Make no mistake: the world is set against Christianity. There is a version of Christianity which the world likes, but it lacks the core elements of the one true faith—namely, Jesus Christ and his word. “The world”—that term which the apostles used to describe people living under the slavery of sin—is set against Jesus’ kingdom. Jesus said, “If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.” (John 15:18-19)

So what are we to do? Since they are against us, does that mean that Christians should be against the world too?
No. In fact, if we follow Jesus, we are not against the world, but we are in fact for those same people—we want what is truly good for them.

Like our God, who loved the world enough to send his son for their everlasting life (John 3:16), we are to show love to evil people toward the goal of teaching them about everlasting life. Like our Lord Jesus, who opened not his mouth when he was reviled, we are often regarded as sheep to be slaughtered (Psa. 44:22, Rom. 8:36) because we do not return blow for blow when the world attacks. And like our ancestors in this faith, we remember the words of the apostle Peter, who told persecuted Christians, “Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing.” (1 Pet. 3:9)

The world is working to bring death to us, but we are working to bring the good news of life to them. They are against us, but God is for the salvation of all (2 Pet. 3:9).

- Dan Lankford, minister

Saturday’s news that the US had already bombed targets in Iran has heightened everyone’s attention to the world stage. Iran is on a short list of the world’s most dangerous countries, and so it’s a time a to watch their movements (and those of their national friends) very closely. Couple this reality with Israel’s war against Iran, and it seems that this is one of the most volatile times our country has faced in several decades.

I know no more than anyone else about how things like this will turn out. I just try to remember the words of the Holy Spirit for guidance in how to think about such times. So, here are a few reminders:

1. In a passage that is often quoted by premillennialist thinkers to make many people alarmed by supposed world-ending scenarios, what Jesus actually says is, “you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed…” (Mt. 24:6) He goes on to say in the same context: “...the one who endures to the end will be saved.” Words from this passage are often quoted in a way that unnerves many because of the purported ‘signs of the end.’ But the Lord’s words are meant to have exactly the opposite effect. He spoke these things to quiet our hearts and redouble our discipleship commitments; not make us fearful of some kind of cosmic come-apart.
2. In Romans 9-11, Paul explains in no shortage of words that God does not hold himself under any obligation to the nation of Israel or to any Jewish ethnicity. He has fulfilled his promises to them, and he has embraced the Gentiles, grafting them into his kingdom as wild olive branches grafted onto the roots of a cultivated olive tree. By his own word, he has no further promises to keep to that nation. Should their nation be expanded or destroyed, I believe that God has no more or less pleasure in that than he does in the success or any other nation on his footstool.
3. In one the closing paragraphs of his letter to Rome, Paul asked his brothers to pray for his safety as he went into hostile territory (Rm. 15:30-31). As is always the case with such a heavy military presence in our area, we’re likely to know friends, neighbors, or church members who are directed toward involvement in world conflicts. Pray for them. Pray for them by name. Pray that God will deliver them from harm. Pray that their objectives will be successful if they be righteous. Pray that they will keep faith in God through whatever rigors and horrors of war they must face. Pray for them.
4. “I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way” (1 Tim. 2:1-2). Pray for our national leaders and military leaders. Give thanks for them. Pray that they will lead in a way that a peaceful, quiet life can be preserved for as many people as possible.
5. Remember the Lord’s command, both the prohibitive side and the affirmative one: “Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell” (Mt. 10:28). There are some things that are absolute constants for us because of our belief in Jesus Christ. No matter how much the sandy ground of this life may seem to shift, we stand on bedrock truth that he has overcome the world, that he will overcome the world, and that he cares for us.

“I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rm. 8:38-39)

- Dan Lankford, minister

“So what are you going to do about it?”

That question hits us hard sometimes. It compels us to make a decision. When the facts have been stated, the arguments and counters have been considered, and the evidence has been submitted… a decision must be made. Life brings us to such tipping points and compels an answer of us: “What are you going to do?”

David, while he was still a young man, saw the conflict between his people and the Philistines for what it was. He saw Israel’s weakness, heard Goliath’s taunts, and knew of God’s power. He faced the big question: ‘What are you going to do about it, David?’ And unlike his brothers and their countrymen, he tipped the scales toward action and became his king’s unlikely champion.

So what about you? When you see a need, will you fulfill it? When you learn the truth, will you believe it? When you realize your sin, will you repent of it? When you have an opportunity to serve, will you take it? When you need a hard truth, will you hear it? When you observe a friend’s pain, will you bear it?

I catch myself and many other believers holding back from what we ought to do for fear of failure, fear of embarrassment, or fear of the unknown. James said, “So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin” (Ja. 4:17). I couldn’t begin to count the number of times that I have sinned by indecision. I knew to do good but ignored what I knew and found a way to justify doing so. I pray that I’ve grown. And I pray that for all of us: that we’ll have answer rightly when faith compels us with the question: What are you going to do?

- Dan Lankford, minister

As a follow-up to this past Sunday’s class on trees as 'types and shadows,' consider this short, impactful exchange from the book of Judges. These events took place after the death of Gideon, when his son, Abimelech, who was born to one of Gideon’s concubines, had murdered his half brothers and proclaimed himself king. One brother escaped and proclaimed divine judgment on Abimelech. His use of the ‘trees’ metaphor fits well with our Sunday discussion, and the whole thing reminds us just how important justice and life are to our God. As Jesus said, “all who take the sword will perish by the sword.” (Mt. 26:52)

- Dan Lankford, minister

———————————————

“[Jotham] went and stood on top of Mount Gerizim and cried aloud and said to them, ‘Listen to me, you leaders of Shechem, that God may listen to you. The trees once went out to anoint a king over them, and they said to the olive tree, “Reign over us.” But the olive tree said to them, “Shall I leave my abundance, by which gods and men are honored, and go hold sway over the trees?” And the trees said to the fig tree, “You come and reign over us.” But the fig tree said to them, “Shall I leave my sweetness and my good fruit and go hold sway over the trees?” And the trees said to the vine, “You come and reign over us.” But the vine said to them, “Shall I leave my wine that cheers God and men and go hold sway over the trees?” Then all the trees said to the bramble, “You come and reign over us.” And the bramble said to the trees, “If in good faith you are anointing me king over you, then come and take refuge in my shade, but if not, let fire come out of the bramble and devour the cedars of Lebanon.”

Now therefore, if you acted in good faith and integrity when you made Abimelech king, and if you have dealt well with Jerubbaal and his house and have done to him as his deeds deserved— for my father fought for you and risked his life and delivered you from the hand of Midian, and you have risen up against my father's house this day and have killed his sons, seventy men on one stone, and have made Abimelech, the son of his female servant, king over the leaders of Shechem, because he is your relative— if you then have acted in good faith and integrity with Jerubbaal and with his house this day, then rejoice in Abimelech, and let him also rejoice in you. But if not, let fire come out from Abimelech and devour the leaders of Shechem and Beth-millo; and let fire come out from the leaders of Shechem and from Beth-millo and devour Abimelech.” (Judges 9:7-21)

“When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’ So you are no longer a slave, but a son…” (Gl. 4:4-7)

In that passage (and also in Rom. 8), Christ’s apostle talks about us calling God our abba—our father. That word, used only three times in the whole Bible, is Aramaic (not Hebrew) for ‘father’ and is used exclusively to describe our relationship with our heavenly Father. It’s a rudimentary word—a set of syllables that children can learn very early in life (similar to ‘dada’ in English). And, as many preachers and teachers have said, it communicates closeness, dependency, and intimacy; like an infant’s total dependence on and closeness with his father. Many have likened its connotation to the close comfort of the English word ‘daddy.’

But there’s another important aspect to the word: the imperative of obedience. One author told about a simple exchange he overheard between a Jewish father and son in the Tel Aviv airport: the father said to the son, “When I ask you to do something, I want you to call me abba.” And that’s how it functions in God’s word, too. Every time that the word is used in the Bible, it’s in a context that emphasizes obeying the father. Jesus prayed with that word when he said, “Yet not what I will, but what you will” (Mk. 14:36). Paul talked about our willful obedience as sons of God; not just him controlling us as slaves (Rm. 8:15, Gl. 4:6).

A son who looks up to his father as ‘abba’ recognizes their intimacy and also his own submission to the father. Like an adult son who has been placed in charge of his father’s estates because his father has learned that he can trust the son, God asks us to steward his grace on Earth — to live and lead his way; not our own. And like sons and daughters who are both close to our father and immensely respectful of his authority, we pray to “our Father who is in Heaven.” He is our God; our Maker; our Redeemer; our Savior… our abba. And we are his dutiful, close, trusting sons.

- Dan Lankford, minister

Captains Lewis and Clark led the expedition that mapped a route from St. Louis to the Pacific Ocean in the time before any road system, no matter how primitive, could connect the two places. It is remarkable (to me) to think of the comparatively long times that all travel and communication took in their time. In their time, it took a stagecoach three full days to go from Boston to New York; a distance we travel today in 4 hours or less. So while a land trip like Lewis’ and Clark’s might take us two to four days, it took them well over a year.

That sort of slowness and difficulty is a very different foundation for understanding the world than I am used to. From my perspective, it takes an almost otherworldly level of diligence to not become discouraged in the face of such long and daunting commitments.

Diligence is a crucial component part of Christian perseverance. It’s an outlook that always keeps a clear objective at the forefront of our minds. It’s an outlook that receives difficulties, setbacks, and disasters as bad but also surmountable. It’s an outlook that dwells short on difficulties, choosing to focus unwaveringly on doing the next right thing. It’s an outlook that does what’s required, even when there’s no reward in sight for doing so. It’s an outlook that never, ever gives up or turns back. And it's an outlook that allows us to realize the full assurance of our hope (Hb. 6:11-12).

Since the Christian way is a lifelong pursuit, we will be continually adding diligent steadfastness to our faith. Peter doesn’t get far past his initial instructions about faith additions before he is again encouraging us to be diligent in our walk of faith: “Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall” (2 Pt. 1:10). The concepts must go together, and together they keep us in forward motion at all times, regardless of the exacting or tiring nature of our journey. They keep us devoted over the long (or sometimes VERY long) haul. They keep us from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

- Dan Lankford, minister

It often takes more strength to be properly gentle. We’ve all seen a child struggling to open a bag of chips, knowing that when the bag finally gives way, chips will fly everywhere. But give that same bag of chips to an adult with stronger hands, and a gentle approach can be taken that doesn’t damage or waste anything.

The same is true with relationships. Young husbands and wives are often guilty of naively wanting to attack some tension in their relationship head-on. The intent is good, but when they lack the emotional strength to be properly gentle to their spouse, things tend to blow up. However, given time and experience to increase their maturity, they gain a new kind of strength to handle such things gently and effectively.

The same is true with leadership. Whether it’s at work, in the community, in the military, or in a church of God’s people, leaders who lack strength often over-extend the strength that they do have. They end up approaching delicate situations with harshness, brashness, and an effort to control rather than with gentle convictions and character-filled influence. This sort of behavior wounds followers and cripples the leader’s credibility.

Gentleness was Christ’s way in dealings with those who truly sought to know him and his heart (cf. 2 Cr. 10:1). It is part of the fruit that our lives bear when the Spirit of God abides in us (Gl. 5:23). And it ought to be part of the default settings for how Christians treat each other (Ep. 4:1-3). Both cowardice and harshness can stem from a place of weakness, and both of them can do their own kinds of damage (cf. Mt. 27:24, Ez. 34:4). But it takes some serious strength of character to hold together two of a Christian’s most important personal traits: conviction AND gentleness.

- Dan Lankford, minister

An important phrase is peppered throughout all the narratives in the Exodus arc: “Moses did as the Lord had commanded him.” He spoke to Pharaoh like God told them to. He built the Tabernacle like God told him to. He set the Levites apart for service as God had told them to. We are told over a dozen times in the Torah that Moses simply, trustingly did what God said.

This demonstrates a powerful principle that God’s faithful ones talk about regularly, but which is often overlooked by the broad spectrum of all that calls itself Christian: respecting God’s authority.

Authority means the right to command. A person with authority is the person in charge; the one who can make decisions that affect others; the one whose words have the weight to make others obey. And in all of reality, no one has more authority than YHWH—the God of Abraham, of Isaac, of Jacob, and of our lord and savior Jesus.

Our job, then, is to obey the ways of God, plain and simple. In church life and in our personal lives, we are called to obey God’s spoken word—the Bible. Has he said how he wants his church led? Then we obey that. Has he said that his people should be generous with our money? Then we do it. Has he said to flee from sexual immorality? Then we do it. Has he said to worship him in certain ways and not in others? Then we do as he’s asked.

Our hope is that, as simple as it is, when the Holy Spirit looks at the whole of our lives, he will be able to say something similar of us to what he so often said of Moses: “They did just as the Lord had commanded them.”

- Dan Lankford, minister

If I were to ask you if you had self-control, then you would probably give me an answer somewhere in the neighborhood of, “It depends on what we’re talking about.” Our ability, our willingness, to control ourselves fluctuates based on what trials and temptations we face. Maybe you have gluttony under control, but when it comes to gossip you struggle. Maybe you’ve got a handle on sexual immorality, but drinking tends to be a problem. Maybe you do a good job at keeping the rules and living out your faith, but you wrestle with forgiving those who sin against you and judging those who fall short or aren’t as far along. 

Do you have self-control? Well, it depends…

That’s why Peter tells us to add patience or perseverance to our self-control (II Peter 1:6). That word in II Peter 1:6 might read different based on your translation. NASB reads “perseverance,” CSB reads “endurance,” and ESV reads “steadfastness.” All of those words are translated from the Greek word, “Hypomone,” a word that means, “a patient enduring” or “a staying under.” I love that concept. What Peter is advising here is that we learn how to stay in our place. He wants us to be the kind of people who stay in our place regardless of what happens.  

It seems to me that in many cases the life of a Christian is characterized by wild fluctuation. This month we’re on fire for the Lord, but next month we drop off. When I’m tempted by sexual immorality, I do okay, but when I’m tempted by alcohol I tend to fail. When life is going well, I control myself, but if things are a little rocky, self-control goes out the window. That’s often the way it goes, isn’t it?

Peter encourages us to add patience, perseverance, steadfastness to our faith. We need to be people who stay in our places no matter what life throws at us. We need to level out those wild fluctuations. Our spiritual lives should be characterized not by flashes of spiritual brilliance followed by devastating failure, but by constant loyalty, devotion, and faithfulness.

For the next few weeks, we’ll talk about to add perseverance to our faith.

- Jonathan Banning

“And I will walk among you and will be your God, and you shall be my people. I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that you should not be their slaves.” (Lev. 26:12-13)

The Exodus story is simple, yet it’s anything but simplistic. The complexity and beauty of the story is the kind of thing that a person could study for a lifetime and always be able to find fresh insights and teachings in it. Even the Ten Commandments, while they might seem like basic principles, have far-reaching wisdom as they reveal the very heart of God. They, along with the entire Exodus arc, are one of the main areas of the Bible where God has revealed a large picture of his nature and his plan to save and bless humanity.

I pray that our preaching theme for this year has been a blessing to you. I pray that it’s helping us all expand our view of God’s scheme to redeem mankind. I pray that it’s helping us see how we should rightfully respond to him—with humility, gratitude, awe, and obedience. I pray that it’s helping us to clearly see and sincerely embrace his eternal love. I pray that it’s helping us to be comforted by his divine, righteous judgment. I pray that it’s helping us to grow in our faith.

The core promise of all that we’re studying this year is the one quoted above: “I will walk among you and will be your God, and you shall be my people.” That’s the promise for us too, if we believe in him, obey him, and love him with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength.

- Dan Lankford, minister