ARCC Sermons

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April 12th

Our Bible reading for today is in 1 Samuel chapters 15,16,17.

As always, the main player in this reading is God. We will see His purposes, His heart, and His complexity in relation to Saul and David.

Now to the text. “And the Lord regretted that He had made Saul king over Israel.”

Some Biblical history. God purposed to judge the Amalekites. He made that clear to Moses some 400 years earlier. He also told Moses that Israel would fight against Amalek in every generation. And Saul’s generation was no different.

Saul would be reminded of the history between God’s people and the Amalekites. Shortly after Israel left Egypt, the wicked Amalek led his merciless army to terrorize and murder the weakest of Jacob’s family. Men, women, and children around the fringe of this “caravaning” nation were targeted and mercilessly tortured and killed.

God had not forgotten the deed nor His promise to judge Amalek. And He chose Saul to carry out the judgment...Saul accepted the assignment.

Then Saul disobeyed God’s command. Instead of destroying all of the Amalekites and their stuff as directed, Saul took their king, Agag, alive...and also confiscated the best of their flocks and herds as well as the best of their valuables as spoils of war.

God told Samuel what Saul had done, and scripture says Samuel grieved. God told Samuel that He was rejecting Saul as King and would be replacing him. And the Biblical record says that God “regretted” that He made Saul King in Israel.

This part of the story leads us to wonder about God and His ways. And by the way ”wondering” is ok...God’s name is “full of wonder”.

If God “regretted” making Saul king wouldn't that imply that God did not have “predestined foreknowledge” of Saul’s disobedience? Thus God was caught off guard by Saul’s actions. Can God almighty really be caught off guard? He created time and everything on that line. It also implies that a Sovereign God could not lament over a state of affairs that He chose to bring about.

My question may sound simple but “Why” not? Why couldn't God do that? Just thinking out loud.

Moses said in the book of Numbers, “God is not a man that He should lie...neither the son of man that He should repent...or regret. Complicated? Yes. Complex? Absolutely He’s God.

Our regrets lead us to desire to “do something over” if we had another chance. God? His plans, His purposes, His declarations, His decisions are all perfect.

He would never have to wish for a do-over. So where does God’s lamenting, His regretting come from?” Isaiah 55...”The Lord says, My thoughts are not your thoughts...My ways are higher than your ways.”

It’s alright for me not to get it. But I do believe Him and want to believe Him more! And when He wants to reveal more of His thoughts and ways to you and me...He will! He’s good at that too!

Have a great day!

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April 11th

Today’s Bible reading is found in 1 Samuel chapters 13 & 14.

But first...an introduction. From yesterday’s reading, we learned that Samuel gave Israel a farewell speech or sermon.

The sermon was short, so he got right to his main points. “Israel, you have done much evil in these days. I’m going to prove it to you.” Did Samuel bring out a documented list of all their sinning against God? No! Did he call on witnesses to verify the convicting list? No!

“Samuel called on God”. And God immediately sent a thunderstorm with such a downpour of rain that the wheat harvest was destroyed before the people’s eyes. And the people “greatly” feared the Lord. And they asked Samuel to intercede to God for them. And Samuel said, “Don't be afraid...serve the Lord with all of your heart. The Lord will not forsake His people for His great name’s sake for it has pleased the Lord to make “you” a people for Himself.”

O friends, fellow followers of Jesus, we admit that our sinning is great and maybe we even think that we are far past God’s forgiveness.

But we are not. Let us listen one more time to the old prophet Samuel “don't be afraid...God will not forsake His own...for it has pleased Him to make us (yes us...sinners) a people for Himself!

AMAZING...”Amazing grace” how sweet the sound”...that saved a wretch like me...I once was lost but now I am found...was blind but now I see.”

“Through many dangers toils and snares, I have already come. Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far...And grace will lead me home.”

Thank you, John Newton..thank You JESUS.

That is still the best good news ever. Not just for remembering, but especially for living every day!

Now to today’s reading. Many had forgotten God’s amazing grace. But one had not.

The Philistine army had camped just outside of Michmash in the territory of Benjamin. 48,000 foot soldiers and add chariots and horsemen to the mix. Saul had 3,000 on the other side of the ravine. He blew the trumpets to gather more men, but instead of others swelling the ranks, even his 3,000 dwindled to 600 because of dissertations.

Fear ruled the rank and file. Where was faith in God at this hour? Where was courage? Where were the brave men for such a time as this? That faith had escaped King Saul. That courage was nowhere to be found in Saul and his captains. Where was it?

It was in Jonathan, Saul’s son. Jonathan turned to the young man that was carrying his shield and said in faith, “Let us go over to that garrison on the ridge...perhaps God will work for us...for He gives victory whether by many or by few...and Jonathan’s armor-bearer said, “Do all that is on your heart...I’m with you, heart and soul...” In other words, both of these young plebes were all in trusting God to get them through many dangers, toils, and snares.

So what happened? Well that’s the rest of the story.

Have a great day

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April 10th

1 Samuel chapters 9-12 is our Bible reading today.

“Give us seven days to reach out to the territories of Israel. If there is no one to save us, we will give ourselves up to you (and you can gouge out one of our eyes).”

Nahash, the Ammonite king, besieged Jabesh Gilead. A city in the territory of the half-tribe of Manasseh. Nahash proposed a treaty with one condition...” you’ll be our servants and we will gouge out one of your eyes”. In other words..”You can all die, or be our “one-eyed” slaves.”

Well, that sounds pretty intimidating...and just like a bully picking on the little brother.

So the Gil’ le a dites parlayed an extension. They would see if their big brothers, on the other side of the Jordan, would come to their rescue. But as we read, it sounds like they weren't all that confident that their kin would come through.

To me, that’s sad...in at least a couple of ways. First, “family” is to take care of family. Brothers and sisters must be committed to helping each other...even unto their own hurt...their own sacrifice.

That’s what we saw in our reading of the story of Ruth. She and her mother in law had lost it all...their husbands, their farm, their home, and pretty much their hope. Until they went back to Naomi’s hometown. The family members there reached out to help. Overnight, Naomi and Ruth had a home. They had a family that helped them and God used that to give them hope and gladness in their hearts once more.

Apparently, over the years, Manasseh and his brothers grew apart. Now the Gileadites are wondering if they’re on their own. “If...there is no one to help us, we will give ourselves to you.”

To me, it is sad for a second reason. The Gileadites...afraid for their lives and their families’ lives...did everything they could to save themselves...except “cry out to God”.

I could point a finger of “shame on you”...” you knew better”...but I've been guilty of the same. I too have exhausted my every idea and my every effort to save myself and my loved ones...in times of crisis...only to fail again.

But God has done for me what He did for Manasseh’s children. God gave them what they didn't deserve...“His merciful provision”... His deliverance...one more time.

And how did God deliver them when their brothers were afraid of their shadows...without courage...and without a vision of their God in all of His glory and power? God used His prophet, Samuel, to choose and anoint a leader, a king for Israel...Saul the Benjaminite.

Young Saul was tall and strong. Impressive yet humble...God chose him...The Spirit of God came upon him...and God gave him a new heart...and said: “There is none like him in the land.”

This young man, full of faith and courage called the nation to fight with him to save their brother in Jabesh Gilead. And they did just that. Outnumbered they fought for their family...for the glory of God...and God gave them victory.

God’s victory for Israel was a great way for Samuel to go out. He had been a prophet and judge for 40 years. Now he was going the way of his fathers. His farewell speech was inspiring...the Gospel...of grace and mercy.

I believe you’ll enjoy it. It’s the rest of the story.

Have a great day

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April 9th

1 Samuel chapters 4-8 will be our Bible reading today.

God was going to use the Philistines one more time to teach and train His promised land people. But it would take “more” than one defeat and 4,000 Israeli soldiers “ dead” to turn the hearts of God’s treasured ones back to Him.

Instead of desiring and trusting in God’s word that He would be with them, Israel’s elders looked to their own inventions, “again”, inorder to defeat their enemy. But instead of winning, they lost, overwhelmingly...30,000 more Israeli soldiers died and the Ark of the Covenant was captured by the Philistines.

What happened? Israel’s elders decided to bring the “ark of the covenant”, from the Tabernacle to the battle field. I can just hear their justification for this strategy for victory. “Didn't our fathers tell us of Moses directing the priests to carry the ark before the army as they all marched around the walls of Jericho? It worked for them, surely it will work for us as well.”

The leaders of Israel were using the ark as the ultimate “good luck” charm. In the holy place, the ark was symbolic of the throne of God’s presence and power. Israel’s leaders “wanted” that presence and power for “their” victory.

So they moved a “piece of furniture”...Like they could move God at their pleasure...talk about idolatry.

“Lord, our ancestors in the faith forgot that their job was to “do life with “YOU”...as YOU direct...as YOU declare...as YOU work...as YOU fight. Lord, we too can move the furniture...and without realizing it, take the throne, make our plans and then beg You to bless them.” Sorry about that Lord. We still need you big time!”

In reality, Israel was “using” the “ark of God” rather than trusting in the “God of the ark”. Whether they knew it or not, Israel’s leaders were essentially trying to manipulate God to work for them.

“Lord, how many times have I looked to my own ideas and my own strategies to accomplish what I have believed was Your will? I’m sorry Lord. Help me to look first, always first, to You, Your word and Your ways. Let me rejoice and hope in You, first and foremost, for “everything” in my life.”

In the reading today, we see God getting through to His people, little by little...(that’s good news for a slow learner like me)...a little boy...the high priest...the Philistines...and probably the wives and children of the 70 Israelite men whom God struck down because they looked upon and inside the ark of the covenant.

And we also witness a tragedy or two along the way...like a young woman lost her life giving birth to a son. Some would say that the tragedy was that her husband couldn't be there to help and comfort her. Yes. But I think that the real tragedy was her last words...” the glory is gone.”

The young mother died believing that the loss of the ark meant the loss of God Himself. She was suffering and scared I'm sure. It must have been terrible to face death thinking that she was doing it all alone. “ Listen to her last words. “The glory is gone...” Her hope was in a piece of Tabernacle furniture. And since it was gone, God and His presence and power and promise must be gone too.

Oh, that those ladies helping would have said more than “it’s a boy”. Oh, how great it would have been to the soul of the young dying mother to be assured that God was not gone...God was not dead...but alive and well and present and strong enough to take care of her newborn as well as carry her to her reward in heaven.

Now that’s good news. Enjoy the rest of the story

Have a great day

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April 8

We begin our reading of 1 Samuel today...chapters 1,2,3.

All of 1st and 2nd Samuel is a revelation from God of the life and work of Samuel, Saul, and David...a period covering 135 years.

Much of what we will read will foreshadow plainly the life and ministry of the Messiah, Jesus Christ.

Israel was at a “very” low point spiritually. The priesthood was corrupt. The Ark of the Covenant was not in the Tabernacle. Idolatry was practiced. And the judges were dishonest.

God was about to turn that around. And He would use a young boy, who would grow in his pursuit of the Lord, to expedite the work of God’s righteous power, wisdom, mercy, and grace.

Now to the text...Before we get to boy Samuel, we read about Samuel’s mother who was full of the grace of God. And how do we know that? We see it in her suffering.

She was mocked and spoken evil of because she couldn't give her husband a child. And how did she respond to her tormentors? Quietly...without a word from her lips...Hannah spoke “in her heart” to the Lord...And God blessed her...with a son, Samuel.

I cannot help but remember my Savior...Jesus...” full of grace and truth”...responding to His tormentors with silence...and forgiveness...like a lamb to the slaughter...not a word...except to the Father...for your salvation and mine. Praise His Name!

Hannah was full of the grace of God... God’s power for “faithfulness to God”...even when He did not choose to give her children for so many years.

Was it hard? Sure it was! Even her husband saw her sorrowful countenance at times. But she never lost hope in God...whether it meant He was going to give her children “ or not “.

Please let us remember Jesus praying in the garden on the night that He was betrayed. He was full of grace and truth. Was betrayal by a close friend hard? Sure it was! But what does grace do?

“Father let this cup pass from Me...but not my will but Yours be done.”

Hannah was full of the grace of God. And we see it in her sacrifice to God. She promised God, that if He should choose to give her a son, she would give him back to the Lord for His use only. And she did. After weening the child, she made a trip to Shiloh and gave her son to Eli the High Priest to learn from him and serve God by serving Eli.

Samuel was her offering to the Lord. A living sacrifice indeed. That’s grace. Please let us “Remember” JESUS hanging on the cross...full of grace and truth...giving Himself to the Father and into the hands of His executioners, as a sacrifice for our salvation.

Hannah gave her son to save Israel. God the Father gave His son to save the world of sinners who believe. Hannah showed grace to a nation. But Jesus showed grace to the world!

Jesus is still better...believe Him!

Have a great day

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April 7

Today’s reading is in the “4” chapters of the book of Ruth.

The setting for this book takes place in the last days of the Judges...a 400+ year period of anarchy and oppression in Israel. This would be called the “dark days” in Israel...a “time in which each man did what was right in his own eyes...rather than in God’s.”

Elimelech may have been one of those men. And then maybe not...

He decided to leave the land of promise. He decided to take his family back across the Jordan River. He decided to lead his wife and two sons back to the wilderness of Moab, from which his ancestors had been delivered.

These would seem to be steps in the wrong direction. However, God was about to bring a young Moabite woman into their family. And eventually, she would bare a son into the lineage of the Messiah, Jesus Christ. From our vantage point, God had Elimelech right where He wanted him.

“O Lord, Your will and ways are far higher than our own. What You reveal to us is in Your time and Your purposes...and You will be the judge, not me.”

Friends, we may have counseled Elimelech to stay home...to stay near family and “life long” friends during the harsh famine years in Israel. We may have counseled him to trust God...wait upon the one who is Lord of the rains and the drought, and look for ways to serve others in Bethlehem in those hard days. But whether God directed Elimelech to go to Moab or not, God made sure that His plans were accomplished.

Again, the young Moabitess named Ruth was “His plan”. And He would definitely use “her in-laws” to put her right where she needed to be. Ruth would be loved in this family. She would learn much from this family...especially, she would learn of the One true God...and would be led to faith in that Lord by this family.

It may seem a bit odd, but I have always had an affinity for Ruth’s story. I too was led to faith in the Lord by the loving family of the young woman I was courting. I too would discover my purpose and meaning in life from the ones God brought into my life and heart.

As Beverly and I began to think about marriage...Ruth’s story was included in our conversations...especially her words spoken to her mother in law...words that we borrowed toward each other...”For where you go I will go...where you lodge I will lodge...your family will be my family and your God my God.”

Now another piece of the text.

Many times I have used additional words of Ruth’s heart in my communion with Christ...such as...“All that you say I will do...” Ruth humbling herself before her mother in law, as Naomi instructed her in the traditions of her new and extended Israelite family.

“O, Lord...You have much more to teach us...Speak and we will listen...”All that You say, we will do...by Your grace.”

One more thing...Boaz, a major player in Ruth and God’s story today is a foreshadowing of “The Redeemer”...see if you can see it too...that’s the rest of the story.

Have a great day

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April 6th

The Bible reading for today is in Judges chapters 19-21.

At the beginning of today’s reading we read the following: “In those days, when there was no king in Israel...” True, there was NO “monarchy” in Israel at that time. It was on the people’s mind, but there was none at that point.

I have to believe that something else was meant in that phrase, “no king in Israel”. It is obvious from our reading that in those days, “God” was not king in Israel...either. Israel, as a whole, would not recognize God’s rule in Israel. They only recognized their own rule.

I believe that we can be confident that there were people in every Israeli tribe who believed God. with all their heart....who believed everything that God said...especially everything He said about their covenant relationship with Him. And they were committed to it.

But there would be some like Samson...who believed, but who also forgot...forgot who was King...and his pride put himself on the throne instead...if but for a season.

There would be some who truly believed that their life and their eternal life was a gift from God....and who truly believed that their strength to accomplish God-sized assignments was a gift from God.

But for a time, pride thought more highly of himself than of God. Baptist might say that they were “backslidden”...Methodists might say that they were “unrepentant”. My impatience with their behavior and the downplaying of my own would probably say that most in Israel were lost and without saving faith at that time. You can make your own judgment from the reading. The Holy Spirit is good at revealing God’s will and ways through His Word.

Back to the text...where, there was no king in Israel. A Levite living in the hill country of Ephraim was on his way to the Tabernacle in Shiloh. Today we might say he was going to church.

It was a full day’s walk up and down the mountains of Judea. His concubine was with him. She was not his wife...but the culture of the land (not God culture) made the concubine a legal partner.

They stopped for the night in a city named Gibeah of the tribe of Benjamin. A kind old man invited them to spend the night in his home. Late that night, a crowd of moral reprobates surrounded the house and demanded that the stranger come out so that they could know him in a perverted sense. The cowardly Levite pushed his concubine out the door. The next morning she was found dead on the old man’s porch.

All who saw it and all who heard of it across the promised land spoke with disgust...anger...and murderous hatefulness toward the evil done and the evil condoned. Before it was said and done close to 50,000 Israelites died and a multitude of Benjaminite cities and villages were burned.

Wow...that whole story sounds a lot like what we read and see on newscasts around the world today. What’s the answer to such evil gone wild?

Jesus...the return of Christ to judge this world and make all things new...new heavens and new earth!

Come, Lord Jesus!

Have a great day

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April 5th

Our Bible reading today is in Judges chapters 16, 17, and 18.

I have to admit that early on in my Christian life I was confounded with the Bible story of Samson...God’s chosen Judge of Israel...the God-ordained Champion of the Promised Land nation. Some of his life seemed exemplary but other parts were shameful. Why did God use someone whose life testimony was so inconsistent...so checkered...so sinful? As I grew in the Lord, as I grew in His Word, one thing became clearer and clearer to me.

Everyone that God used was a “sinner”, including me. Everyone that God used in the building of His Kingdom was a “redeemed work in progress”. Therefore, I quit condemning Samson and started praising God for His good work in and through the son of Manoah.

“Father, thank You for being in the business of grace...that is, You make the Samsons and the Jims worthy of Your Kingdom’s workforce. Praise You O Lord!”

Biblical record basically reveals 3 periods of time in the life and work of Samson. First of all...His birth and early years. They were marked by a visit from Jesus, the stirring of the Holy Spirit...and the blessing of the heavenly Father.

Wow...the work of the triune God-head...Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. That sounds just like my salvation and sanctification. So what happened to Samson next?...early 20s?

Samson went off the rails. He rejected the Godly counsel of his parents and sought to marry outside the faith. He killed 30 Philistines in a prideful reaction to losing a Bachelor party game of riddles. He traded his spiritual conviction on marriage for living with a number of women outside of the commitment and responsibilities of holy matrimony.

And worst of all, Samson was so entangled by his earthly desires and fleshly pursuits, that he didn't even know when God left him. When God left him alone...when God left him powerless...when God left him to be like any other man.

I must stop here for a moment. God did not choose me and you...or save me and you...to be...as “any other man or woman.” He chose us and saved us to be totally new creations...where old things passed away and all things about us became new...that is...like Him...not like any other man...but Him. “Lord help us to remember who we are in Jesus...not by our own making, but Yours!

The last period of Samson’s life was marked by humiliation and glorification.

The Philistines captured a surprised Samson. “Why this can't be happening to me...I’m Samson the Great...You have never been able to defeat me.” “That was then...this is now.”

And the Philistine’s gouged his eyes out...bound his hands and feet with bronze and chained him to a mill, grinding wheat for his enemies...the work of despised slaves was now the legacy of the Great Samson. Humiliating to say the least.

Now, who was it that humiliated him. I believe it was God. Because God was not only out to deliver the Israelites from the Philistines, He was out to spiritually revive His servant and use him mightily one more time.

And what was that “one more time”? How does hope relate to the revelation that his hair was beginning to grow?

Well that’s the rest of the story

Have a great day

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April 4th

Today’s Bible reading is in Judges chapters 13,14,15.

The cycle of sin, and bondage, and repentance, and deliverance, in the life of Israel, is seen once more in our reading today. 40 years in duration...Israel under the cruelty of the Philistines.

The next judge was born at the beginning of this cycle...his name: SAMSON...another favorite Bible character in the story and study of God...

This God-made leader was chosen and set apart for this mission from before he was born. His mother was barren with no prospects for a child when the Angel of the Lord came to her. He told her “that she would bear a son”. He told her that her son would be “a Nazarite from the womb” and be “prepared to deliver” Israel from the Philistine bondage.

Let me take an aside for just a moment...At this point, I am reminded of other women in the Biblical record that experienced God for special intervention in the bearing of a child. Sara, the wife of Abraham...couldn't have children... until a visit from the Angel of the Lord...soon Isaac was born.

Hannah, the wife of Elkanah, couldn't have children...until a visit from the Angel of the Lord...soon Samuel was born.

Elizabeth, the wife of Zechariah, couldn't have children...until a visit from the Angel of the Lord...soon John the Baptist was born.

And then there was MARY, a virgin, who had not consummated her betrothal, did not have children until a visit from the Angel of the Lord...soon Jesus was born.

Samson and his mother were a part of a very unique club. Mothers and sons who played a decisive role in the coming of the Messiah.

Back to the text. Samson was to be a Nazarite from birth till death. It was not unusual for men of Israel to devote themselves to God for a particular time and work. But it was unusual for an Israelite man to be a Nazarite vowed man for his entire life. “The Angel of the Lord” declared it for Samson. Oh and that special angel in brilliance of glory with the name Wonderful...that was Jesus...The ETERNAL DELIVERER!

Wow, the whole Bible is about Jesus...well, He is the Word from the beginning...no wonder people say “He’s better”!

So what does it mean to be a Nazarite believer? Will you give me another minute?

No cutting of Samson’s hair...Devoted to God’s authority...to God’s will, not his own. No drinking of wine...Devoted to the joy of the Lord, rather than to the artificial entertainments of men. No touching a dead body...Devoted to life in the Spirit of the Lord rather than to life in the flesh and the world.

So what about the exploits of this super-strong Samson? Something about a jaw bone of a donkey?

Well, that’s the rest of the story...Enjoy.

Have a great day