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November 19, 2023

A Heart of Repentance

By Michael Yates

I recently completed a political survey. This could be true of me almost any week. I often struggle with the question, “what is the biggest issue facing the country today?” This week I finally got it right: “sin,” is what I wrote.

In Jesus’ own time, people wanted political change. Rome wanted to control the world, and the Jews wanted Rome to leave. The Jews wanted a savior that would rescue them from their government. Jesus came and told them that Rome was not their problem. The greatest problem was sin.

Jesus taught this central message his entire life. The problems of the world all have their beginning in sin. The most important thing we can do to make the world better is to repent of our sin.

  • [Mat 3:2 CSB] and saying, “Repent, because the kingdom of heaven has come near! “
  • [Mat 4:17 CSB] From then on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, because the kingdom of heaven has come near.”
  • [Mar 1:15 CSB] “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news! “

The clearest example of repentance in the Bible comes from one of Jesus’ ancestors: King David. 1000 years before Jesus was born, David had to learn a lesson in repentance.

David had committed a series of horrible sins. The story is long, but …summarize…. He had committed adultery and murder.

What is worse is that he did not admit that he had sinned until a prophet named Nathan came to him to confront his sin. David immediately realized that his actions had been horribly wrong.

David then finally does what is right, he repents of his sin. He prays deeply from his heart. He writes out his prayer for us to read in Psalm 51.

[Psa 51:1-19 CSB] 1 Be gracious to me, God, according to your faithful love; according to your abundant compassion, blot out my rebellion.  2 Completely wash away my guilt and cleanse me from my sin.  3 For I am conscious of my rebellion, and my sin is always before me.  4 Against you — you alone — I have sinned and done this evil in your sight. So you are right when you pass sentence; you are blameless when you judge.  5 Indeed, I was guilty when I was born; I was sinful when my mother conceived me.  6 Surely you desire integrity in the inner self, and you teach me wisdom deep within.  7 Purify me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.  8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice.  9 Turn your face away from my sins and blot out all my guilt.  10 God, create a clean heart for me and renew a steadfast spirit within me.  11 Do not banish me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.  12 Restore the joy of your salvation to me, and sustain me by giving me a willing spirit.  13 Then I will teach the rebellious your ways, and sinners will return to you.  14 Save me from the guilt of bloodshed, God — God of my salvation — and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.  15 Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise.  16 You do not want a sacrifice, or I would give it; you are not pleased with a burnt offering.  17 The sacrifice pleasing to God is a broken spirit. You will not despise a broken and humbled heart, God.  18 In your good pleasure, cause Zion to prosper; build the walls of Jerusalem.  19 Then you will delight in righteous sacrifices, whole burnt offerings; then bulls will be offered on your altar.

  1. Admitting sinfulness
    • We have sinned. (1)
      • [Rom 3:23 CSB] 23 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
    • Our sin is against God. It is our relationship with him that is broken. (4)
    • We have been sinning all our lives. (5)
    • Trans: David does not stop with sadness about his own action, but continues focusing on God’s action.
  2. Requesting forgiveness
    • God will teach us his wisdom (6)
    • He will Cleanse us and forgive us (7,10)
    • His presence will remain with us (11)
    • Repentance per Ezekiel:
      • [Eze 14:6 CSB] 6 “Therefore, say to the house of Israel, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says: Repent and turn away from your idols; turn your faces away from all your detestable things.
      • [Eze 18:30, 32 CSB] 30 “Therefore, house of Israel, I will judge each one of you according to his ways.” This is the declaration of the Lord GOD. “Repent and turn from all your rebellious acts, so they will not become a sinful stumbling block to you. … 32 “For I take no pleasure in anyone’s death.” This is the declaration of the Lord GOD. “So repent and live!
      • [Eze 33:11 CSB] 11 Tell them, ‘As I live — this is the declaration of the Lord GOD — I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked person should turn from his way and live. Repent, repent of your evil ways! Why will you die, house of Israel? ‘
    • Trans: Accepting God’s forgiveness, David commits his life to obeying God.
  3. Committing to positive action
    • Praising God (15)
    • Humbling our hearts (17)
    • Trusting in the spiritual healing of the sacrifice of Jesus (19)
      • [Psa 40:12 CSB] 12 For troubles without number have surrounded me; my iniquities have overtaken me; I am unable to see. They are more than the hairs of my head, and my courage leaves me.
      • [Mat 10:26, 29-31 CSB] 26 “Therefore, don’t be afraid of them, since there is nothing covered that won’t be uncovered and nothing hidden that won’t be made known. … 29 “Aren’t two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father’s consent. 30 “But even the hairs of your head have all been counted. 31 “So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

What did David do?

Fasted & prayed

[2Sa 12:16-17 CSB] 16 David pleaded with God for the boy. He fasted, went home, and spent the night lying on the ground. 17 The elders of his house stood beside him to get him up from the ground, but he was unwilling and would not eat anything with them.

Married Bathsheba

[2Sa 12:24 CSB] 24 Then David comforted his wife Bathsheba; he went to her and slept with her. She gave birth to a son and named him Solomon. The LORD loved him,

Honored Solomon

[1Ki 1:16-17, 28-30 CSB] 16 Bathsheba knelt low and paid homage to the king, and he asked, “What do you want? ”  17 She replied, “My lord, you swore to your servant by the LORD your God, ‘Your son Solomon is to become king after me, and he is the one who is to sit on my throne.’ … 28 King David responded by saying, “Call in Bathsheba for me.” So she came into the king’s presence and stood before him. 29 The king swore an oath and said, “As the LORD lives, who has redeemed my life from every difficulty, 30 “just as I swore to you by the LORD God of Israel: Your son Solomon is to become king after me, and he is the one who is to sit on my throne in my place, that is exactly what I will do this very day.”

Seeing how David responded to this horrible sin, we see how we should respond to our own sin.

Anytime we sin, we must admit it to God. It is also good to admit it to another person when the time is right. We ask God to forgive us. We should also ask the person we have sinned against to forgive us. Finally, we need to change our way of thinking. We need to make specific plans to do something good. This includes praising God, praying with humility, and growing our faith in Jesus.

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November 12, 2023

God Saw and God Knew

By Michael Yates

Intro: One of my children asked for ice cream while I was eating it. I jokingly pretended like I didn’t know who she was.

[Mat 7:11 NASB20] 11 “So if you, [despite] being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!

Text:    [Exo 2:23-25 ESV] 23 During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. 24 And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. 25 God saw the people of Israel–and God knew. [Exo 3:7-9, 19-20 ESV] 7 Then the LORD said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings, 8 and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey. … 9 And now, behold, the cry of the people of Israel has come to me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. … 19 But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless compelled by a mighty hand. 20 So I will stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with all the wonders that I will do in it; after that he will let you go. [Exo 4:31 ESV] 31 And the people believed; and when they heard that the LORD had visited the people of Israel and that he had seen their affliction, they bowed their heads and worshiped.       

Title:    God Saw, and God Knew

Thesis: God has seen what his people need, and God will intervene

Trans: Look at the proper hermeneutic. Is God consistent? Are you God’s people? Do you cry out to him?

  • We have a consistent God.
  • We are people who cry out to God.
  • Call upon the name of the Lord and be saved. Works all things for the good.
  • How do you know you are called? You call on him!
  1. The people cried out and God heard           
    • The people felt unheard and forgotten
      • Pharaoh didn’t hear their cry. The former Pharaoh didn’t “remember” Joseph, and there is yet another Pharoah, who surely didn’t remember (400 years…)
        • MLK’s refrain of “100 years later”
      • Moses wasn’t hearing their cries. Possibly he had forgotten them.
        • Retell what has brought him to this point in time
      • Crying out does not suggest passive connection. They expected God to care.
    • They were wrong about being ignored. They were heard and remembered.
      • 3:7 in Hebrew is, “Seeing, I have certainly seen. Knowing, I have certainly known. Hearing, I have certainly heard.”
      • God is not ignorant. He knows the real need.
    • He remembered his covenant.
      • “remember” used to describe God when keeping his promises. “pay attention” in other places. “remember” the sabbath day… (commit to engage in. like cashing an undeposited check.)
      • Not by their merit
      • God’s plan remained at work (The sin of the Amorites had now reached its full measure per Gen 15:16
    • Trans: You know the voice of your children.
  2. God knows what is needed and what will work                 
    • “I have come down [apocalypse] to deliver them… and to bring them up
      • God does not have mere empathy. He has come to act!
      • This is something he had committed to 400 years prior
      • [Isa 64:1, 4 ESV] 1 Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains might quake at your presence– … 4 From of old no one has heard or perceived by the ear, no eye has seen a God besides you, who acts for those who wait for him.
      • Tabernacle. He is here to stay.
    • “I know [that this will take] a mighty hand. So I will stretch out my hand
      • God knows when his direct intervention would be needed
      • God also uses Moses and Aaron. Yes, God could do it by himself.      
    • “…after that he will let you go.” God knows what will work.
      • We see in Jesus that he knows what is (and will be) in people’s hearts
        • [Mat 9:4 ESV] 4 But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts?”
        • [Luk 16:15 ESV] 15 And he said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God.”
      • God knows the results of his own actions and plans
    • Trans: What a mighty God we serve. He is not ignorant of our past, present or future. Habakkuk: [Hab 1:2-5 NLT] 2 How long, O LORD, must I call for help? But you do not listen! “Violence is everywhere!” I cry, but you do not come to save. 3 Must I forever see these evil deeds? Why must I watch all this misery? Wherever I look, I see destruction and violence. I am surrounded by people who love to argue and fight. 4 The law has become paralyzed, and there is no justice in the courts. The wicked far outnumber the righteous, so that justice has become perverted. 5 The LORD replied, “Look around at the nations; look and be amazed! For I am doing something in your own day, something you wouldn’t believe even if someone told you about it. [Hab 2:3, 14, 20 NLT] 3 This vision … will be fulfilled. If it seems slow in coming, wait patiently, for it will surely take place. It will not be delayed. … 14 For as the waters fill the sea, the earth will be filled with an awareness of the glory of the LORD. … 20 But the LORD is in his holy Temple. Let all the earth be silent before him.”
  3. Worship is the response
    • When they heard that the LORD had visited & seen, the result is belief, faith, and worship
      • The plagues start in chapter 7. All that has changed here is the people’s knowledge that God had heard and would be acting on their behalf.
    • This is a worship of humility. Remembering our place in this arrangement
      • [Job 37:22-24 ESV] [Elihu] 22 Out of the north comes golden splendor; God is clothed with awesome majesty. 23 The Almighty–we cannot find him; he is great in power; justice and abundant righteousness he will not violate. 24 Therefore men fear him; he does not regard any who are wise in their own conceit.” [Job 42:2 ESV] [Job] 2 “I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.
      • As the worship team comes up
    • We too can trust the promises of God for our future
      • [Heb 4:9-11,14-16 NLT] So there is a special rest still waiting for the people of God. 10 For all who have entered into God’s rest have rested from their labors, just as God did after creating the world. 11 So let us do our best to enter that rest. But if we disobey God, as the people of Israel did, we will fall.…14 So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. 15 This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. 16 So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.

Sing worship

Conclusion: Trust God with your circumstances. He has heard your cries. He has remembered his commitment. He will act, and he has seen the outcome already.

[Num 6:24-26 ESV] 24 The LORD bless you and keep you; 25 the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; 26 the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.

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March 24, 2015

What is Romans all about?

By Michael Yates

I have found it frustrating to get the “big picture” of the book of Romans despite many attempts at studying it. To help myself in this project, I decided to outline it by giving a basic topic to each chapter of the book.

Romans 1. Gentiles have no excuse for their sinfulness.

2. Jews have no excuse for their sinfulness

3. We’ve all sinned, but Jews have an advantage over Gentiles.

4. Faith is a greater advantage, however.

5. Jesus justifies all who have faith.

6. We all used to sin, but it’s not to be expected any more.

7. Just because it’s not to be expected, doesn’t mean it won’t happen. Reject the sinful nature.

8. Live in the Spirit.

9. God is testing the Jews by reaching Gentiles.

10. God can save Gentiles, and Jews need to be okay with that.

11. God still wants to save Jews.

12. Jews and Gentile Christ-followers are one. Serve God as one.

13. Serve outsiders and love each other.

14. Don’t enforce your own made-up rules on others that don’t need them.

15. Get along and meet others’ needs.

16. Greet each other and be hospitable.

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February 19, 2015

Woman Washing – An attempt at a harmony

By Michael Yates

In the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, the world is presented with 4 perspectives on the life and ministry of Christ. Many of the stories of his life are told in multiple gospels, and just a few are told in all 4.

One such apparent event is the washing of Jesus’ feet by a woman. I took interest in this story and its chronology and took to doing an independent breakdown of it’s key events.

I found this story unique in that the gospels that seem to be in the most agreement are Matthew, Mark, and John, whereas usually Luke is the one in agreement with Matthew and Mark (see here some nerdy stuff on the Synoptic Problem). That’s not to say Luke disagrees here, but I’m getting ahead of myself.

What all 4 stories have in common is that Jesus goes to someone’s house as a guest, reclines at a table, and a woman comes in with very expensive perfume and anoints Jesus. The response of those in the house is a general complaint about the waste of this costly perfume to which Jesus responds by defending the woman’s actions.

While those things are in common, Luke’s story has some significant differences including the events the story is sandwiched between. Luke places his story in the earlier half of Jesus’ ministry. In Luke’s account, the woman is an unnamed sinful woman who is thankful for the forgiveness she has received. In this gospel, it serves as an example of how the proud have the wrong priorities while the humble recognize the worth of Jesus.

In Matthew, Mark, and John the event occurs in the week leading up to Jesus’ death. All mention that he is in Bethany; Matthew and Mark say they’re at Simon’s house while John says that Martha served with the (recently-raised) Lazarus there. While Matthew and Mark leave her unnamed, John points out that it is Mary, Lazarus’ sister who is performing this action. This fits the apparent purposes of these Gospels. While Matthew and Mark aren’t too detailed about who gets angry, John specifies that it was Judas who was angry because he wanted the money for himself. In all three, Jesus concludes with the statement that “you will always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me.”

What is strange to me are the times that the Matthew-Mark-John versus Luke connection doesn’t hold up. Matthew, Mark, and Luke say that the host is Simon, though in the former 2 he is a (former) leper, while in Luke he is a Pharisee. John doesn’t name the host, just that Martha serves. It is Matthew, Mark, and Luke that mention an alabaster flask, while Matthew, Mark, and John mention Nard as the type of perfume. Matthew and Mark put the perfume on the head; Luke and John have it on his feet. Only Mark and John mention the potential sale price of 300 denarii, or 1 year’s wages.

I don’t ultimately see any issues with saying that we have 2 separate stories here: one in Luke and one in the others. Simon the Pharisee hosts Luke’s story while Simon the Leper hosts the other (with the Martha family helping out). In both stories an alabaster flask of nard is poured out on Jesus head and feet, and it was “unnecessarily” expensive.

In each Gospel, the author’s intent is apparent. John is pointing out the personal nature of Jesus’ ministry to this family while demonstrating Judas’ evil motives. Matthew and Mark quote Jesus saying that “she has prepared my body for burial,” showing their emphasis on his soon-coming death. Luke wants to point out the hypocrisy and pride of the group of Pharisees in the house.

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January 3, 2015

Israel is a People

By Michael Yates

In our previous study, we saw the background of the person named Israel. Israel was the younger brother by a few minutes. He went from being a deceiver to one who wrestles with God. Apart from any good deeds of his own, God decides to bless him and his descendants with some of the best territory known to mankind of his day.

Israel’s family had some issues though. As any good rendition of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat will remind you, there were not good feelings between his sons. It starts when Israel plays favorites with his wives (a good start to any dysfunctional marriage). After having 10 sons with his second-favorite wife and two maidservants, he finally has a child with his favorite wife. This child, Joseph, is later sold by his brothers to their distant cousins. Joseph ends up in Egypt and rises in the ranks. Ultimately he saves Egypt and its neighbors (including his relatives in the land of Canaan) from famine. Pharaoh honors Joseph by inviting Jacob/Israel and his descendents to take some of the best land in Egypt.
A generation later, the Egyptians weren’t so happy about Israelites living in their best territory, so they enslaved them. Four hundred thirty years later, God delivered those Israelites out of Egypt into the land he originally promised Abraham: Canaan. This nomadic nation that had never possessed a permanent homeland was on its way to its final(?) destination.
Why make them wait over 400 years? There seems to be one practical reason and one theological reason. First, there were 70 people in Israel’s family when they went into Egypt–hardly enough to occupy a country. When the Exodus occurred, there were 600,000 men, or probably 2-3 million people. (By my math, that’s 5 kids per couple for about 12, 30-year generations.) That would fill a small country nicely in those days. The theological reason comes in when God is making his covenant with Abram. God tells him that his descendants will be enslaved but that it won’t be permanent. Then Abram is told the reason: “the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet complete.” The Amorites were one of the nations in the “Promised Land” of Canaan. My understanding of this statement has been: The Canaanites aren’t bad enough to deserve losing their homeland yet… but give it 400 years.
These descendants of Israel come out of Egypt, spend 40 years having their faith tested in the wilderness, then they spend several generations trying to wrest control of Canaan from the Canaanites, only to cave in to their ways of living in worshipping. The rest of the story of the Old Testament is a struggle between a few God-fearing people who hate idol worship and a majority who would rather be just like the Canaanites. The books of Joshua thru Malachi trace the story of those few who stand against the majority and sometimes cave in themselves.
The trough of Old Testament story comes with the fall of most of Israel’s descendants to the Assyrians. This was followed within a few generations by the fall of the dominant tribe of Judah to Babylon. The next 70 years that Israel spends in exile in Babylon became the defining moment in its identity. For the first time in 1000 years, the nation didn’t have a land of its own. From that point until this day, there have always been Jews (hear the name in Ju-dah?) outside of the “land” of Israel. God had a lesson in humility to teach to this nation. Several, like Daniel, Esther, Nehemiah, and Ezra passed the test. God restored Judah to their ancestral land in former Canaan, and they began to rebuild.
This people group re-established its nation in the Levant slowly with the permission of the Persians (who had supplanted the Babylonians). However, it never had complete sovereignty for more than a few years here-and-there. These remaining Israelite descendants who held to their “promised” land lived under the rule of Persians, various forms of Greeks, and finally Romans. Rome had enough of their monotheistic ways and obliterated this Jewish land once more, exiling its inhabitants in 70 A.D. Jews would not live in this land again in any significant numbers for another 19 centuries.
Describing the history of a people that covers this much time will always do injustice to the nuances, but I hope you can see the trajectory of Israel as a people through its ancient history. Next, I hope to uncover what it means to say Israel is a land.

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