INTRODUCTION TO THE BIBLE

Course Description: An introduction to what the Bible is and why it can be depended upon.

Rationale: This course is intended to deepen dependence on the Word of God in our living and in our teaching.

Course Objectives/Requirements: The students will be required to:

1. Complete assigned reading, answer accompanying questions, and discuss through various means their answers with their fellow students and teacher(s).

2. Complete a mid-term and final exam.

3. Complete Project: Develop a lesson or lessons teaching the doctrine of the Bible. This project may be applicable to the student’s current ministry. There may be an opportunity for a public presentation of your project.

The students will:

1. Describe the structure and divisions of the Bible.

2. Identify and explain the major passage of Scripture dealing with revelation and inspiration.

3. Strategize how best to teach these truths to a specific group or in a specific situation.

4. Explain how the canon of the Scriptures came about.

5. Describe how the Scriptures were preserved in manuscript transmission.

6. Identify various proofs of the dependability of the Scriptures.

Class Procedure: The course will be composed of weekly reading and Internet based discussion questions, two exams, and independent study, research, and possibly presentations by the student.

Grading Policy

Weekly Discussion                 25%            A 91-100

Midterm                              25%             B 81-90

Project                               25%             C 71-80

Final Exam                           25%             D 61-70

Tentative Class Agenda:

Weeks Topics                                       Dates

1        Structure and Divisions of the Bible January 7-13

2        General and Specific Revelation      January 14-20

3        Inspiration                                  January 21-27

4        Inerrancy                                   January 28-February 3

5        Canonicity                                  February 4-10

6        Old Testament Canonicity             February 11-17

7        Break (I’m on vacation)

8        NT Canonicity (Midterm)               February 25-March 3

9        Languages of the Bible                 March 4-10

10      The Original Manuscripts               March 11-17

11      Transmission & Authenticity          March 18-24

12      Text Families                              March 25-31

13      Ancient Translations                    April 1-7

14      Apologetic (Final Exam)                April 8-14

SURVEY OF CHURCH HISTORY

Course Description: A survey of church history from the period just after the New Testament was written up to the present time.

Rationale: A survey of church history will allow the student to understand important issues in the church today and how to react to various trends.

Course Objectives/Requirements

The students will be required to:

1. Read the syllabus and answer discussion questions.

2. Complete a mid-term and final exam.

3. Report on a field trip to the William Miller house in Hampton, New York or plan a lesson on an event or person in church history appropriate to the ministry in which they are normally active or desire to be active.

The students will:

1. Identify important people, institutions, and events in church history.

2. Describe how God has had his hand in the past 2000 years of church history.

3. Explain the importance of studying church history and problems connected with that study.

Materials List - Required Text: Syllabus from Dr. Michael A. G. Haykin

Class Procedure: The course will be composed of weekly reading and Internet based discussion questions, at least one field trip opportunity, a choice between two special projects, and two exams.

Grading Policy

Weekly Discussion of Syllabus 25%           A 91-100

Midterm 25%                                        B 81-90

Project 25%                                         C 71-80

Final Exam 25%                                     D 61-70

Tentative Class Agenda: Could Be Affected by the Field Trip

Weeks Topics                                             Dates

1        The Roman Empire and the Early Church January 7-13

2        Persecution and Heresies                     January 14-20

3        Augustine                                         January 21-27

4        The Fall of the Roman Empire               January 28-February 3

5        Medieval Catholicism                          February 4-10

6        John Wycliffe                                   February 11-17

7        Midterm - Break (I’m on vacation)

8        Martin Luther and the Reformation       February 25-March 3

9        The Puritans and Reformed Groups       March 4-10

10      John Bunyan                                    March 11-17

11      Eighteenth Century Moralism               March 18-24

12      Missionary Movement                        March 25-31

13      Fundamentalism and Liberalism            April 1-7

14      Final - Current Trends                       April 8-14

The Christmas Photograph by Carolyn Houghton

Brings visions of a carefully—aimed baby cannonballinq out of the heavens and crashing right into that manger, doesn’t it? Well, Christ WAS in heaven before he was incarnated here on earth, so the kid had his theology right! What more can you ask from an almost-four-year-old? I’m not sure how long he held that slightly offbeat impression of Christ’s birth. I know I held some half-baked impressions of the Christmas story for quite some time myself. Take the bit about the way Mary and Joseph dressed this baby...

...in a make-shift suit of swaddling cloth! You’d have thought Mary would have had enough sense to bring along the baby clothes she had undoubtedly been making for nine months. SURELY she knew that this trip was close to her due date!! How could she have been so unprepared? I’d have packed baby clothes!

And the wise men... if they were so wise, why didn’t they bring decent gifts for a young child? The gold I could understand--start His bank account early--compounded interest counts up quickly--the child can retire early--GOOD move! But they also carried spices and tree sap around with them for nearly two years while they wandered around looking for this child! Yes, tree sap! Frankincense is tree sap! They bowed down, worshiped Him, and gave Him tree sap and spices! Hardly appropriate gifts for a toddler! I’ve bought people strange gifts in my time, but TREE SAP for a little boy!? Didn’t they read Dr. Spock in those days? Leggo’s--jumbo sized. That’s what I’d have brought Him. Something appropriate!

Sticking with the wise men....King Herod, in an attempt to eliminate any usurper to his throne, destroyed all the babies two years old and under after he realized the wise men were wise enough not to tell him where this King of the Jews could be found. Which means it took at LEAST a year and a half for these wise men to get to King Herod to ask where to FIND Jesus in the first place. What TOOK them so long? They forget to pack the road maps?.. .their camels go on a sit-down strike?.. .they waited for the tree sap to run in the spring?.. .WHAT!? They knew the child was born “King of the Jews”, so if they were THAT smart, couldn’t they just head west and hit Israel in a couple months? P-f-f-t! They needed a wise woman’s guiding hand to plan this trip, that’s all!

I always liked one part though... the bit about the shepherds getting the news first from the angelic hosts. It meant nothing to me, but I liked it. There they sat... in the dark.. .minding their sheep like every other night when they got the bejeebers scared out of them by a whole passel of angels singing at the top of their lungs (Do angels have lungs?). What an experience to reminisce about and retell over and over to the grandkids!

The birth of Jesus was a fantastic event--but I felt the individual aspects of the story made about as much sense as Bryan’s cannonballing-baby bit. Or had I just been looking at it wrong?

I think of the Bible as God’s photo album in written form. It contains hundreds of fuzzy photos that He develops and brings into focus bit by bit as we allow Him to adjust the camera lenses of our minds. I think He’s been fiddling with the adjustment button on my “camera Lens” ‘cause....

... the picture of the baby clothes? It seems swaddling cloth was the material in which the dead were wrapped for burial back then. Jesus came to earth--not primarily to live, but primarily to die. He was wrapped in the picture He was to fully develop and put in complete focus some thirty-odd years later on the cross...which made swaddling cloth the perfect material to wrap that Baby in.

The ridiculous toddler gifts? The wise men came to worship the King spoken of in Jewish scriptures. They must have been wise enough to read about the Jewish tabernacle because they figured out that gold speaks of deity; they recognized this tiny child to be God incarnate and brought the appropriate symbol to prove it! And the tree sap and spice? Frankincense was mixed with spices and burned on the altar of incense in the tabernacle whenever prayer was lifted up to God. So, I admit it... they brought PERFECT gifts that acknowledged Jesus as God to whom their prayers were offered.

The shepherds being honored with the news of Jesus’ birth first? For thousands of years shepherds had assisted God by lovingly raising the fuzzy photo He had used of the coming Savior--innocent lambs which were to be sacrificed in the temple. Seems fair to me that God should honor the shepherds by letting them know first that the “Lamb” He dearly loved was now in the world. John said of Jesus, “Behold the LAMB of God.” Whaddaya think?

Go back to those wise men for a minute. They wandered around nearly two years before they found someone who understood the scriptures and pointed them towards Christ. All those who have found Christ as Savior down through the centuries have wandered through life until people tell them enough about Christ for them to finally “get the picture in focus” and then take God at His word. The problem is, the older and wiser people are about the ways of this world, the harder it is for them to believe God when He says salvation is free to all takers.

The Bible says we must come to Christ “as a child” would. Offer a small child the gift of a lollipop that costs five cents, five bucks or five HUNDRED bucks and the reaction is the same--everything on the kid wiggles, a grin breaks out as he makes a grab for it, and there is absolutely NO thought of repaying you for your gift. Try to give an adult anything, especially something costly--salvation was VERY costly to Christ--and their eyes narrow, they pull back and say with great suspicion, “What’s the catch?”

Since it took me half of forever to understand that Christ loved me enough to be born to die, I’d like to think I’m an extremely wise person. But I don’t think I’ll ask, because I’m afraid God would look at me with great love, shake His head, and just smile knowingly. I’d HATE that.

Ah-h-h-h well. Merry Christmas all!! Enjoy!!

This is the last in a four part series on Thanksgiving and Thanklessness. On First Advent, we begin a new series, "The Christmas Story as Told by Isaiah".

THE LAST THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY

Hosea 2:2-23

INTRODUCTION: The past three weeks, I have attempted to show the difference between thankfulness and thanklessness. I have tried to emphasize “the vileness of sin and the graciousness of Christ”. I’m afraid the sermons have been a bit surgical. Perhaps you have been like the two Scottish miners who visited Edinburgh and heard Alexander Whyte preach a surgical sermon on sin. The two men left the church in deep silence. After a few blocks, one said: “Sandy, that preacher must have been a devil when he was a child!”

That is the story of God’s Word. Christ takes men and women bound by sin and lifts them up. Today, we want to look at an Old Testament prophecy that speaks to this truth. The writer Hosea prophesied at the end of a time of great prosperity in Israel (knowledge of 2 Chronicles 26-32 and Isaiah is helpful to understanding this time period). The first three chapters of this book are an illustration through Hosea’s marriage of God’s judgment of Israel’s sin and their future salvation. In chapter one God tells Hosea in 1:2 to marry, Gomer, a woman who could not be trusted. In chapter 3, we find God commanding Hosea to go and buy back his wife, who has not only been unfaithful to him but has sunken so low that she has ended up on the slave market because of her sin. In this chapter that we are looking at today, God explains what the illustration of Hosea and Gomer means.

THE COURT PROCEEDING

Verse 2 of chapter 2 opens with a court hearing against Israel. God is charging Israel with spiritual adultery. This was a common way for the prophets of the Old Testament to get their message across. In this passage, God as the plaintiff, the husband, the one sinned against is calling Israel to examine herself.

The picture is one of a relationship that is so damaged by adultery that the husband (God) is threatening a divorce (verse 3). As you see from verse, this divorce is to be more than a legal dissolution of a marriage but a punishment of shame. The results of this divorce are for all practical purposes the destruction of the unfaithful wife’s life.

God is threatening also to remove His mercy (verse 4). We understand that both the wife and the children mentioned here in verses 2 & 4 are the same people, the same nation. God is saying there is mercy but you have to repent now or you will pay.

God also makes clear how He is going to attempt to reclaim His wife (verses 5-7 & 9-13). He’s going to make it impossible for Israel to prosper. He is going to take away all the fine things that they have enjoyed for so long and then, they will remember Him, Jehovah, from whom they turned away.

THE CRIME OF THANKLESSNESS

Verse 8 tells us why this woman, Israel, turned from God. “She did not know…” from where her blessings came. “Just think of it,-- the very gifts which Jehovah gave to these people, they presented in sacrifice to Baal…” (Spurgeon).

This wife did not know God because she had forgotten Him (verse 13). “And went away after her lovers, But Me she forgot." God hollers down to Hosea and says, “Hosea! I want you to tell that girl who I love some things! I want you to remind her of where she came and remind her of where I brought her! I want you to rebuke her! Tell her like it is! But then, Hosea, tell her, she may forget me but I will never forget her!”

THE ALLURING POWER OF GOD

Look now at verse 14. You might have thought the Lord was going to say, "Therefore, behold, I will destroy her." In fact in verses 9-13, he repeatedly reminds them of what their punishment is going to be. God, however, does not destroy Israel. Instead He says (verse 14), “…I will allure her…” God says, I am going to the jewelry store and I’m going to buy the most beautiful diamond ring that money can buy. I’m going to take you out to the hill overlooking the town, to a quiet place where we won’t be disturbed. I’m going to have you close your eyes. Then I’m going to get down on one knee and I’m going to pull out that ring with my right hand and take your right hand with my left hand and I’m going to say, “Israel, I love you! Will you be mine!” Then you are going to open up your eyes and you are going to see what I have for you and (verse 15) that it is just like the first time that I brought you into the land of milk and honey. I know what you are going to say. You’re not going to talk about Baal and the slavery to sin that caused you to forget me. You’re not going to be interested in those things (verse 16). You’re not going to call me “My Master!” with all the harshness that is implied in that title. You are going to call me “My Husband!” Then God says (verse 18), I’m going to sign a contract that guarantees you’ll never go without. I’m going to protect you from all enemies. We are going to get engaged.

ENGAGED TO GOD!

Engaged forever (verse 19). John 17:3 tells us what it means to be engaged forever. Jesus was praying to His Father and He says, “…this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” Our engagement to God is a real relationship. It is more than facts we believe and rituals that we practice.

Engaged properly (in righteousness and justice). This no shotgun marriage, neither is it an elopement. It is a relationship that stands every legal test. Ephesians 5:27 says that Christ is going to “…present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.” We can’t make that happen. Only Christ can make sinful creatures like ourselves holy and without blemish but that is exactly what He has promised that He will do. How? That bring us to our next two words in this verse.

Engaged because of love (loving kindness and mercy). Again in Ephesians 5, a couple of verses earlier (verse 25), the Bible commands men to “…love your wives, just a Christ loved the church and gave Himself for her.” We can’t keep ourselves clean and pure but He loves us so much that in His loving kindness and mercy He died for us and for our sin so that we could fulfill our part of the prenuptial agreement, perfection!

Engaged and faithful (verse 20). I will be faithful to you and you will know what you have forgotten in the past - that I am the LORD! 2 Timothy 1:12 speaks to this subject, when Paul writes, “…I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I’ve committed to Him until that Day” when He returns to take us to Him.

You may say, but we’ve not been faithful. In the next chapter, verses 11-13 of that same letter, Paul writes again, “If we died with Him, we shall also live with Him. If we endure, we shall also reign with Him. If we deny Him, He also will deny us…” but (and I really like this part) “…If we are faithless, He remains faithful. He cannot deny Himself.”

The result of this engagement is a marriage. Israel will have an eternal day of thanksgiving (verses 21-23).

APPLICATION: Hosea helps us to understand God’s relationship to Israel and its application to us as the bride of Christ has parallels in our lives (this is not the interpretation but an application of this passage). We find this application in Romans 9:24-25 where verse 23 is quoted.

“God has determined to open the doors of heaven to the whole wide world…These verses teach us that God opened the door of salvation to everyone! Hosea prophesied of a day when God would say to those who were not his people (that is, the Gentiles), "You are now my people." God has opened the door of salvation to the world. Anyone who wants to can walk right in.” (Pritchard)

A SONG FROM A SWEDE

Fredrick Arvid Blom emigrated to America as a young in the 1890’s. He joined the Salvation Army in Chicago before attending North Park College and Seminary and serving as a minister in the Evangelical Covenant Church. He fell away from the gospel and ended up in prison. After leaving prison, Blom underwent a spiritual revival. He wrote, “I drifted from God, and became embittered with myself, the world, and not the least with ministers who looked on me with suspicion because I was a member of the Socialist Party.” Like a “dove when hunted” or a wounded fawn”, Blom cried out in anguish to his heavenly Father, Who in “love divine” forgave him and healed his broken heart and life. He wrote “He the Pearly Gates Will Open” to describe his rebirth.

Some of you need to do as Fredrick Arvid Blom did and come back. You’ve rebelled but he hasn’t cast you out. Come back to the one who loves you. Come back to the one who died for you. Come back to the one who will forgive and heal your broken life.

Some of you, especially among our young people, I pray for. I know that Satan is doing everything he can to entice you to him. Perhaps you know exactly what that enticement it. Maybe you are unaware of the battle between God and Satan for your life. God wants to entice you to Him. Which will you choose?

One of the toughest questions that we as postmodern Christians have to answer was asked in an email I recently received. This person is doing their best to witness to a loved one. There were a couple of objections to the gospel of Christ mentioned in the email, followed by the question that we want to answer today. The objections are as follows:

a) Objection 1: the Bible can't be the Word of God because men wrote it;

b) Objection 2: Jesus couldn't possibly have lived a sinless life. He was on this earth for 33 years and had to have sinned during that time. In other words, Jesus can’t be God;

c) The Question: What happens to all the people who die not hearing the gospel message? There are a number of examples that could be given: the Native American Indians before they encountered the white man or the unreached tribes in Guinea, Africa of whom we have already heard about this morning from our guest missionary.

THE ANSWER TO THIS QUESTON CREATES A PROBLEM.

We have an answer to this question in the passage that we are looking at today but the answer, instead of solving a problem, creates a greater problem for humankind. It reveals us as unthankful (verse 21). However, God has a plan to solve this problem, to make humankind thankful. First, however we need to understand…

How did the world become unthankful (1:18-21a)? A couple of weeks ago, we spoke of the word “unthankful” and how that word sometimes means uncharitable, unforgiving, ungracious. That is not what we normally mean by the word unthankful but this meaning is found a couple of times in the Bible (2 Timothy 3:2 and Luke 6:345). This word we are looking at today is used the same way that we normally would use it: ungrateful or unappreciative. Verse 21 is saying that this world does not appreciate God. There are two reasons why we don’t appreciate God.

WHY ARE WE UNTHANKFUL?

Humankind has suppressed the truth by their sin (verses 18b-20). From the time of creation, the power of God has been observable but our natural inclination is to suppress the truth of the power of God and the truth that there is a God who is above anything that we could possibly imagine. Verse 20 tells me that if I look at God’s creation, I will not appreciate the God who created it because the sin and the unrighteousness that is in me suppresses the truth about God. That is bad but it gets worst.

PUTTING GOD AT THE WRONG END OF THE TABLE

Not only does humankind naturally suppress the truth about God by their sin but humankind has refused to glorify God even though they recognized Him in creation (verse 21). We understood last week that to glorify God means to put him at the head of the table, to exalt Him above all others but we naturally refuse to do that. Again, we see that there is a direct connection between glorifying God and being thankful. When we stand before God, if we have never heard of Him, if we have never heard of Jesus Christ, if we never understand amidst all the wonders of creation that are around us, we still cannot say we didn’t know.

NO EXCUSE

God will say, you saw my power in creation, you saw through creation that I am God but you suppressed this truth in your sin and served false gods rather than me. You are without excuse! God does not have to reveal Himself to us but when He does, and He does that in creation, it leaves us without excuse.

You folks who go hunting and you folks who enjoy the beautiful lake that we have here, when you sit there enjoying the beauty of God’s creation, if you see that beauty and do not recognize God’s claims on your life through that creation, you will stand before Him without excuse. That’s bad…but it gets worse. Look at the results of unthankfulness.

OUR NATURAL TENDENCY - SELF-DECEPTION

What resulted from the world’s thanklessness (1:21b-25)? Humankind became self-deceived, blind fools (verses 21b-22). “When you look truth in the eye and call it a lie, although it is still truth, you will still deny” (Anonymous). The human race is in denial. Often something will happen and it is so awful or so good that we can’t seem to really grasp the truth of what has happened. Humankind has a permanent case of denial, of self-deception, of purposely living in darkness thinking that they are living in the light.

When I was a kid, we used to play hide-and-seek at night in our house with my dad. Bathrooms and the living area were off limits. There was a long hallway with five bedrooms off of it. My dad would be it. We would all go and hide with all the lights cut off. My dad was great for coming in so quietly that you didn’t know he was there and then by listening he would hear where you were at and slowly quietly make his way to where you were. You would think he would be in the other end of the building when he would reach out and grab you and scare you witless. You thought you knew where he was. You thought you knew how the game was going done but you were just speculating and you were caught. That is what the world is doing spiritually.

SERVING THE CREATED NOT THE CREATOR

Humankind began to serve the creature rather than the Creator (verses 23 & 25). Certainly this refers to idol worship and the making of God’s. Praying to a human, whether living or dead would also be included. The word serve in verse 25 is always used in connection with some sort of religious act. It may be sacrifices. It may be fasting. Most often it refers to prayer. When you pray to a statute or a person or a shrine or a cross or to a pastor or to a saint or to a ritual or to a church, you have changed the image of God from the creator to what was created. Why do people do this? Because they do not want to glorify God, put Him at the head of the table and they are not thankful, do not appreciate the one who created them. They deceive themselves and turn to worshiping something, anything else besides the true and living God.

GOD'S PART IN ALL OF THIS

God allowed their sin to follow its natural course (verse 24). God was not standing around helpless in all this. He allowed them to follow the desires of their hearts. He gave them up. What did He give them up to? Sexual immorality.

“Why is illicit sex singled out as the first major step away from God? The answer is not hard to find. Sex is closely related to the human spirit. The way you conduct yourself sexually is a good barometer of what's going on in your heart (Ray Pritchard).”

Paul tells us that this is the natural progression of our depraved hearts. If we were to continue in this passage, which for the sake of time we will not, we would see the progression in verse 26 to open homosexuality and in verses 28-32, twenty-one sins that characterize us at our worst. If you look at that list, you’ll probably find one of your favorite sins listed there.

BUT GOD HAD A PLAN!

What was God’s plan to make the world thankful (1:16-17)? It is called the gospel which means “good news” (verse 16a). When you turn on the evening news, what do you expect? You expect the facts. You don’t need speculation or prediction or theories, you need facts. The fact that Jesus came and died for our sins and rose again from the dead, that is the good news, the gospel. When I go to the ATM machine and talk out money, I try to always get a receipt. I’m not trying to get economic theory or bank advertising or ideas on how to save money. I get the receipt because I want some documented facts. That is what the good news is, what the gospel is. The documented facts about Jesus Christ.

THE POWER OF TRUTH

It contains the truth of the power of God that has been suppressed by humankind (verse 16b). These facts, that Jesus died for our sins according the Scriptures and that He was buried and rose again according to the Scriptures are powerful. Dr. Lee Roberson use to call it “Gospel Dynamite” because the facts are so powerful, so explosive that they can save a person from the slavery of sin, from the condemnation of hell, and from eternal separation from God and all that is good.

That power is ignited by faith (verses 16c-17). If you keep the Ten Commandments the power of the gospel to save remains unlit. This church can’t light the gospel dynamite. Being good just wets the fuse. There is no cleansing power released in water baptism. A miraculous experience might feel great, might look great but it will not ignite the eternal power of the gospel story of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible says it is by faith that this gospel dynamite is lit, that only through faith can one be saved from sin, death , and hell.

Remember those Indiana Jones’ movies. It seems that someone was always putting their faith in the wrong person in those movies. I suppose that was the way they made those movies interesting. Everyone was suspect, no one was dependable. There are a myriad of options out there in which you can put your faith. God has revealed to us that the answer is by faith in Jesus Christ.

AVOIDING BURNOUT IN THE CHRISTIAN LIFE

II Corinthians 4:1-16

INTRODUCTION: Twice, in verses 1 & 16 of this chapter, Paul says “Therefore, we do not lose heart.” This phrase is used four other times in the New Testament. In Luke 18:1, we find that Jesus told a parable in order to show “…that men ought always to pray, and not to faint…” In Galatians 6:9, Paul writes these words in the context of doing good and bearing the burdens of our brethren in Christ, “And let us not be weary in well doing…” In Ephesians 3:13, he encourages the believers to “faint not at my tribulations for you…” Finally, in 2 Thessalonians 3:13, talking about the value of work and providing for the family, he commands the Thessalonian Christians, “…be not weary in well doing.” These are all areas where it is easy to burn out. People burn out on prayer fairly easily. We burn out on helping others just as easily. When we see the problems of others, we tend to step back and say, “Not me! I don’t want any part of that.” Even in the secular world, burnout is a real danger. Burnout, however, is not necessary. We find some reasons why in the verses we are looking at tonight.

A COMPASSIONATE COMPANION PREVENTS BURNOUT.

Paul says in verse 1, I have a compassionate companion in the ministry. There are two key words in this verse.

The first word is “ministry.” “Ministry” refers to the service of proclaiming Christ as described in the last part of chapter 2 and in chapter 3. This glorious service or ministry comes from God and the strength and ability to carry out this ministry comes from God.

The second word is “mercy”. This what I mean when I mention a compassionate companion. Mercy is not an inert gas floating in the air that fills you up like a helium balloon and helps you to float above your troubles. These two concepts are connected by the word “as”. Your ministry is proportionate to the compassion that God shows you when He puts you in the ministry. Just as we do not deserve salvation, we do not deserve the opportunity to minister the gospel of Christ to others. It is a privilege to be made worthy by God to minister to others.

WHY IS BURNOUT A DANGER? REJECTION

Paul points out in verses 2-15, two occupational hazards to ministry.

The first is found in verses 2-7. It is the rejection of our message. The rejection of our message or ministry is hard for us because we have to renounce our fleshly desires to proclaim this message with sincerity (verse 2). Our flesh does not like to deny itself and when we do and our message is rejected, it is easy for us to feel rejected also.

It is hard for us to imagine Paul falling prey to the temptations mentioned in this verse but for him this was a reality. Paul had seen in Peter’s life and in Barnabas’ life according to his letter to the Galatians, how easy it is to give in to peer pressure and play the hypocrite. Paul was a realist when it comes to human nature. One of the kindest verses in the Bible is in 2 Timothy when Paul wrote, “Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world.” No railing, no gossip. Just the hard reality that a companion of his had given in to the pressure of the temptations of this world. Paul's understanding of spiritual reality becomes even clearer when we look at 2 Corinthians 2:17. The picture is the same as in chapter 4. Those who preach the gospel for personal gain, whether material or emotional or in some other way often change the gospel. Paul knew that he was just a susceptible to this temptation as is any other man of God.

THE MAIN DIFFICULTY OF MINISTRY - PEOPLE

The rejection of our message or ministry is hard for us because we cannot force people to accept it (verses 3-4). The Bible makes it very plain that people naturally, even when they understand the message of the gospel, reject it. According to the verses, the unsaved man is blinded to the truth of Christ. The reason people come week after week and hear the message of Christ and do not respond is that they are…“So dead that only God can make (them) alive-Ephesians 2:1...

So sinful that only God could forgive (them)-Psalm 51:5

So bad only God can make (them) good-Jeremiah 17:9

So lost that only God could save (them)-Luke 19:10

So helpless that only God could change (them)-Jeremiah 13:23...
If God doesn't do something to help (them, they’re) in big trouble. This is the true condition of every man and every woman born on planet earth (Ray Pritchard).”

WHAT TO DO, WHAT TO DO? DENY OURSELVES!

When our message is rejected because of spiritual blindness and we take it personally because we have denied ourselves in order to minister, there are some practical steps we can take that will keep us from burning out.

- According to verse 5, we need to deny ourselves again. Paul says we are heralds. A herald proclaims the message of His Master. Paul also says, “We are your slaves for Jesus’ sake.” Until that becomes a reality in your life, burn out will be a real possibility. There are often days when we say, these people that I am trying to help are not worth it. First, that is for Jesus’ to determine and He has already determined through His death on the cross that every man, woman, boy, and girl are worthwhile. Secondly, we are their slaves. Pastoral ministry is servitude. Teaching Sunday School is slavery. Witnessing is a form of bondage. God wants us in the modern vernacular to be “doormats” for others. This goes against everything that my spirit wants and that your spirit wants but that is the attitude God wants us to have.

THIS LITTLE LIGHT OF MINE...

-According to verses 6-7, we need to let the light of Jesus shine through our hearts. This is why a realization of what Christ has done for us is important. This is why a daily walk with Him is absolutely necessary. I’m not talking about the mechanics of your spiritual and devotional life but the reality of it. Mechanics, devotions, prayer times are important but only if they produce the shining light of Christ in our lives.

When we let the light of Jesus shine through our lives, two things will happen. The enlightening knowledge of Christ will be seen in spite of the darkness of our hearts (verse 6) and the explosive power of God to change lives will be realized despite the weakness of our earthly beings (verse 7).

AND THEN AFTER REJECTION COMES MORE TROUBLE...

The second occupational hazard to ministry in found in verses 8-15. Tribulation because of our ministry or message.

We are pressed like grapes but we are not mashed. 2 Corinthians 1:6 describes this pressure and the purpose for it. The details of one of these pressure situations we find in 2 Corinthians 7:5. This spiritual pressure was so great that there were physical symptoms.

We are perplexed but we are not without hope. There was no understanding about the why’s and the wherefore’s of the situation in which he found himself. Sometimes there is no answer. We don’t like that. We want there to be an answer but it doesn’t always work out that way. We want to know what lesson God wants us to learn but we can’t see what it could possibly be. Lest you think Paul was some sort of super-Christian, look again at chapter 1 but this time at verse 8. There seems to be a contradiction in Paul’s life. The realtiy is that there are moments of hopelessness but Paul is saying, when there is no answer, when even survival seems impossible, there is hope to be had.

We are chased and harassed but we are not forsaken. In 2 Timothy 4:16-17 Paul says that everyone had forsaken him but that the Lord stood with him. He never leaves us nor forsakes us. That is more than just a mantra to repeat to calm our nerves. That is a present reality.

We are thrown down on the ground but we are not destroyed. When you are down on the ground you are in a helpless, defenseless position but Christ never allows us to be destroyed. The hazard of trouble in the ministry that God gives us is a reality. Perhaps imprisonment is not likely but the things that Paul describes here many of us know firsthand.

Again, when we go through trials and tribulations, there are some practical attitudes that we can assume that will enable us like Paul to keep from burning out.

WHY ME?

- According to verses 10-11, the troubles we go through allow Jesus to be revealed in us. Jesus is manifested or revealed more in our troubles than in our successes. The more that we bear in our bodies the suffering of Christ, the more the world will see our faith in Christ. It is not the healthy man who reveals Jesus but the dying man. It is not the bed of ease but the bed of sickness and suffering that shows our faith. It is not the way we treat our friends but the way we treat our enemies that identifies us with Christ. It is not our strengths that glorify God but our weaknesses.

THE FRINGE BENEFITS OF TROUBLES

- According to verse 12, the troubles we go through result in life for those to whom we minister.

- According to verses 13-15, the troubles we go through will be eternally worth while. We will be presented along with those to whom we minister and who we help to God’s glory for all eternity. In fact, the result is not eternal burnout but eternal thanksgiving.

If you are going to avoid burnout, you need to deny yourself, follow Christ, and serve others.

If you are going to avoid burnout, you need to realize it is about Jesus revealed in you and not about your comfort.

If you are going to avoid burnout, you need to realize that the eternal reward will be worth it.

GUARANTEE THAT YOU WILL BE THANKFUL

Luke 17:11-19

INTRODUCTION: We don’t always feel thankful. There are days when I hate our job, our family, our face, our bank account, our pantry, our life. There are days when we feel like Charlie Brown. Charlie Brown was consulting with Lucy at the psychiatry booth. He wanted to know why God put him on earth. Lucy answered, “To be a help to the other people on earth.” Charlie Brown then asked the obvious question, “Why then did God put the other people on the earth?”

It is, however, possible to be thankful and, today, we want to look at a few things that do not guarantee thanksgiving or thankfulness and then we want to see what does guarantee thankfulness.

You see, the first nine had faith but their works were limited to going to the priest in obedience to Christ’s command. The tenth man showed his faith by his works.

Do you want to be thankful this thanksgiving? Lift Jesus higher, put Him at the head table in your life, glorify Him. Put your faith and trust in Him. He is trustworthy. Would you trust Him today?

You might ask, Robert, what does it mean to trust Christ? It is simple, turn away from anything and everything and turn to Jesus Christ, who died for your sin. You are spiritually sick. Like the lepers, you can’t even call out for help but Jesus is there for you. He died for you. He rose from the dead for you. Trust Him and only Him.

a) the Bible isn't the word of God... it can't be because men wrote it;

b) that Jesus couldn't possibly have lived a sinless life. He was on this earth for 33 years and had to have sinned during that time. (In other words doesn't believe that he is God...);

I guess I have to believe that