Category: Saturday Study

1 Corinthians 11-15  (11.12.22)

In 1 Corinthians 11:23-29, the apostle Paul lays out for the Church what the practice and testimony of the Lord’s Supper is meant to be for all believers until God comes again. Take a moment to remind yourself of Paul’s words here by reading 1 Corinthians 11:23-29 again.

This week, I have written a much longer than normal study in order to give us a thorough overview of what the Lord’s Supper is and what God intends it to mean to us as blood-bought Christians. I pray this is a true help and encouragement to your faith journey.

The Word of Truth Catechism gives us a great overview of what the Lord’s Supper is.

112. What is the Lord’s Supper?

            The Lord’s Supper is a holy, New Covenant ordinance from our Lord Jesus, whereby professing believers gather together regularly to remember, celebrate, and testify of the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ by the eating of bread and           the drinking of wine, which symbolize the body and blood of Jesus. This is a regular practice and testimony for those who are saved by God.

To give us a tota scriptura view of the Lord’s Supper today, let’s start by looking at Romans 3.

Romans 3:9-12 … For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God.

All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.”

Romans 3:23 … all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God

The result of mankind’s sin was God’s judgment and wrath. We have seen God enact His judgment and wrath in many ways throughout mankind’s history as we study the holy Scriptures. One of the most historic is found in the following verses in Genesis 6 whereby God declares and then executes His judgment and wrath over all of mankind by killing them with a global flood, apart from the family of Noah.

Another one of the critical and pinnacle places we see God exercise His righteous judgment and wrath on deserving sinners is found in the 10^th plague that God put over Egypt.

Exodus 11:1 The Lord said to Moses, “Yet one plague more I will bring upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt. Afterward he will let you go from here. When he lets you go, he will drive you away completely.” 

Exodus 12:1-14 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, “This month shall be for you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year for you. Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month every man shall take a lamb according to their fathers’ houses, a lamb for a household. And if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his nearest neighbor shall take according to the number of persons; according to what each can eat you shall make your count for the lamb. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats, and you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs at twilight. Then they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. They shall eat the flesh that night, roasted on the fire; with unleavened bread and bitter herbs they shall eat it. Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but roasted, its head with its legs and its inner parts. And you shall let none of it remain until the morning; anything that remains until the morning you shall burn. In this manner you shall eat it: with your belt fastened, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. And you shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord’s Passover. For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the Lord. The blood shall be a sign for you, on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you, when I strike the land of Egypt. This day shall be for you a memorial day, and you shall keep it as a feast to the Lord; throughout your generations, as a statute forever, you shall keep it as a feast.”

Understand that this event, the Exodus and the provision of God to free Israel from Egypt’s grip, was talked about worldwide for generations and generations. The annual feast commanded by God, Passover, would be the most cherished gathering of the Jews and would serve to point the hearts of His people to the One who would forever set them free.

From the beginning, God has had a plan to redeem His elect from the separation and eternal wrath due them for their sin. To do this, He planned for a royal Redeemer to come and die in our place, so we could be free from the eternal penalty of sin and reconciled to God to enjoy Him forever. God the Son, Jesus, is this promised Redeemer. The Passover not only became the most cherished Jewish practice to honor God and remember what He did to set them free, but it would be the table at which Jesus would establish a new covenant between God and His people. The Passover that began at the Exodus would point generations to the truer and better Passover Lamb—Jesus Christ.

John 1:29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”

In our text tonight, “the forerunner of Christ” (John the Baptist) announces Jesus as “the lamb of God,” not as “the word of God,” not as “the Christ of God,” but as “the lamb”. This is so critical because the work of the Lamb of God is the very office in which we stood in deepest need of Him. Before we get to the official work of Jesus as the Lamb of God, let’s look back on God’s divine plan from the beginning to provide the needed Lamb. God in His providence uses a lamb all throughout history to make it clear that a sinful people are desperate for a Lamb—a Lamb of God.

1. In Genesis 4, we have the Lamb typified as Abel sacrifices a lamb unto the Lord.

2. We have the Lamb prophesied in Genesis 22:8 where Abraham said to Isaac, “God will provide himself a lamb.”

3. In Exodus 12, we have the lamb slain on behalf of the people and its blood applied.

4. In Isaiah 53:7, for the first time we learn that the promised Lamb of God would be a man.

5. In John 1:29, we have the Lamb identified as Jesus.

6. In the last chapter of the Bible, we have the Lamb glorified, seated upon the eternal throne of God (Revelation 22:1).

As Hebrews 9:22 says, “… without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins.” The Bible says in Romans 6:23, “… the wages for sin is death.” Sin earns death. In the Old Covenant system God put in place, the animal dies as a substitute in the place of the sinful people at the hands of the high priest.

Now, here’s the problem: The Bible is also clear that “it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins” (Hebrews 10:4). So, all of the Old Testament sacrifice and the spilling of the blood of spotless lambs and goats is a foreshadow of the ultimate grace of God that would be provided in Christ alone. God is pointing to the ultimate Sacrifice—the one true Sacrifice, the perfect and satisfactory blood of the Lamb of God who would take away the sin of the world. All throughout the Old Testament, God is making a way for Jesus—the One who would bring grace upon grace. Oh, how it was the grace of God to give His people this system to point to the fact that He would not just condemn, but He would act in amazing grace! The whole Old Testament system was pointing forward to what would happen someday in a final sacrifice for sin. Those whom God would save of the Old Testament were putting their faith in the coming Messiah—the Lamb of God—who would pay the complete and final price for their sin and make atonement for their sin in the only way it could be paid for.

Now, turn to John chapter 2. Here in John 2, we witness the first miracle of God in flesh, which was turning water into wine at the wedding celebration. It is filled with symbolism of what Jesus has come to bring His people.

John 2:9-11 When the master of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now.” This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him.

This miracle demonstrated not only Jesus’ Lordship over creation but was also a picture of what the Messiah would do in His ministry; i.e., take up common elements (like water) and transform them into something special and wonderful for the good of others. We will see that Jesus’ drinking of the cup for the purpose of celebration with His people is yet to come at this point in His ministry. Before the celebration can begin, He must also drink of another cup. He has a work to do first to make possible the true enjoyment of wine at the wedding feast, whereby He and His bride (the Church) will have fellowship forever.

John 2:3-4 When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.”

What is on Jesus’ mind is the cup of wrath. Like God has done from the beginning of time, Jesus is continuing the predetermined rescue mission of His people for the banquet that will outdo all banquets and that will last for eternity! Before Jesus would drink the wine at the eternal feast with His redeemed, He would have to drink of the cup of wrath on behalf of His people.

Yes, as Psalm 104:15 states, God gave “wine to gladden the heart of man.” He gave it as a good gift to be enjoyed and eventually to be a part of His eternal celebration, but Jesus came to do a work that we could not do, a work that must be done. In this, Jesus had to set aside the ceremonial wine and instead drink of the cup of wrath so that we, His chosen people, don’t have to. All of this is pointing to another wedding feast—a feast where Jesus is the eternal Bridegroom and His redeemed people are His beloved bride. Listen to the language used later in Revelation 21:

Revelation 21:9 … “Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.”

Jesus is the true Bridegroom! So, the Lord is using the stage of His first miracle at the wedding in Cana to point to the eternal wedding by which Jesus, the Bridegroom, will be united forever with His bride—the Church, the redeemed. Praise God He finished what He came to do. It’s not without real cost that He did this. Turn with me to:

Mark 14:32-36 (NIV) They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” He took Peter, James and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled. “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,” he said to them. “Stay here and keep watch.” Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him. “Abba,Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”

Praise God that Jesus was obedient to the Father to the point of death. Not my will but yours be done.He drank the cup of wrath on our behalf. This is the gospel of our “Passover.”

2 Corinthians 5:21 (NKJV) … he made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us …

He took on sin for His chosen ones! He paid our price. He atoned our sin. Now, we must also understand at that moment the wrath of God due a particular people was satisfied. The justice of God was met. The holiness of God was respected. 

1 Corinthians 5:7 … For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.

This is God’s amazing plan of redemption for us, His chosen people. What the Passover meant to the Jews for generations pointed to what the Lord’s Supper means to us today. It is our opportunity to celebrate the Passover Lamb who drank the cup of wrath on our behalf. Only in Him do we have new freedom from the wrath of God and are reconciled to Him forever.

This brings us to the new ordinance that Jesus gave to the disciples the night before He was betrayed. At the last Passover meal, God the Son gave His people a new tradition and a new remembrance and a new celebration and testimony to the watching world about how the Lord passed over us and all others who believe in Him for salvation.

Luke 22:14-20 And when the hour came, he reclined at table, and the apostles with him. And he said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he said, “Take this, and divide it among yourselves. For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.”

To understand the instructions of our Lord, we must understand the context. They are at the last Passover meal. In Luke, Jesus expresses the weight of this particular Passover meal and all that it pointed to for all those years. He was about to fulfill it. And He said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer” (Luke 22:15). In verses 16 and 18, Jesus is clear that He will not partake of the ceremonial bread and wine until His kingdom is fulfilled.

At the Last Supper, Jesus gives us instructions as to how we (His bride) are to remember Him, testify of what He has done, and tell the story by celebrating the Lord’s Supper until He comes again. In Matthew we read:

Matthew 26:26-28 Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”

Why is this so significant? Because He was about to substitute Himself. Just as the lamb that the Jews used to put blood on their doorpost, so the Spirit would pass over them and not kill their firstborn as the 10^th plague required. We, who are in Christ whom He substitutes Himself for, are passed over from the wrath of God because Christ, our sacrificial Lamb, takes it on Himself. This is the gospel. This is the good news. In God’s grace and through Jesus’ costly sacrifice, we are forgiven and made new and given new life in Christ.

Jesus wants us to remember Him. “Do this in remembrance of me.” (1 Corinthians 11:24) And He wants us to testify this good news to the watching world with visual physical symbols until He comes again.

Now, to rightly understand how we are to practice this ordinance given to us by the Lord, we must understand the two specific elements the Lord chose to be symbols that represent His body and blood. He took these two symbols from the Passover table and told us to carry them forward as a testimony of what He has done in a new tradition and ceremony! As we study the whole of Scripture, we need to understand that the two elements that Jesus chose are not without deep meaning and purpose.

Let’s look back for a moment at the elements used at the Passover meal table that the Lord chose for us to carry forward for the Lord’s Supper.

The Bread

The instructions for the Passover meal involved the removal of chametz (sha-mets) from homes and property. Chametz is leaven. The removal of chametz commemorates a few things, possibly, and one is the fact that the Jews left Egypt in a hurry and did not have time to let their bread rise.

Additionally, in the Bible, leaven is almost always symbolic of sin. Even a little leaven will eventually leaven the whole lump, affecting the whole church or the whole world (Galatians 5:9). Even a little permitted sin will lead to other sins and will compromise our testimony in Christ.

So, the grain the Lord instructed them to eat at Passover in place of chametzis called matzah. Matzah is unleavened bread made from simple ingredients like flour and water and cooked very quickly. This is traditionally viewed as the bread that the Jews made for their flight from Egypt.

The Symbolism of Bread and Why Jesus Chose It for the Lord’s Supper Ordinance

First, Jesus’ life substituted for ours is the only way we are set free, forgiven, and unshackled from our bondage to sin.

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Second, in John 6:27-37 and elsewhere, Jesus teaches that He is the true, satisfying bread of life. That bread which symbolizes life and sustenance points to Jesus as the true Bread of Life. That fact that He gave up His body, His life, for ours so that we could have the true bread that is eternal life and satisfaction is the beautiful testimony of the gospel. So, Jesus gave us the symbolism of eating the unleavened bread to remember the breaking of His body and that He who is the true Bread and lasting Life will come again to usher in His eternal kingdom.

Brothers/sisters: Don’t miss the meaning of the bread which symbolizes life. Jesus’ body was given so that we could be given true and lasting life in Christ. All of what the Bible teaches us about unleavened bread is helpful and good for us as we partake in the Lord’s Supper and use this symbol to remember His body given for our life.

The Wine

The Passover Seder included four different cups of wine that were poured and consumed with different emphasis at different points in the meal.

The four cups of wine used at various points during the Seder each has a name:

The first glass is the “cup of sanctification.”

The second is the “cup of judgment.”

The third is the “cup of redemption.”

The fourth is the “cup of praise.”

Sanctification, judgment, redemption, and praise—all significant meanings for the New Covenant that Jesus’ shed blood would provide for us.

So, as Jesus lifts the cup of wine at the Last Supper, He does two amazing things:

1. He promised that the next time He drank the fruit of the vine with them, it would be in the kingdom (Luke 22:17).

2. Later in the Seder, Jesus holds up a cup of wine and declares it to be the symbol of His shed blood, which would bring about the New Covenant between God and His people (Luke 22:20).

In this, Jesus fulfills the Passover symbolism pointing to Himself as the ultimate Sacrifice for us, and He establishes a new ordinance with important meaning for the Church until He returns that centers around the symbol of wine.

Understand it is not “the cup” that is the symbol that points to His blood, but what is in the cup that is the symbol of His blood. Jesus uses the phrase “the fruit of the vine” because that is the phrase the Jews used to designate the wine partaken of on sacred occasions such as at the Passover and on the evening of the Sabbath. It is wine that holds the special symbolism God intended and pointed to all throughout Scripture. Like the bread, the wine has always held significant symbolism and value in God’s economy.

Wine: A Symbol of Blessing

Wine, in Scripture, is a promise from God of the blessings of the covenant.

Psalm 4:7 You have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and wine abound.

Though sinful men can misuse and abuse this gift, God Himself uses it as an example of His goodness towards us.

Psalm 104:14-15 You cause the grass to grow for the livestock and plants for man to cultivate,

that he may bring forth food from the earth and wine to gladden the heart of man,

oil to make his face shine and bread to strengthen man’s heart.

In fact, wine is a blessing that God specifically promises to those who honor Him with their first fruits.

Proverbs 3:9-10 Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce; then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine.

As in all things in creation, wine itself is a symbol, a picture, a reflection of something bigger and greater. It is a picture of the blessings that come from a right relationship with God.

Isaiah 25:6 On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined.

Wine: A Symbol of Life with God

In fact, it is a picture of the new life we have in Christ.

Isaiah 55:1 “Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money,

come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.”

Jesus used wine as a symbol of the indwelling Holy Spirit, who cannot be limited by old traditions.

Matthew 9:17 “Neither is new wine put into old wineskins. If it is, the skins burst and the wine is spilled and the skins are destroyed. But new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved.”

These two good gifts Jesus chose for us are used to point to the better gift—an everlasting gift we have only in Jesus Christ. We honor the Lord in our regular and faithful remembrance of Him and testimony of His death until He comes again by using the symbols He gave us, remembering that the bread and the wine point to Him. He is the prize, He is the point, He is the gospel we testify of and hope in and worship forevermore.

Church: Remember the good news is He did this for us, and He is coming again. And when He does, that feast will be amazing.

Isaiah 25:6-9 On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined. And he will swallow up on this mountain the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken. It will be said on that day, “Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us. This is the Lord; we have waited for him; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”

Until God ordains Jesus’ coming to take us home to the wedding feast He has prepared, He has instructed us to testify with the Lord’s Supper, and so testify we must. This is why the regular practice of the Lord’s Supper is so important. It keeps our minds on the gospel and centered on Christ and it is a public testimony of a tangible symbolism of the gospel for those who are still unbelievers.

Let the Lord’s Supper never become an obligatory routine but one of great symbolism and deep meaning of the gospel that has set us free and that proclaims Jesus’ substitutional death on behalf of deserving sinners, so we can be restored to Him for life eternal.

Three things I want to be sure to touch on before I wrap up this study:

1. The Lord’s Supper is only for those whom God has given saving faith in Jesus alone for salvation and who have ideally been baptized to profess that faith.

This means the Lord’s Supper is not for children who are not saved and baptized and/or friends or casual church attendees who have not yet trust their lives to Jesus. The Lord’s Supper is given to the body of Christ to remember His sacrifice on their behalf. If you are not a part of the body of Christ, then you do not have a testimony of Christ to celebrate and share with the world. The Lord’s Supper stands as a tangible reminder to our unbelieving children or friends or family who see us partake that they have the most serious business to do in being saved before they are a part of the family of God in this most important way.

• Repentance from sin must happen to rightly honor the Lord’s Supper.

If believers are walking in unrepentance or are under Christian discipline, they have no business testifying publicly that they belong to Jesus and He has given them the power to overcome sin. It is a contrasting testimony that is not good for the gospel or one’s personal witness. This is why Paul is saying in 1 Corinthians 11:27-29, “Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself.”

We must examine ourselves. Is there unrepentant sin I have not dealt with? This doesn’t mean perfection. The Lord’s Supper is a wonderful place to be reminded how dependent on Jesus you are to overcome sin. If struggling, eat and drink deeply and be reoriented for who you are in Christ and repent. But if you are in a season of sinfully avoiding repentance, then you are participating in an unworthy manner. The Corinthian church was guilty of selfish and sinful behavior. Paul is saying, “Take account and repent, so that you do not stand in judgment outside of a true witness and walk with Christ.”

• The Lord’s Supper is to be practiced faithfully and regularly by His people until He returns.

1 Corinthians 11:26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

The Lord’s Supper is a beautiful and wonderful symbol of the grace of God on undeserving sinners. It points us to the sacrifice of the spotless Lamb in our place and testifies to a watching world about what God has done and that He is coming again to claim His bride and provide a wedding feast like no other as we honor and worship the God of all creation.

We are convicted to treasure our time at the Lord’s table and this witness and remembrance the Lord has given. Please make your preparation for the Lord’s Supper a special part of your preparation for Sunday worship and journey with God. Let us be faithful and accountable in our practice of it. For God’s eternal glory and others’ eternal good!

By His grace and for His glory,

Pastor Joshua Kirstine

Disciples Church

1 Corinthians 6-10 (11.5.22)

Grab your Bible, and let’s go deeper into 1 Corinthians 6.

1 Corinthians 6:13b-20 The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. And God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power. Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! Or do you not know that he who is joinedto a prostitute becomes one body with her? For, as it is written, “The two will become one flesh.” But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him. Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sina person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

This is such a needed warning and counsel for both men and women. The temptation to flirt with and/or participate in sexual immorality is always present and a true enemy of God’s design for these things. Everyone is susceptible to the longings of the flesh and the temptations to do or think sexually immoral things. So, how do we ALL be sure to heed Paul’s counsel here in 1 Corinthians 6 and live out all that God has saved us from and called us to regarding these things?

Let’s start by looking at God’s design for intimacy.

Genesis 2:24-25 Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.

Here we see God’s definition for marriage and our first insight into His wonderful gift of sexual intimacy that He gives to a husband and a wife. This is a joining of two lives to become one that is unlike any other in creation. This is what Paul is getting to in 1 Corinthians 6. He is saying there is a wonderful Christ-centered reason why God made marriage for a husband and wife. He is also saying there are terrible repercussions for our lives when we look for sexual intimacy outside of marriage.

There is an ever-increasing temptation for the bride of Christ to compromise her testimony by looking to sinful, worldly entertainment or sexual engagement outside of marriage for her satisfaction and joy instead of in Christ or the one place God gave us to exercise our sexual intimacy: in a committed marriage.

God designed sexual intimacy for marriage alone. When it is enjoyed in this context, it is like a raging fire that is enjoyed as it burns safely in the hearth of your home’s fireplace. Outside of God’s ordained context of marriage, sexual immorality will reap great destruction in your life, like a raging fire burning anywhere else in your house but the fireplace. The problem is sin and society have really stolen God’s intention for marital intimacy. What this has meant for the people of God is we have removed talking about and celebrating this wonderful gift from our lives. It has become a taboo subject! Rarely do we talk about marital intimacy within the church family, and rarely do we talk about it at home.

We have essentially left this topic to be learned, discovered, and celebrated on the world’s terms.

If the church is not talking about it and married couples are not talking about it, who is? Movies, TV, music, internet, books, magazines, co-workers, news media.

The problem is, when we remain removed from rightly talking about, acting on, and celebrating God’s design for marital intimacy, the world continues to teach us the wrong thing. In the vacuum left by the silence of our church family and in the home, our kids and even our spouses are shaped with a view of sex and intimacy that is not at all what God intended.

How does this apply to you and those you run with in Christ? Do you love each other enough to bring up this topic so that you can be an encouragement to each other? To help each other when struggling with temptations to lust or unhealthy engagement outside of marriage or an unhealthy absence of sexual intimacy within your marriage? Are you willing to go so far to even get professional counseling if needed to address this area of unhealthiness in your life? If we hear the severity of consequences that Paul is speaking of in our passage that comes from sexual immorality, then we will be willing to take it this seriously. We must talk about it because if we don’t, we will be left to the endless flood of godless ideals to convince us to partake or engage outside of God’s perfect plan for this area of life.

Understand this: The world’s agenda when it comes to sex is to “profane” it. Profane means to make it common! It is to treat something sacred with irreverence. So profanity comes from the word profane.

So, when we say“Oh, God”in just a flippant common way, instead of exalting His name and worshiping the true God, we use it as a casual response to life and make it common. Or we use it as a swear word to illustrate the emotion of disgust, like saying, “Jesus Christ.”

Like this, our culture’s agenda is to profane sex, removing all mystery and holiness and sacredness and selflessness, and making it common and casual. This only causes the mind to think about it as something that is simply for personal selfish pleasure, or status, or adventure. Our culture wants to make sex simply about physiology and biology. And so when they teach it to our kids in sex ed, it is all about mechanics.

We have been convinced by our culture that they get it and we don’t. This is why far too many people are captured by the world’s casual, mechanical, free-market idea of sex. This is why so many struggle with pornography. Many have come to believe that it is purely mechanical and therefore, ok. Or that “THEY”—the world out there, understands sex more than we (the Church) or God does, and so we go investigating on the web or in movies or with other people to get a taste of what is perceived to be the good life, sexually.

This will only continue to happen until we take back sexual intimacy for marriage alone and truly begin to enjoy intimacy the way the Creator designed it to be enjoyed.

As our Scripture today states, the consequences are major when it comes to sexual immorality. The emotional and spiritual scars that lust and sexual intimacy outside of your marriage brings are as deep as it gets, according to the Bible. And I have never seen anything in my 20 plus years of pastoral counseling to be more true.

Stop and meditate on a few other exhortations from God’s word regarding this area of our life:

Psalm 119:9-10 How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word. With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments!

1 Thessalonians 4:3-5 For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God

1 Peter 2:11 Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.

Hebrews 13:4 Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.

Matthew 5:28 “But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”

Let me ask you, what are you exposing yourself to lately? Are you engaging in a relationship that is crossing sexual boundaries outside of marriage? Remember, sexual intimacy of any kind is for marriage alone. It is not for love, commitment, fun, or whatever other reason one can think of to justify it.

Do you struggle with pornography? Do you have accountability on your phone or computer? Do you have access to unhealthy cable TV or Netflix? Many of these should be considered when fighting this fight. Access is a huge part of our ongoing temptation. http://xxxchurch.com is a great resource for accountability software that doesn’t limit your access. It just brings others alongside to see what you are seeing. Maybe it is time to get rid of the smart phone and go back to a flip phone.

Consider Proverbs 5 and replace the “immoral women” with “pornography” and read it again.

Proverbs 5:1-14 (NLT) My son, pay attention to my wisdom; listen carefully to my wise counsel. Then you will show discernment, and your lips will express what you’ve learned. The lips of [pornography] are as sweet as honey, and her mouth is smoother than oil. But in the end she is as bitter as poison, as dangerous as a double-edged sword. Her feet go down to death; her steps lead straight to the grave. For she cares nothing about the path to life. She staggers down a crooked trail and doesn’t realize it. So now, my sons, listen to me. Never stray from what I am about to say: Stay away from her! Don’t go near the door of her house! If you do, you will lose your honor and will lose to merciless people all you have achieved. Strangers will consume your wealth, and someone else will enjoy the fruit of your labor. In the end you will groan in anguish when disease consumes your body. You will say, “How I hated discipline! If only I had not ignored all the warnings! Oh, why didn’t I listen to my teachers? Why didn’t I pay attention to my instructors? I have come to the brink of utter ruin, and now I must face public disgrace.

Brothers/sisters: There is too much to lose to not fight this fight. Are you letting those God has put into your life in to fight this fight with you? We must confess, repent, and grow from any ungodly practices of sexual immorality.

Read it again:

Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sina person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body (1 Corinthians 6:18-20).

I am praying for you. I am praying that you look to honor God with this area of your life. I am praying that you risk and ask your brothers how they are doing in this area. That you work together to seek God and put up measures of real accountability and fight together to honor God in this way.

I leave you with the words of Paul in Romans 12:1-2:

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

By His grace and for His glory,

Pastor Joshua Kirstine

Disciples Church

1 Corinthians 1-5 (10.29.22)

Grab your Bibles and get ready to dig deeper into some amazing truths that God gives to us here in these first few chapters of 1 Corinthians! I want to focus in on a few passages and a bigger truth found all throughout Scripture. The topic is apologetics (defending our faith), and one of the main points when it comes to defending the Christian faith is knowing where we get knowledge. This question is actually a term called epistemology. Epistemology is simply the study of knowledge: where does it come from, and how do we get it? For the Christian, our epistemology is revelational, meaning we have knowledge through what God has revealed to us. Our knowledge is totally dependent upon God’s revelation of truth. For the rest of the world–the unbelieving world–their knowledge is also dependent upon what God has revealed as truth; however, in their sin, they suppress this fact in the futility of their own minds. We see this truth all throughout Scripture, but I want to share a few verses before we dig into our passage in 1 Corinthians.

Proverbs 1:7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.

You see, according to God, if you do not start with Him, you cannot even begin to have true knowledge. The usual argument is that many unbelievers are smart; they seem to have knowledge and do well, even while they deny God. This is true; men who suppress the truth of God can still, as far as worldly standards, go look wise and seem to have knowledge. The key here is that when they have denied God or if they do not start by acknowledging God, then they cannot be certain of the wisdom and knowledge they have.

Let me unpack this a bit more. When men deny God, they are left with their own minds or their own reasoning as the ultimate standard by which they decide and understand or know all things. Now, because mankind is made in the image of God and because God has placed His law in the hearts of man, men who deny God can still have/use logic and reasoning. They can still live with morals and learn things that make them seem wise. What they cannot do is be certain of any truth they think they have, because they cannot justify how they know things. They are left in a world of certain uncertainty. Here’s what I mean: If man is the ultimate standard of knowledge (what man has decided is right and true and moral), then in their limited knowledge (man is a finite creature without exhaustive knowledge of all things), man could be proved to be wrong by the very things they don’t know. If your knowledge is limited, then what you don’t know could prove what you think you know to be wrong.

Years ago, my dad was on a business trip in Florida. While driving in a school zone on a Saturday, he got pulled over for speeding. When he argued with the officer, he said, “It’s a Saturday, and there are no kids present, so the 25 MPH limit isn’t enforced.” The officer looked at his driver’s license and said, “Perhaps in California that’s the law; however, you are in Florida, and any time you are in a school zone, the speed limit is 25.” Then the officer said, “Ignorance of the law is no excuse, Mr. Scott.” I hope you see the connection. My dad believed that children had to be present and it had to be a school day for the speed limit of 25 MPH to be enforced. What he didn’t know in his limited knowledge was that in Florida, they have different school zone laws, and although he thought he knew and was obeying the speed limit law, what he didn’t know proved what he thought he knew to be wrong.

This truth that limited knowledge stops you from being certain about anything is a universal truth. It applies to everyone everywhere. The only way to have certainty of truth is to receive truth via revelation from an all-knowing source. God is the only all-knowing being that exists. The Scriptures reveal to us that He knows the past, present, and future and will not learn things He doesn’t already know. His knowledge is exhaustive; there is no lack–not just because He knows the future, but also because He controls the future. God is omniscient and sovereign. He is all-knowing, and He is in control of all things. This is why if you do not start with God, you cannot begin to have true knowledge. The Bible also says that in Christ are hidden all the treasures of knowledge.

Colossians 2:1-15 For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments. For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ. Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority.

In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.

There are so many rich truths here in this passage, so let’s break it down with a few key verses, then turn to our Corinthians passage to see all of this tie together. Verse 3 says that all the treasure of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in Christ. If you have denied God and denied Jesus, then you don’t have access to any of the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. The next verse says don’t be deluded by plausible arguments. If the argument doesn’t start with Christ as the foundation, then it utterly lacks wisdom and knowledge. Verse 7 shows that we who have been given faith are to remain rooted in Christ. Verse 8 shows us that we must not let empty, deceitful human philosophy enslave us. This philosophy is rooted in man’s traditions and the elemental spirits of this world and not according to Christ, where all wisdom and knowledge is hidden. Verse 13 then reveals to us that while we were dead in sin, God made us alive together with Christ Jesus. God did this through Jesus’ sacrificial atoning death on the cross and His victorious resurrection from the dead. One key note here is that you must realize that God caused you to believe in Him. God raised you from the dead when you were dead in your trespasses. In sin, you and I were incapable of believing in God. We needed God to intervene and cause us to be born again.

Here is why this is a key point when it comes to human knowledge. If you had decided on your own that God was true and therefore you would believe in Him, then you are in the same boat as the unbeliever. You see, if God is true because you decided He was, then in your limited knowledge, what you do not know could prove what you think you know to be wrong. We claim that the unbeliever is his own ultimate standard, meaning they may say science or logic is what they use to decide what’s true; however, who has decided that science or logic are the standard? Well, of course they have, so ultimately it is whatever they decide to use as a standard, and that still makes them the ultimate standard. For the Christian, this must be different. And indeed it is; if you were the deciding factor in your faith, then you remain your own ultimate standard. However, that is not what the Bible says is the case. God’s word over and over again says that God was the one who caused you to believe. This is true because He is the only ultimate standard. He must be, or in our limited knowledge we could find out we don’t really know what we know. Since God is unlimited in knowledge, He can never be wrong; therefore, we can see through His word that He saved us, He caused us to believe, and the reason we believe in God is not because we decided to do it, but rather because He caused us to have faith. When we see this truth, we begin to understand that our epistemology is revelational: We know what we know and can be certain of it because the all-knowing God has revealed truth to us.

Let’s look at our passage now in 1 Corinthians to see this truth!

1 Corinthians 1:18-31 For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written,

“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,

and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”

Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

The section we are focusing on describes how the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to those who are being saved, it is the power of God. Notice it’s to those who are being saved, not those who are saving themselves. The passage continues with God explaining how His wisdom will destroy the world’s so-called wisdom and how God chooses to use what the world calls foolish to shame those who think they are wise. Again, it’s very clear: If you do not start with God, you cannot begin to have wisdom. Let’s continue in chapter 2:

1 Corinthians 2:6-14 Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But, as it is written,

“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,

nor the heart of man imagined,

what God has prepared for those who love him”—

these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.

The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.

Again, God reveals to us through His word how we have been given knowledge. God revealed the truth of His salvation and wisdom to us who believe through the work of the Holy Spirit. We only come to knowledge of truth in God through His work–not our own minds. In fact, verse 14 really brings clarity to this: “The natural person [the one dead in his/her sin] does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.” You see, unless the Holy Spirit gives you eyes to see, ears to hear, and a heart that is not dead in its sin, then you are not able to understand the things of God, because they are spiritually discerned. You need God, and He must give you faith.

Ephesians 2:8-9 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

And when He does, you then are united in Christ and are able to understand the riches of knowledge (insofar as God reveals them to you) in Jesus. This is so vital for the Christian to know, because apart from God, the things of Scripture can really seem crazy. I mean, a donkey talked to a human (Numbers 22:28), an axe head floated (2 Kings 6:6), and a dead man rose from the dead (gospels). If we do not believe that God exists, then these things would be utterly impossible, and we could not understand them. We should find it as no surprise that man in sin who suppress the truth of God (Romans 1:18) will also find these things foolish. God must be the One who causes us to see these truths and believe, because His very own word says that we cannot accept the things of God apart from His indwelling Holy Spirit.

This can be summed up this way: Unless you are God and have exhaustive knowledge of all things (which you aren’t), then what you don’t know causes you to be uncertain of what you think you know. If you are uncertain of what you think you know, then do you really know it? If you said, “My shoe size is 13, but I could be wrong,” then do you know for certain that your shoe size is 13? I hope you see my point. You cannot have certainty of truth unless you rely upon revelation from God, who has exhaustive knowledge and therefore the ability to reveal truth to you! God’s word is our source of truth. Jesus’ final prayer to God for His disciples in John 17:17 says, “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.”

Where have you gone to find truth and morality? Is it God’s word? If not, how can you repent and press on to, as Romans 12:2 reads, “not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

We do this by holding fast to God’s word–our only source of truth. Where our thinking does not line up with what God has revealed we do not become wise in our own eyes; rather, we repent and turn and ask God to give us wisdom without doubting, and God, who gives generously to all without reproach, will give it to you (James 1:5).

*Special thanks to Steven Obert who blessed us in writing this week’s study.

By His grace and for His glory,

Pastor Joshua Kirstine

Disciples Church

Daniel 8-12 (10.22.22)

“Seventy weeks are decreed about your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to put an end to sin, and to atone for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness …” (Daniel 9:24).

Once sin has been conquered, there is no need for atonement, so including the Day of Atonement on Israel’s yearly calendar indicated there was no way the rituals of that day, repeated each year, could put an end to sin (Lev. 16; 23:26–32). The reality is something more would have to be done to achieve final atonement and the age of righteousness.

The prophet Daniel points to that something in chapter 9. Daniel is living in exile in Babylon, and while reading the book of Jeremiah, he discovers that the 70-year period of exile is about to end and that the Israelites will soon be restored to their land (Dan. 9:1–2; also see Jer. 25:1–14). Knowing the law of Moses, Daniel also understands that the return of Israel to their land and their victory over the kingdoms of this world is dependent on their repentance for the sins that brought them into exile in the first place (Lev. 26:14–46). Yet Israel has not repented. So Daniel prays, asking the righteous Lord to restore the people in keeping with Jeremiah’s prophecy without overlooking their sin (Dan. 9:3–19).

God sends the angel Gabriel to answer His servant (vv. 20–23) and explain to Daniel that he has not seen the whole picture. Due to the people’s failure to repent, which the Lord knew would happen from the very beginning, the exile is going to be extended, and the restoration is not going to be achieved until a later time. According to the revelation, sometime between 483 and 490 years after the Jews go back to Canaan, the death of an anointed one will establish a strong covenant that will end sacrifices, put an end to sin, and bring in everlasting righteousness (Dan. 9:24–27). Clearly, this refers to a final atonement offered by the Messiah, whose death renders all sacrifices, including those offered on the Day of Atonement, obsolete.

Hebrews 9:22 says, “… without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sin.” The Bible says in Romans 6:23 “… the wages for sin is death …” In other words, sin earns death. In the Old Covenant system, the animal died at the hands of the High Priest, as a substitute in the place of the sinful people. Now, here’s the problem: The Bible is clear that “… it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins” (Hebrews 10:4).

All of this is pointing to the ultimate Sacrifice–the one true Sacrifice. This is the perfect and satisfactory blood of the Lamb of God who would take away the sin of the world.

All throughout the Old Testament, God is making a way for Jesus—the One who would bring grace upon grace. An animal would not be sufficient. No animal can fully and rightly pay for the sin of sinful man. No sinner can fully and rightly pay for the sin of sinful man.

Only the God Man, only the Word who “… became flesh and dwelt among us …” (John 1:14);

Only the God Man, only the One “… who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15);

Only the Lamb of God could do this.

When Peter, another eyewitness of Jesus, described how the Lamb of God would take away our sin by using this language, He said, “… you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot” (1 Peter 1:18-19).

Jesus is the Spotless Lamb. This is what is required. WE NEED A SPOTLESS LAMB. Therefore, one of us CANNOT BE THE LAMB! Now, in John 1:29, John says, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” Again, as Hebrews 9:22 says, “… without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sin.”

Praise God for the fact that “God presented Christ [Jesus] as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith” (Romans 3:25 [NIV]).

2 Corinthians 5:21 (NASB) He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf

He became sin on our behalf! He paid our price. He atoned our sin.

We only have new life in Christ because of Christ’s perfect atonement. This is what Daniel and all of the early prophets were pointing to as our ultimate hope. May we continue to point many to Christ, who is our only hope and healing.

May God be glorified, and may many come to saving faith as a result of our testimony of this life-changing gospel.

By His grace and for His glory,

Pastor Joshua Kirstine

Disciples Church

Daniel 3-7 (10.15.22)

In Daniel chapter 3, we encounter one of my favorite Old Testament stories. There are so many layers and lessons here that it truly blesses me again and again. Let’s dive into the testimony of three guys named Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

Daniel 3:14 (NIV) says, “Nebuchadnezzar said to them, ‘Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the image of gold I have set up?’”

King Nebuchadnezzar had built a 90-foot statue of gold and placed it in the city center with orchestras surrounding it. His command on the people was when they heard the music, they had to stop what they were doing and bow down to it. If they didn’t do this, they were thrown into the blazing furnace to die. The statue is never given a name or specific description, but what we do know is the Babylonian culture worshiped many gods. King Neb himself refers to this, as he lays out consequences for those who “do not serve my gods or worship the image of gold I have set up.”

The Hebrew word in the NIV translation “or” is also used as the word “by.” It makes sense here. In other words, Neb is saying there are consequences if the people don’t serve his (many) gods by worshiping the image of gold he has set up. The statue is meant to represent many gods. It represents the diversity and plurality of the city. What he is really saying here is, “I am not asking you to just worship my gods instead of your God. I am just asking you to worship our gods in addition to your god.” In other words, “If you are going to make it in our land, in this pluralistic city of Babylon, you must embrace the diversity and capitulate to it by joining us in our pluralistic worship.”

What we have to see is this pressure is on us as well in our modern culture. We, too, are pressed by the culture to not just tolerate other ideas and beliefs or lifestyles; we are charged by the culture to embrace the many roads people might choose. This is a direct attack on God’s command to not have any other gods before Him. It is a direct attack on the exclusivity of Christ, who claims that He is the only way, truth, and life.

In our passage today, we see that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had none of it. Now, we assume that because they stood so strong against the cultural pressure that they must have been like the Amish–set out and removed from the city life. But they weren’t. Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego all lived in the center of the city and worked for the very leaders that conquered them. Daniel was one of the highest advisors to Neb there (much like Joseph was to Pharaoh as the one interpreting his dreams). They were doing what Jeremiah 29 said the people should do, which was to work for the city, invest in the city, and love the city, so they could minister to the city. But when they were asked to privatize their faith and to compromise their worship of the one, true God, they said, “NO, and we don’t care what the consequences are.”

Read Daniel 3:16-18 again.

Their response in the face of pending painful death is awesome. They believe that God can save them. They believe that God will save them. But if in His sovereign plan He does not, they still will not bow down to that false image. This is an awesome example of true devotion and faith. Despite the level of threat, and despite the ability and authority of the ruler they are conversing with to carry out their penalty for disobeying, they hold fast full of faith and devotion to God alone.

Now, what is so key in this that we must see here today is they are saying, “We do not trust in our God, worship our God, live for our God, suffer for our God because of what we get out of it, but simply for who He is.” We love God for Himself! Not just for what He can give us!

This unveils for us one of the biggest controversies we have in modern Christianity today. People who claim faith and devotion to God alone, and people who claim to worship God alone, but in the end, when life doesn’t go the way they want it to, they are furious with God. Why? Because deep down, God was just the means to an end–a greater affection of the heart. In the end, they want to be God and determine what they need or the way it should be according to themselves. Do you see the deception in that? The hypocrisy?

Do you know what you are truly devoted to? What you truly trust in to live and enjoy life? The core of our sin is to long for anything other than God, or worse, to use Him to get to the thing we really want. When the fire comes or when life the way you like it hits a screeching halt is when you truly find out if you are devoted to God or if you see God as needing to be devoted to you.

True worship is for a God who is worth it in and of Himself and not for what He has done for us. If God, Himself, determines we must go into the blazing furnace, then so be it. Why? How? Because I have God. Because God is my end! To live is Christ! To die is gain. Because I get to enjoy and feast with Christ all the more.

Do you see why these three said, “If God doesn’t save us from the fire, we still will not bow down”? No matter what happens next, they have already won! Why? Because they are spiritually fireproof. They are not clinging to something that they might lose. They are not trying to earn something they still need. They have God. They are satisfied in God! These guys said, “You can have it all, but you can’t separate us from God. So, turn the heat up. Let’s do this!”

What happens next? King Neb is furious with these three. He is steaming. So, what does he do? He has his men turn up the heat seven times its normal temperature and has them bound fully clothed and tossed in. The fire is so hot that the men who put them in it die from the heat!

Next, King Neb sees two shocking things. First, he sees Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego walking around in the blazing furnace. Next, he sees not three, but four men in the fire. The fourth he says“looks like a son of the gods.”

What can we glean from here? In the Bible, furnaces are a metaphor for trials, suffering, and trouble. Exile doesn’t mean comfort. It doesn’t mean home. When you are in captivity or stuck in a strange and foreign land, you are not comfortable at home.

A few things to take away here:

First, while in this life, you will suffer, struggle, and experience great trials! It is inevitable. Job 5:7 (NIV) says, “… man is born to trouble as surely as sparks fly upward.” 1 Peter 4:12 says, “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.”

As Americans, we really struggle with fully accepting this. No other country in the world thinks like we do when it comes to this. Americans deep down believe if you do life right, you will not and should not suffer. We think, “I have lived a good life. Why should I suffer?” The simple answer to that is Jesus lived a perfect life, and He suffered greatly during His life and in His death. We need to hold to the truth the apostle Paul gives us, “… the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us” (Romans 8:18).

Second, if you truly trust in God and hold nothing as more valuable than Him, then when the fire of this life comes, you will not burn up; instead, it will be to you what fire is to gold. It will refine you at your very core, changing you from the inside out. The fire will produce in you a character–the Fruit of the Spirit that you and I cannot produce ourselves.

But, if you hold onto something as more valuable to you than God, the fire will consume you. Why? Because it has something to cling to and consume. But in God, you cannot be consumed by the fiery trials. You will instead be refined.

1 Peter 1:7 … the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

This allows us to embrace our exile position in this time and in this land. It allows us to not only endure suffering when it comes, but to joyfully embrace it. Why? Because we see how in God’s grip, suffering refines us for His perfect purposes. God says, “If you trust in me, I will walk with you in the furnace of your trials and suffering.”

Isaiah 43:1-3 “… Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.

… when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.

For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior …”

“I will be with you.” Jesus said it to us before ascending to heaven: “I will always be with you.” How is He with us? The same way He was with the three men in the furnace. Once again, we see in this encounter the appearance of the angel of the Lord. Did you catch it? Neb said it himself in verse 28. Verse 28 (NIV) says, “Then Nebuchadnezzar said, ‘Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him …’”

In the Bible, there are angels of God who come with words from Him, and in the Old Testament there is also the angel of the Lord. Distinct from the rest, the angel of the Lord in the Old Testament can be appreciated only if we understand him as a pre-incarnate appearance of Jesus Christ Himself.

Why is this good news to you and me today? How does this help us walk through the fires and trials and struggles of our lives here and now? You will feel Jesus Christ walking with you through the furnaces you face in this life–to the degree you know that Jesus was willingly thrown into the ultimate furnace for you.

Jonathan Edwards, years ago, wrote a sermon where he talked about this as he walked through the New Testament passage regarding Jesus in His last hours praying in the Garden of Gethsemane. Do you remember Jesus was sweating drops of blood? Edwards says, “The thing that Christ’s mind was so full of at that time was a near view of the furnace of wrath, into which he was to be cast; it was the dread which his human nature had of that dreadful cup of wrath, which was vastly more terrible than Nebuchadnezzar’s fiery furnace.”

The gospel of Jesus Christ that changes everything if you repent and trust your entire life to Him is this: Because of our sin–because time and time again we bow down to the idols of this world and make our lives about us and not about God–you and I deserve to be cast away from God and to lose the pure joy and satisfaction that it is to know Him. Here is the truth: It is pure joy and satisfaction to know Him, and it is pure agony and suffering to be apart from Him. It’s a fiery furnace. The good news that everything is built on, the One whose name every story whispers, is His name–Jesus. God in flesh came and was thrown into the blazing hot furnace of God’s perfect wrath that we deserve. He does this for those whom God awakens to this good news. Maybe He is doing this right now in your soul. For those who hear of this gift of immeasurable proportions that Jesus died to take on our deserved wrath, this is the good news that sets us free. This is the good news we stand on to walk confidently through this life and its furnaces.

This is the One who walks with us and sustains us unto victory into eternal life no matter how this life goes.

Now at the very end of this passage, Neb says it right. Verse 29 (NIV) says, “… no other god can save in this way.” If you cling to any self-righteousness, any other god, any other power and try to walk through the furnace, it will not be able to save or sustain you. You will be forever consumed with agony. Jesus Christ suffered for me, not that I might not suffer, but so when I suffer, I might become like Him who is victorious over suffering unto eternal life with Yahweh! “… no other god can save in this way.” Amen.

By His grace and for His glory,

Pastor Joshua Kirstine

Disciples Church