-Sung Psalm- 132---Think of what Jesus says in Matthew 22-1-12 - Jesus tells a parable about a king who gave a wedding feast for his son - and he invited many who scorned the invitation - and so he told his servants to invite everyone- -Go to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast - as many as you find- So everyone is welcome---But when the king comes in to meet the guests - he finds a man who has no wedding garment, and he asks him - -Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment--- Everyone is welcome... but you must be clothed appropriately--- -The reason why the King can tell that this man does not belong at the wedding is because he is not wearing a wedding garment.--In the same way, one who has died and been raised with Christ, one who has put on the new man in Christ, is going to look like it. So this obviously brings us to the question- -What should we be wearing--

Sin has consequences.--There was once a man who stole a large amount of silver from his mother, and the end result was that a whole tribe set up an idol. If you don't repent of your sin, then it will only get worse, and it can snowball into a problem of epic proportions. On the surface, that appears to be the point of Judges 17-18.--This is certainly true. But there is more to this story...

-Sung Psalm- 11---So far we have seen who Christ is, and what he has done. Now we are beginning to learn who we are in Christ, and how that affects our lives. You have died with Christ, and therefore Paul insists that you also have died to sin.--Since this is true, Paul declares- you are no longer to live the way you once did.--Your whole perspective on life should change, because you are no longer the old sinner that you once were.--The Christian life is not based on our experience or our feelings, the Christian life is based upon what Christ has accomplished.--The imperatives of the Christian life - the commands to seek those things which are above - are rooted in the new reality of who we are in Christ. Since you have been united to Christ, live like it---Or to put it simply- Be who you are in Christ-

We have seen how the literary structure of the book of Judges has collapsed.--Judges 2 provided the basic literary structure of the book--- The people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD.-- God allowed their enemies to conquer and oppress them.-- The people cried out to God for relief.-- The LORD sent a judge to deliver them.-- The land had rest until the death of the judge...-and then the pattern starts over again.--With each judge a piece of the literary structure has dropped out. By the time we get to Samson, all that is left is that the people Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD -13-1-, and the LORD gave them into the hand of the Philistines -13-1-.--The people do not cry out for relief. The LORD does not send a judge to deliver them - rather he says that Samson will begin to deliver them- And the land has no rest - Samson judges Israel -in the days of the Philistines.---The literary pattern disintegrates- But in a way that makes it clear that this is on purpose- This is not a mediocre author who just doesn't know how to write a coherent book- Where the pattern disintegrates, it does so in ways that call attention to the disintegration---No - Israel does not cry out to the LORD for deliverance - but Samson does.--The disintegration of the literary structure of the book shows us the disintegration of Israel.--And that continues in the story of Samson's death.--As we look at chapter 16, I would ask you to think- who do you identify with in this story---Where are you in the story of Samson---Think about that as we go through our text this evening...

-Sung Psalm- 81---We saw last week that we have been circumcised. Our old self has been snipped off by Christ through our baptism into his death. Just as Christ has died to sin once for all, so also we have died to sin with Christ, being buried with him in baptism, in which we also were raised with him through faith in the working of God. --Therefore our baptism shows us two things- First, Christ has made us alive with him- and second, he has forgiven all our sins. He has done this by making a public spectacle of Satan and all the idols - the principalities and powers - the basic principles of this world - which had control over us.--So who are you in Christ- Paul thinks about the human person like this- --First, the core of who you are is described as the -inner man- the -heart- the -mind- - Paul has different words for this - but it has to do with who you are.--Second, Paul talks about the -flesh- - the basic drives and desires that are part of daily life.--And third, Paul talks about the surface of our lives - thoughts, words, deeds - how we interact with others...

Samson is the most gifted judge in the whole book. He is called from the womb, and empowered with extraordinary gifts by the LORD, but he accomplishes less than any other judge in the book.--He has a few magnificent individual victories, but he never finishes the job. He -begins-to defeat the Philistines, but never leads Israel to triumph.--Judges 14-15 tells one story -concluded in 15-20. The key to the whole story is 14-4 - -His father and mother did not know that was from the LORD, for he was seeking an opportunity against the Philistines.---This is rooted in verse 25 of chapter 13 - the Spirit of the LORD is stirring in Samson - even though it takes a rather odd form.--The theme in verses 1-20 is -going down- -since Samson lives in the hill country - and the Philistines live on the coastal plain - so you would literally go down from the hill country to Timnah-...

-Sung Psalm- 42---I've been reading a lot from the prophets in our series on Colossians, because I am convinced that Paul was keenly aware of the prophetic critique of Israel---We'll be talking about the circumcision of Christ. So it would have been easy to read Genesis 17 - and talk about what circumcision was supposed to be---But when Paul is writing to the Colossians, everyone knows that things are not as they should be---Circumcision has failed. It was supposed to distinguish Israel from the nations. The seed of Abraham was to be separate - holy - set apart. -I am God Almighty- walk before me and be blameless- - that's how Genesis 17 starts---Paul says in Romans 4-11 that Abraham -received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was uncircumcised.-- -A sign points to something else. The sign of circumcision pointed to the righteousness that Abraham had by faith.--A seal confirms the authenticity of something. Circumcision functioned as a seal - depicting and confirming the righteousness that Abraham had by faith.--And so Abraham's descendants were also marked with that same sign and seal. But Jeremiah says that he can't tell the difference between an Egyptian and an Israelite. Because circumcision by itself doesn't change the heart- -all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in heart.- -v26---If all you do is draw a straight line from circumcision to baptism, it may sort of make sense- they were outwardly circumcised, but what really matters is inward- But that is not Paul's point.--What is missing is the circumcision of Christ...

There is something important at the end of chapter 12 that we didn't talk about last week.- After Othniel - -the land had rest 40 years.-- After Ehud - -the land had rest 80 years-- After Deborah - -the land had rest for 40 years-- After Gideon - -the land had rest 40 years in the days of Gideon---But after Gideon, the land has no rest.- Tola judged Israel 23 years - and died.- Jair judged Israel 22 years - and died.- Jephthah judged Israel 6 years - and died.- Ibzan judged Israel 7 years - and died.- Elon judged Israel 10 years - and died.- Abdon judged Israel 8 years - and died.--There is a cycle of futility - the literary pattern of rest has given way to the literary pattern of death. And the trend line is getting shorter---The whole period of rest after the days of Ehud -80 years- is longer than all the 6 judges of chapters 10-12 put together -76 years-.--The literary structure of Judges has come to a complete collapse, even as Israel itself has come undone.--And in the final judge, Israel will be reduced to one man - and that one man will be both the greatest warrior in Israel's history - as well as a pathetic excuse for a deliverer---The highs get higher - the lows get lower. If you try to take the book of Judges as a paradigm for the Christian life - you would end up with a manic depressive spirituality---But the book of Judges is not a paradigm for the Christian life- The book of Judges is all about Christmas- Or more precisely, all about Advent - all about our need for a King from Bethlehem--These judges just aren't cutting it- We get 6 - 8 - maybe 10 years of relief - and then 40 years of oppression under the hand of the Philistines...

-Sung Psalm- 44---Paul has set forth in 1-1-23 the centrality of Christ. Christ is the firstborn of creation - he is also the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be pre-eminent.--This is what Paul's ministry is all about. 1-24-2-5 explains how Paul thinks of his own ministry as pre-eminently Christ-centered.--The goal of Paul's ministry is laid out clearly for us - that he might present everyone mature - perfect - in Christ Jesus.--And toward this end there are three things which Paul does--1- he suffers -2- he ministers -3- and he preaches --And as he makes clear in verse 29, it is the working of Christ within him that enables him to labor and to strive.--And what is true for Paul is true for every Christian pastor - and indeed, for every Christian- -His energy that he powerfully works within me---After all, Christ has joined himself to our humanity, in order that he might join us to God---But that means that as a minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ, this is my calling--to suffer,-to minister,-and to preach,-so that I might present you perfect-mature in Christ Jesus.--So let us look at how Paul views his own ministry, and what that teaches us about who Christ is, what he has done for us, who we are in Christ, and what that means for our lives.

Last time we heard the story of Jephthah's rise. The Ammonites were oppressing Israel - especially the region of Gilead -on the east side of the Jordan-. But they also crossed the Jordan to fight against Judah, Benjamin, and Ephraim.--When Israel admitted their idolatry in turning to other gods - God's response was to say, if you prefer other gods, -then let them save you in the time of your distress----And, as we saw last time, there is no mention of the LORD raising up a deliverer. The people of Gilead go out and find their own deliverer.--And Jephthah makes for an interesting choice... Like Gideon, he is described as a -mighty warrior-. Like Gideon, he begins as a nobody, but winds up as a tyrant. Both are clothed with the Spirit of the LORD in order to defeat their enemies, but then wind up in a conflict with Ephraim after their victory. Both wind up brutalizing not only the enemy, but also their fellow Israelites.--But Jephthah is also like Abimelech- both are born out of proper wedlock, both surround themselves with worthless men, both are opportunists who negotiate themselves into leadership positions, both slaughter their own relatives.--But unlike Abimelech, Jephthah is also a deliverer whom Yahweh uses to save his people.--Once again, God uses the weak and foolish to accomplish his purposes...