to love one another.

 

Let us pray.