Social Distancing = Family Time

It’s only been a few short “long” weeks since we first heard about social distancing. We are all adjusting to this COVID-19 season, and praying that it doesn’t last long. We hope our state Governor and our President are making wise and prudent decisions that will ultimately benefit us, even during this inconvenient time.

For those of us who have a natural introvert personality, social distancing has been a regular practice. For those of us who are extroverted, this is torture. However, this is our new reality. For all of us, it is an inconvenience and a learning opportunity.

Stay home, keep away from large groups, stand at least 6 feet away from people in public, go for walks but don’t congregate, are phrases repeated in the news, on social media and texts. What we are trying to accomplish is protection of the public health.

Unfortunately, it all sounds like things we cannot do. And I think our natural tendency is to look at the negative aspects of our situation. But in our new reality we have a unique and special time to stay home with our families. We may not be able to get together in large groups, but we have some special people in our homes with us that, in normal times, we take for granted.

If we consider our normal schedules, we are so busy that we hardly take the time to have a meal together, to be still and enjoy each other’s presence. Work, school, sports, extra-curricular activities and even church can have us running around so much that we get stressed out, anxious, and exhausted. Can I get an amen?

However, in this unique season of life, as unprecedented actions beyond our control have cancelled all public gatherings, i.e., school, work, church, movies, etc., we are also getting a time to slow down and rest. Yes, I do know there are still responsibilities, still online school work, and some can even work from home. But consider the change of pace.

For some, this is the first time they’ve worked from home and though you might lock yourself in a room for a while, you’re home for breakfast, lunch and dinner. For some, this might be the first time parents and children are working through school work together in an extended way.

I want you to stop for a few minutes and gather the people in your home and ask yourselves, what are the positives of our new norm? (seriously, take 5-10 minutes and create a list)

In my current situation, I have 3 young men living with me: Alex, Sam and Nick. In the first couple days since the “stay at home” order has come in, we have had breakfast together, lunch together and dinner together. We have gone for hikes and went running together. We have cleaned together. In those times, we have talked about a lot of topics, from the light hearted to the soul searching questions. I’ve really enjoyed my time with them.

Now it hasn’t all been good. We are all humans and we are all selfish. So there is a learning curve to all this time together. But it has made me think about you and your family. Although I am not happy about COVID-19, the stay at home orders, the canceling of…well everything else. I am jealous for you to redeem this time and grow as a family.

We often don’t stop to consider the importance of time together, yet we all long for it. As a matter of fact, the one thing I am struggling with the most during this time is not having time with the youth group and people from the church. I long for those times, and I love having the gatherings at church.

Yet, God is faithful and is in control. He isn’t surprised by this coronavirus, and if we could zoom out to see what’s happening from His perspective, we would be overwhelmed by His kindness toward us, even in the midst of a pandemic.

On Sunday, Petar read through Philippians 2:4-11 and encouraged us to reflect on how Jesus was willing to leave the comfort and safety of Heaven and face the reality of death for the sake of redeeming us. This demonstration of love for us should be our motivation to live for Him and like Him every day of our lives, and especially in this current season.

I want to focus on two other portions of Philippians 2 to consider while we are in such close proximity to our families and in our homes. Remember the sacrifice of Jesus Christ as you consider these words:

Philippians 2:1–4

¹So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, ²complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. ³Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. ⁴Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

There are some great words for us in this passage: encouragement, comfort, affection, sympathy, and joy. I think we all want and need each of those right now. The source of these is from the participation in the Holy Spirit that we receive from being in Christ. Seeing what He has done for us and believing in Him brings about heart change and Spirit empowerment.

In this season, when we are following the “stay at home” order, remember Christ and do nothing from selfish ambition, but humbly seek to serve the people in your home. What does that mean?

A regular question I ask myself is, “how can I serve these guys”? I’ve trained my mind to bring this question up over and over. So when I walk into the kitchen and someone didn’t do the dishes and my natural feelings of frustration start to kick in, I stop and ask myself, “how can I serve these guys?” In other words, how can I be Christ to them? Sometimes I just do the dishes and pray that God would help me love them well. Other times, it means I have to talk with them about communal living and taking responsibilities for our own actions.

In your home, how can you serve one another? How can you be Jesus to one another?

True statement: when you put others before yourself and serve them well, you will bless them and be blessed by them.

Philippians 2:14–16

¹⁴Do all things without grumbling or disputing, ¹⁵that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, ¹⁶holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.

Ok, yes verse 14 seems impossible. Especially when we are sequestered in such close proximity. But God isn’t asking you to do this on your own power. He says, “holding fast to the Word of life.” Cling to Jesus and to His Word for your strength and power.

I pray that you and your family are getting into the Word of God together and individually. We’ve made the Worship Guides for Sundays to encourage this in the homes. I’ve said over and over again throughout the years, that a sermon on Sunday and a lesson at Youth Group is not enough for a Christian, but they need to supplement that daily in the homes. Now you have extended time to do that.

In closing I want to give a few thoughts of encouragement to the parents and to the youth.

Parents:

You got this! Remember you are human too and this is just as new for you as it is for you child. Remember the importance of grace for your teen and for yourself. Learn together. Enjoy the time you have in such close proximity to your teen. Go after your teens heart, ask them about their dreams, establish new rhythms and make the most of this season. Turn the conversations from what you can’t do, to what you get to do. You are shaping their perspectives by how you respond to this season of life. Help them see that God is bigger and His plan is better than anything we can imagine.

Teens:

Remember everyone is inconvenienced by this stay at home order. I know it’s hard not to hang out with your friends every day, but you get to spend extra time with your parents and siblings. Get to know them better, they are people too. Have patience and grace with them as you learn together how to be is such close proximity to each other. Ask your parents for advice, ask them about their childhood, how they met, and what their dreams are. Look for ways to serve your parents and love them.

For all of us, we are learning to adjust to this pandemic with all the worries and fears that come along with it. With each phase of life we will see friends come and go, but our families are…well our families. They are with us for the long haul, how can we make this season about enriching our relationships with those closest to us?

Why I Believe the Bible is True: Divine Origin

2 Peter 1:21

For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

This week we are finishing our four part series on “Why I Believe the Bible is True?” I think this is such an essential question for you to consider if you’re a believer in Jesus Christ in order to know what you believe and why you believe it. If you are a skeptic or doubt the reliability of the Bible, then asking this question could lead to the answers you have. There are many resources out there, one being the sermon by Voddie Baucham that presented this answer from 2 Peter 1:16-21:

“I choose to believe the Bible because it is a reliable collection of historical documents, written by eyewitnesses, during the lifetime of other eyewitness, that report of supernatural events that took place in fulfillment of specific prophecies and claimed that their writings are Divine rather than human in origin” (Why I Believe the Bible).

In week one, we looked at the importance of laying a good foundation. An inadequate answer to this question could lead to unnecessary doubts and fears. The Bible has reasoned answers for us if we dig deep and study it. We have talked about three of four pillars for our foundation: eyewitness accounts, supernatural events, and fulfilled prophecies.  Today we will conclude with the pillar of “Divine Origin.”

Really this is where we could have started, but following along 2 Peter 1:16-21, this is our concluding point. The eyewitness testimonies given during the lifetime of other eyewitnesses means that it was a corroborated testimony. They reported of miracles, which point us to the supernatural. Prophecies given hundreds of years earlier than their fulfillment definitely point to the fact that God was involved. But how?

No prophecy, or could we say book of the Bible, was given by man’s will. Peter said this in verse 16, “we did not follow cleverly devised myths,” meaning that nobody sat around making these stories up. Rather, they were given by God through men who were “carried” along by the Holy Spirit.

What we are delving into tonight is the doctrine of inspiration, that God chose to speak through humans to deliver and preserve His Word for us. The claim is this: the Holy Spirit spoke through men, using their personalities, characteristics, and education, to bring forth the Holy Scriptures.

Notice, God didn’t dictate to someone to write in isolation. Rather, God involved the writers whole person, inspired them to write the Words of God. It wasn’t a trance like state, or ecstatic utterance, it was the results of men in close relationship with God writing to others about God, in which God inspired and preserved those Words.

Why?

It Is Profitable: 

2 Timothy 3:16–17

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

God chose to inspire His Word for our good. It is profitable to us! One of my Bible teachers used to always summarize this verse with “what is right, what is not right, how to get right and how to stay right!”

The claim that the Bible is of divine origin, that it is inspired by God, is to claim that it is profitable for our lives, to make us mature believers and equip us to do God’s work.

It Is Living: 

Hebrews 4:12

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

The claim that the Bible is of divine origin, is to claim that the Bible is alive, it is unlike any other book. Being the Words of God, they speak to our very hearts by cutting through the walls we build up, the lies we believe, and clearing away the fog of uncertainty.

It Is The Power of Salvation: 

Romans 1:16–17

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”

The claim that the Bible is of divine origin gives us confidence that it’s message is true and God has provided salvation for all who believe. It effects change, both in this life and for our eternity. You cannot read a claim like this and dismiss the Bible as a good book. If it is not the Word of God, divinely inspired, then it is lying to you, therefore not a good book.

 Watch to hear how the Word of God saved Jeff Allen's Marriage (the whole testimony is good, I showed 13:23-16:46 at youth group)

On the flip side, if it is divinely inspired, as it claims to be, then it is the very Words of God! This means we are accountable to it, to read it, memorize it, live it and love it. When you truly know that the Bible is of divine origin and you experience the blessings it brings, you will sing out like the Psalmist:

Psalm 19:7–11

⁷The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple; ⁸the precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes; ⁹the fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the LORD are true, and righteous altogether. ¹⁰More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb. ¹¹Moreover, by them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward.

This song states that the Word of God affects the soul, the mind, the heart, the eyes, our conduct in this life and forever. It revives our soul, it makes us wise, it brings joy to the heart, it enlightens our eyes, it shows us the way of righteousness and eternal life. Because of this, it is to be desired more than gold and its truth is sweeter than honey.

Notice again that in keeping them there is great reward. God has given us His Word, for our good, that we might know Him and experience His salvation. The evidence is laid before us, eyewitness accounts, miracles, and fulfilled prophecies all point to the fact that this Book comes from the very breath of God, you can trust it. 

Why I Believe the Bible is True: Fulfilled Prophecies

2 Peter 1:19–20

And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation.

People have an innate desire to know the future, to just know what’s going to happen. Today we all wonder how long the Coronavirus is going to last and what effects its going to have. We want to know what is going to happen with the stock market and would love to know what the next Amazon is going to be.

Many of us wonder, and even will day dream about the future possibilities, but some turn to different voices to tell them the future. The Magic 8 Ball, horoscopes and fortune tellers to name a few devices. Each of those tells these general and generic statements that are bound to resonate with their audience, but these are not reliable and are something Christians should avoid.

But what if something or someone could tell the future? How could you be certain you could trust their prophecies? I would contend that their track record and the specificity of the prophecies would lead you to know if you could trust them.

Peter tells us that the Word of God is a prophetic word that is fully confirmed. It’s verified. As a matter of fact, you would do well to look to it as you need a flashlight in a dark room.

Have you ever hiked through a dark cave, room or building and found the relief of light at the end of the tunnel? That’s the image I get here. Several years ago I had the privilege of traveling to Israel and hiking Hezekiah’s tunnel. The tunnel is a very narrow path dug out by Hezekiah’s army to secure a victory. Today you can walk the very steps they took, about 3 football fields in length. I tried taking some video of our hike, but it was so dark and narrow that you can’t see anything in the video.

There were times I was wondering why I would volunteer to crawl through a long dark tunnel and other times I thought it was pretty cool. The best moment was when the light shinned and I knew the end of the tunnel was close. It gave confidence and certainty that I could make it and would not perish in the dark.

Peter is telling us if we look to the biblical account and we pay attention to the fulfilled prophecies we will see the light. The imagery is actually to keep looking at it until you see the light of Jesus Christ, His finger prints are all over it.

Old Testament Prophecies about history

Now the Old Testament is full of prophecies and it is amazing to see the details. Again, the prophecies of the Bible are not general or generic, but specific and narrow. They are things that aren’t going to “just happen”, but show that the events were part of a divine plan.

One of my favorite Old Testament prophecies and it’s fulfillment is when Isaiah prophecies the movement of king Cyrus:

Isaiah 45:1

“Thus says the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped, to subdue nations before him and to loose the belts of kings, to open doors before him that gates may not be closed:”

I like this one because Isaiah mentions the kings name, Cyrus, when he wrote the book between 701 and 681 BC! I find that significant since Cyrus defeated Babylon in 539 BC! That’s a specific prophecy given 150 years before Cyrus’ campaign. You can’t get more specific than naming the guy who is going to come in and subdue nations.

The Old Testament is full of prophecies that have been fulfilled in history. I wish I had time to unpack more, but check out how J. Warner Wallace walks through several more on his blog Cold-Case Christianity.

Old Testament Prophecies about Jesus

All of the prophecies God gave to His people are significant in demonstrating His sovereign hand working out His plan of Redemption. Perhaps the most significant are the specific prophecies about the coming of Jesus Christ. The Old Testament has nearly 300 references to 61 prophecies of the Messiah that were fulfilled in the life of Christ.

I would love to dig through all 300 references, but for sake of time, let’s look at the list of 8 prophecies that Dr. Peter Stoner examined in his book “Science Speaks.”

Prophecy: The Messiah would be born in Bethlehem.		Fulfillment: “to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem…” “gave birth to her…son…”
Micah 5:2		Luke 2:4-7
700 B.C.		4 B.C.
Prophecy: The Messiah will be born of a virgin.		Fulfillment: “you will in your womb and bear a son…Jesus” “how can this be…I am a virgin…”
Isaiah 7:14		Luke 1:26-38
700 B.C.		4 B.C.
Prophecy: The Messiah would be from the lineage of King David.		Fulfillment: “Jesus … the son of David …”
Jeremiah 23:5		Luke 3:23, 31
600 B.C.		4 B.C.
Prophecy: The Messiah would be betrayed for 30 pieces of silver.		Fulfillment: “They gave him thirty pieces of silver.”
Zechariah 11:13		Matthew 26:15
487 B.C.		30 A.D.
Prophecy: The Messiah would have his hands and feet pierced.		Fulfillment: “They came to a place called The Skull. All three were crucified there-Jesus on the center cross, and the two criminals on either side.”
Psalm 22:16		Luke 23:33
1000 B.C.		30 A.D.
Prophecy: People would cast lots for the Messiah’s clothing.		Fulfillment: “The soldiers … took his robe, but it was seamless, woven in one piece from the top. So they said, ‘Let’s not tear it but throw dice to see who gets it.’ ”
Psalm 22:18		John 19:23-24
1000 B.C.		30 A.D.
Prophecy: The Messiah would appear riding on a donkey.		Fulfillment: “They brought the animals to him and threw their garments over the colt, and he sat on it.”
Zechariah 9:9		Matthew 21:7
500 B.C.		30 A,D.
Prophecy: A messenger would be sent to herald the Messiah.		Fulfillment: John told them, “I baptize with water, but right here in the crowd is someone you do not know.”
Malachi 3:1		John 1:26
500 B.C.		27 A.D.

Stoner, a mathematician, did the calculations of the probabilities of one person fulfilling these 8 prophecies in their life time and came up with the result of one in ten to the twenty first power, 1 in 10²¹. That’s a 10 with 21 zeros after it!! Again, to see it is 1 in 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000. That’s huge odds!

Because that number is hard to understand, he gave this illustration: “First, blanket the entire Earth land mass with silver dollars 120 feet high. Second, specially mark one of those dollars and randomly bury it. Third, ask a person to travel the Earth and select the marked dollar, while blindfolded, from the trillions of other dollars.”

That’s the odds of only 8 of the prophecies, what would the numbers be to fulfill all 300 references of the 61 prophecies? Astronomically impossible without the divine intervention of our Heavenly Father!

Don’t just take my word for it, dig in the Word of God, examine the prophecies and see the glorious light of the Son of God being revealed one prophecy at a time. God doesn’t want you to miss the truth that He is involved in human affairs, that He sent His Son to provide salvation and hope for all who believe.

The Bible is unlike any other book in history. Why? Because “it is a reliable collection of historical documents, written by eyewitnesses, during the lifetime of other eyewitness, that report of supernatural events that took place in fulfillment of specific prophecies and claimed that their writings are Divine rather than human in origin” (Voddie Bauchman).