Sermon Notes & Videos
2022-03-25 | Leviticus 9-11 | The Food Channel Meets the History Channel
There is so much diversity in Christianity across the globe and other than agreement on the cross, there seems to be no particular doctrine that is universally held as true in all denominations. Of course, the cross of Christ unites us; it’s simple, if you don’t believe in the cross, then you are not even a Christian. Beyond that, everything appears to goes haywire.
There is one other commonly held belief that has gained almost universal traction in Christianity, however. It’s not one that threatens your eternity of course, but adherence to it seems to be as dogmatic as the cross itself. No, it will not threaten your eternity, but getting it wrong might make you arrive there a whole lot sooner. Interview your Christian family, friends, and neighbors. Find a diversity of denominations to survey, so you can obtain a good cross section of tightly held Christian beliefs. And do you know what you will discover? “Don’t mess with my food!”
It’s true; Christians will choose common culture over biblical truth almost 100% of the time when it comes to their food choices. In other words, they will choose their taste buds and addictions over biblically kosher every time. Now, we can spend an eternity (pun intended) talking about the myriads of unnatural man-made junk foods you should not eat (what I call common sense kosher), but we won’t go there for now. Instead, I want to make it simple. I just want to explore what the Bible says you are permitted to eat (what I call biblically kosher) and how Christians worldwide, and across nearly all denominations, believe that the cross of Christ annulled God’s laws on food, and how that is simply not true.
Yes, Christians universally agree on two things; the cross has set them free for eternity, and has also freed them to eat whatever they wish. The first will save your life; the latter will kill you!
2022-03-18 | Leviticus 6-8 | Folded Handkerchiefs
Everything was so precise, so deliberate. Many of the details are easy to overlook, especially when they are meant to be mysterious. Don’t let that scare you; you were designed to be a spiritual detective. It may not come easy, and it may not seem natural, but I assure you, the longer you stare at them, the more they come into focus.
They often look like those squiggly, blurry, and obscure pictures that initially appear to be something born from an accident of spilled paint cans. But, if you stare long enough, and you adjust your vision against what seems natural, all of a sudden the once meaningless painting comes into focus. And what’s even more exciting is that it’s not even limited to two dimensions, but has images with multiple dimensions that change when viewed from multiple angles.
And that is exactly how it feels when you stare intently at God’s Word, and maybe in a way that seems a bit against what feels natural. It’s like trying to piece together the details of an incident by compiling the testimony of many witnesses, all standing in different locations. Imagine a circle of bystanders watching the same complex event. Then, interview everyone and compose a separate narrative using each individual testimony. As you study each viewpoint, you will realize that the further apart the angle of observation, the more varying the account. The secret to a full, multidimensional account of reality would be to piece them all together, in an overlapping series of statements. It may seem very squiggly, blurry, and obscure at first, but take your time, adjust your vision, and when it all comes into focus, you will see a glorious reality you never thought possible.
This is the deliberate style in which we are presented God’s Word. Of course, it is not meant to make you doubt or leave you confused—quite the contrary. It should inspire you to search deeper, to strain your vision until the glorious multidimensional multi-angle picture becomes clear. Yes, it’s precise and deliberate, and it’s exactly why, when Y’shua resurrected, He left His face covering in the tomb, “folded together in a place all by itself.”
2022-03-11 | Leviticus 1-6 | Mary Has Chosen What is Better
When your life is enmeshed with God, it is common to have encounters that make you think, “You can’t make this stuff up!” He cares about everything, even the subtle things. In fact, you should make a habit of accentuating all those subtle experiences, as it is oftentimes in the “still small voice” from which the greatest revelations come.
When His Word is hidden in your heart, and animates your mind “without ceasing”, unrelated ideas become wired together, seemingly out of nowhere. But we know better, or at least we should know that these impressions are not unrelated. Yahweh is not in the business of idle thoughts. Every inspiration from the Lord means something, if you are willing to receive it; His Word will never return void. I promise; if you would make the commitment to pay attention, to block out the distractions, this testimony will be part of your everyday life in the faith. “You can’t make this stuff up!”
For example, shortly before this introduction was written (and this very encounter is what inspired it), I was studying Leviticus, and making sermon notes in the early morning hours. I paused my studies to go wake my bride, as I do every morning. Then, in the silence between those two activities, and what seemed so random, I heard the still small voice. “Mary has chosen what is better.” My initial thought was, “How could this possibly relate to Leviticus and this current collection of notes on various sacrifices?” My quiet laugh broke the silence, as I sat alone. I’d been here before countless times. Moments later I was sharing this encounter with my wife, adding this one assurance. “I don’t know what it means, but I’m certain I will.”
It only took a few hours of pressing into God before the “wires touched” and the connection was made that became this message, even the title; “Mary Has Chosen What is Better!” Isn’t it worth it, the time you spend at the Lord’s feet? When you choose to do so, He always has something to say; “You have chosen what is better!” It’s the testimony every time you sit at His feet and listen to the still small voice, and it always ends the same way. In utter amazement I think, “You can’t make this stuff up!”
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2022-03-04 | Exodus 38-40 | Insane Christianity
“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” Most people attribute those words to Albert Einstein, which may or may not be true. But, what is certainly true, are the words themselves, no matter who gets the credit for coining them. Now, if we take those words and use them to analyze the actions of God’s people at times, I believe we just might discover they suffer from a type of spiritual insanity.
We don’t have time to recall every occasion for which this diagnosis is appropriate, but we should identify the inaugural decision that started us down this path. And as we come to an end of our journey through Exodus, we should make honorable mention, from it, of a significant example. Then, we can have some fun connecting the dots between that first occasion and what we see here at the very end of Exodus: the Tabernacle is complete; and Moses, by way of the people’s obedience, had delivered exactly what Yahweh ordered. Next, put the whole thing into operation to test its function. Then what? Move to the next assignment—“Then God said…”
It really is uncanny. It’s the exact pattern every time: assignment—obedience—next assignment. Or, assignment— disobedience—consequences. You’d think God’s people would recognize the pattern. If you don’t follow directions, it goes very badly. In other words, to think it would go well for you, despite your decision to disobey God is insane, at least according to Einstein, or whoever!
It’s like a merry-go-round, but they are not in an amusement park, and they are not sitting on wooden horses, and the ride won’t end in three minutes. Instead, they are in the wilderness and the ride will be like going around the mountain over and over again, and not for three minutes, but for forty years. Yes, insanity has a price.
And if I might indulge you with one more perspective, let’s call our ride, the glory-go-round. We have the glory of God available to us, and then in some act of, let’s call it insanity, we go our own way. And, in the midst of our disobedience, we still expect to maintain God’s glory. Are you tracking with me? As a consequence for our actions we get knocked onto our inglorious butts, just like we see in the Bible every time! Assignment—disobedience—consequences.
The real question remains; if you see that this is what happens without fail, why would you think you can disobey God and get away with it? It seems so obvious now. “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” For our purposes, let’s just call this “Insane Christianity.”
2022-02-25 | Exodus 35-38 | Plundered with a Purpose
I don’t know about you, but it blows my mind how much wealth is obtained by those who produce absolutely nothing of any value. In particular, I’m thinking of the guy who garners millions of followers because he records himself playing video games. Let’s take a breath and consider what I am saying here. His job is to play a video game, which is basically the pinnacle of living in a fake world. But then it gets even more bizarre when he screen captures himself playing that game, while simultaneously offering real-time commentary. Can you picture this insanity?
Apparently, millions of people will then desire to watch the guy play that fake game, not actually playing the fake game themselves at the moment, but instead, they mindlessly watch him play the fake game. And this absurdly meaningless activity can potentially net the fake-game-playing-video-recording-guy MILLIONS OF DOLLARS PER YEAR.
And this is just one example of countless meaningless things people get paid handsomely to do. In comparison, the President of the United States earns $400,000 per year; a General in the United States Army earns $225,000 per year; and an Air Traffic Controller (that’s an important job!) earns around $120,000 per year. And the fake-game-playing-video-recording-guy… millions of dollars per year. But one thing they all have in common is that God controls the wealth. And God will not allow you to gain wealth just to please your own selfish desires. If you have accumulated great wealth, God has plans for it! I’m reminded how God promised Moses, at the burning bush, that Israel would leave Egypt with great wealth, and then at the Exodus when that promise was fulfilled. Curiously, it’s not until the construction of the Tabernacle, the House of God, that we see why they accumulated those riches. Revelation! We are the “House of God” in whom He dwells, and that promise extends to us. Yahweh will transfer the riches of Egypt to build His house!
So, watch the pagans build bigger barns, and store as much as their hearts desire, because God has stored up the wealth of the nations for His people. In other words, if you’re wealthy, then use it to do God’s work. You can do so willingly, or be dragged kicking and screaming; either way—it is all His!
2022-02-18 | Exodus 30-34 | Sacred Cows & Alternative Altars
We are all familiar with the outrageous act of service performed by our Savior after dinner, on the night He was betrayed. It’s a moment in history about which books could be written. We can approach what He did from many angles: a mysterious lesson, a convicting exposé, an act of selflessness, a demonstration of serving leadership, an example of how to live, an exhibition of pure humility, a tutorial on priorities, or the substance of deep inspiration and reflection.
However, there is one exchange with Peter that really cuts to the marrow and which reveals the gravity of the situation. It’s truly unexpected and might even seem out of character or inappropriate, considering the finality of the moment. Peter is adamant that His Teacher and Lord “shall never wash his feet!” It’s a highly charged and emotional scene, and it’s completely understandable why Peter would feel as such. He’d much rather switch positions and hold his Master’s feet in his hands. He’d certainly prefer to cleanse the dust and dirt from between his Rabbi’s toes, than let his teacher soil His holy hands. Y’shua knows it, and meets Peter’s resistance with an explosive retort, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.” And that is what we must explore today. What does He mean?
What had inspired such a serious ultimatum? Why was the washing of His disciples feet so critical? What was the deeper prophetic warning? We find clues buried in the words of the Jews who marveled at His insight; “How does this Man know letters, having never studied?” And the secret to His wisdom becomes apparent by His elegant, yet simple response; “My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me.”
Yes, many books could be written about Y’shua’s actions after dinner that night; but His admonishment of Peter might be the most revealing of all. And you cannot fully appreciate to what He was referring, until you comprehend His masterful insights into the Laws of Moses. When you do, you will recognize that His resounding retort remains relevant even today! Paul also mastered this same understanding of the law; “Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law.”