The Valley Church of Christ

Series: Christians and Technology

Service: Sun AM (2)

Type: Sermon

Speaker: Scott Kercheville

The world would be an untamed, chaotic, unsafe place if humans did not work fruitfully, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Technology — whether shovels or screens — can have a place there. But I have argued in this series that there is something about modern technology that should give us serious pause before we compare it to a shovel:  shovels are easy to keep under our control, screens are not.

One of the biggest unintended consequences being talked about by both believers and unbelievers is distraction. Listening to a podcast the other day, author of Deep Work Cal Newport was discussing how the turns of technology over the past 30 years have made us less efficient workers because we are constantly… distracted. He’s concerned about the efficiency of our work, but as Christians, does distraction have meaning for us beyond being efficient workers? Paul says in Ephesians 5:15-16. “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.” (Eph. 5:15–16)

Paul wants us to think about how to make the best use of our time. And he wants us to do it, not simply with a law in our hands, but with wisdom. Though this will help us think more carefully about the time we spend looking at screens, my hope is that these passages will help us think about our whole lives: whether our lives are focused on the one necessary thing. We will look at four passages that speak of the dangers of unchecked distractions, and then we will reflect on the challenge of living focused lives that make the best use of our time. Note, this sermon was inspired by Christian author Tony Reinke's Book, “12 Ways Your Phone Is changing You."

1. Unchecked Distractions Make the Gospel Unfruitful in Us (Mt. 13:7, 22)

“Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them… This is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.” (Matt. 13:7, 22 ESV)

The good news about God's Kingdom was being proclaimed. For thousands of years promises have been made about what God's Kingdom was going todo. Angels, kings, prophets, and faithful longed to understand and see the fulfillment of what was promised. And now the biggest news this world could ever hear was being preached, and only a few people were really listening and understanding and doing anything about it.

Why? Jesus says let me illustrate with a common picture from what you see every day in the agricultural world. You throw seed on the ground and your plant starts coming up, but so do weeds and thorns all around it. The plant remains, but the thorns choke it so that it cannot bear any fruit. For many, that's exactly what's happening with them and the gospel. They hear the biggest news this world has ever heard and they are given the opportunity to participate in it, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word and it proves unfruitful.

Cares and concerns. That sounds like the American life in the digital age of information. We are constantly inundated with a barrage of information and updates and research. It’s helpful in moderation… and yet, we are overloaded. Here's how to eat better, sleep better, exercise better. Here's what's going on in the Israel, Iran, Russia, Ukraine, and the White House. You might be ruining your child forever if you fail to do this one crucial thing. The economy is good… bad… good! Click here if you want to see the 20 cutest cats in the world. The roof is leaking, there is mold in the closet, the laundry needs to be done, the lawn mowed, and the kids taken to their activities. Homework needs to get done and you need to get to work earlier tomorrow. You need to enroll in better health insurance and you're not saving enough for retirement. I need to work more, I need a newer car, I need a bigger house and better phone. So much that seems urgent and important. All the while Jesus proclaims a Kingdom where none of those cares will matter. But thorny cares choke the word. We have little energy to listen, and certainly not enough to do anything about what little we hear. Unchecked cares, distractions, and the deception that money will solve it all and make us happy-these make Jesus' death, resurrection, and the reality of the Kingdom mean little to nothing in our lives.

2. Unchecked Distractions Cause Us to Forget about Judgment (Lk. 21:34-36)

Luke 21:34–36 ESV, “But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap. For it will come upon all who dwell on the face of the whole earth. But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”

There is no doubt that sinful living and drunkenness can weigh us down and cause us to forget the coming judgment, but Jesus refers again to the cares of this life. They can weigh us down so that the final day comes upon us suddenly like a trap. In Luke 17 Jesus warned that his coming would be like the day of the flood and the day fire rained down on Sodom-a day like any other. People are marrying, eating, drinking, buying, and selling. They were weighed down with the mundane every day cares of this life, and that day came like a trap, and there was no escape. You might say, "But won't it be sudden like a thief in the night for everyone?" In the timing, sure. But the key will be whether the timing will end up being a welcome surprise we have been anticipating each day, or a terrible shock that catches us off-guard and makes us sick to our stomachs. That day won't feel like that for those weighed down by sin alone, but also to those who knew, but stopped anticipating the day eagerly, became weighed down with the concerns and cares of this age and this world. Unchecked distractions cause us to forget about judgment.

3. Unchecked Distractions Cause Us to Divide Our Commitment (1 Cor. 7:32-35)

The first two texts should wake us up, but these next two texts should shake our world. “I want you to be free from anxieties. The unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord. But the married man is anxious about worldly things, how to please his wife, and his interests are divided. And the unmarried or betrothed woman is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to be holy in body and spirit. But the married woman is anxious about worldly things, how to please her husband. I say this for your own benefit, not to lay any restraint upon you, but to promote good order and to secure your undivided devotion to the Lord.” (1 Cor. 7:32-35 ESV)

At some point I would like to give this text and its context fuller treatment, but I want you to notice a simple principle from this text: Paul is trying to ensure the Corinthians’ undivided devotion to the Lord. What could possibly cause the Corinthians to have divided interests? What could possibly distract them from being anxious about the Lord's cause? Their marriages. And Paul will urge later in this chapter that marriage should only be "in the Lord,” so he's not even saying that marriage to an unbeliever might distract us. He's just talking about marriage in general.

He's not saying someone can't get married, he's saying he doesn't recommend it and to only enter if you must with great caution. This must be confusing. God created marriage. Marriage is good, right? Yes and yes! In fact, one of the ways we show we trust and love the Lord is by how we love and respect and care for our spouse. And yet, though marriage is a gift of God that has spiritual responsibilities and implications, notice how Paul says concern about bow to please our spouse is a worldly thing (vs. 33-34). Marriage is a wonderful gift of God that requires attention and care, but marriage doesn't outlast death and will not be restored in the resurrection. It is of this age and this world, not the age or world to come. Unchecked distractions - even our marriages-can cause us to lose our commitment.

4. Unchecked distractions close off communion with God (Luke 10:38-42).

Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:38–42 ESV)

Luke just finished telling us the parable of the Good Samaritan which emphasizes the need to show neighborly love and so fulfill the law of God. But this account shows us a dear woman anxiously toiling to fulfill this law in a way that distracts her from the first command- "You shall love the Lord your God..." Jesus has no home - he's traveling to Jerusalem. Martha graciously invites him into her home. Mary sits at his feet listening to his teaching while Martha is distracted with much serving. I imagine she may have been cooking for this crowd that came her way. Doesn't that blow your mind? Serving — a command of God — is spoken of as a distraction in this text.

"One thing is necessary. "that strikes me. So many things are urgent and even important and even commanded by God. we talk so much about what we need-need to do, to eat, places we need to be, people we need, things we need to buy, and even commands of God we need to obey. But, really, just one thing is necessary.

Don't misunderstand Jesus. If we say we love God and we do not love those made in his image, we are a liar and the love of God is not in us. But if we" love" and serve his people and are distracted from their God, we have missed the boat. One thing is necessary. Mary chose the better portion — she chose to sit at the Lord's feet to listen to his teaching-and that will not be taken from her. In all our busyness and even service, are we humbly sitting down to quietly receive and enjoy the better portion?

If things as noble as loving our spouse and showing hospitality can distract us from the one necessary thing, how might unchecked commitments like school, sports, and hobbies affect our focus? If obedience to God's commands can distract us from the most imp, how might unchecked digital distractions and "commitments" be affecting our focus? If people even in our gatherings here are distracted by texting, email, social media, sports scores — which people are — how distracted must our lives be outside of this assembly? Sometimes I fear we are distracted from fellowship with God and blinded to the gospel by far less important things than pleasing our spouse or using our gifts and opportunities to serve others. And if our distractions are unchecked and far less noble, not only will we find ourselves leaving behind the one necessary thing, we may find we are even so distracted that we don't give our marriages or the serving of others proper time either.

Why is it so challenging to remain focused?

If I am blessed to live to old age and have reflective moments before I die, I fear now that I will be frustrated by how much my life ended up being devoted to consuming the distractions of content creators as opposed to being a fruit-bearer — a “content creator” myself. The days are evil, and thus Paul urges us to “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.” (Eph. 5:15–16 ESV) Biblical fools only ask, "Do we have enough time?" But the wise ask," Considering how evil the days are, considering what is most important, considering how easily we can be distracted, is this the best use of our time?"

At the end of our lives, when everything is weighed in the balance, what will our screen time weigh. There’s the dangers of immorality. But even if what we are watching is “not inherently wrong” — what sort of fruit will that bear if “not inherently wrong” is the soil of our lives? No farmer simply declares of farmland, “It’s not poisonous!” We want land that’s not toxic, yes, but nothing will grow if it’s not fertile land. I fear so often that I am “not inherently wronging” myself to death, and it keeps me from more meaningful prayer, meditation, connections with people, and from breaking out of fearful immobility to move, and live, and bear fruit for God. *Plug Bible Reading Plan*

When Israel left their harsh slave master in Egypt, God told them to rest on the 7th day. But you know how they heard that command? God offered rest, but they only saw a burden. I used to — and still do at times — read Ephesians 5:15-16 as a burden. But every time I cut some distraction from my life to make better use of my time, I keep finding that-though it is hard-my joy in the Lord increases.

In our homes today, let's ask, “What are the dangers of “not inherently wrong distractions, updates, and entertainment? How can we practically remove distractions from our lives to focus on what is most important?"

Series: N/A

Service: Sun AM (2)

Type: Sermon

Speaker: Scott Kercheville

Series: Daniel (Faith among Babylonians)

Service: Sun AM (1)

Type: Sermon

Speaker: Scott Kercheville

• Nebuchadnezzar believed he and his father were the ones who caused Babylon to increase, and now that Babylon was on top, he was sleepless with nightmares about what might come after this because he also believed he was the one who had to maintain it all. Would he be able to hold onto his power? Who was trying to supplant him? He had to know and it drove him mad: he decreed that since his wise men couldn’t tell him his dream and its interpretation, they would be torn limb from limb and their homes would be laid in ruins.
  • Have you ever been there? I must have total control over my life, my plans, my finances, my family, my home, my landscaping — or I’ll lose my cool.
  • Better yet, just lock your phone away for the day and keep a tally of how many times you just want to look up some information. That’s all Nebuchadnezzar wanted in the end — some knowledge. And he had spent great time, effort, and resources to make sure he always had the best knowledge and wisdom at his disposal. But they failed him. It is hard for us to not have control, it is hard to not know.
• But Daniel, when he heard that he and all the wise men with him were about to have their limbs torn off, he was able to go to bed, have a great night’s rest, and God even revealed to him in a peaceful, reassuring dream what would come after this. Why? He and his friends hit their knees and sought mercy and wisdom from the God of heaven. “O what peace we often forfeit! O what needless pain we bear! All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.” “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.” (James 5:5)

• Giving Glory to God (2:19-30)
  • Notice Arioch’s “I have found” and how he credits himself when he was just as in the dark and panicked as everyone else. Compare Arioch with Daniel: “No wise men, enchanters, magicians, or astrologers can… but there is a God in heaven that reveals mysteries.” And verse 30, “This mystery has been revealed to me, not because of any wisdom that I have…”
  • Ever had someone you wanted to impress? That you hoped they would think, “They’re smart, they’re wise, they have it together.” Daniel is standing in front of the most powerful human leader on earth, and he says, “Not me, but the God in heaven.”
  • In all the temptation to be seen, recognized, acknowledged, and honored before men, remember: if we get them to look at us, we are distracting them from the Almighty God who knows and guides the future of all creation towards someone who will be dead in a few years. And what will we do with the weight once they hope in us? Daniel rightly gives glory to God because Daniel cannot bear the weight of their needs, hopes, and dreams. Daniel wants the men around him to hope in God and his kingdom.

• The Kingdoms of Earth are Broken in Pieces by the Kingdom of God (2:31-45)
  • Later, God will show Daniel that the kingdoms of men are like violent monsters, but Nebuchadnezzar sees them here as a great, bright, frightening image. Actually, it starts out quite impressive: Nebucadnezzar and Babylon are the head of gold! But the image grows less beautiful, and for a time more strong with each kingdom that passes.
  • Likely, the Medes and Persians are represented by silver, the Greeks by bronze, and the Roman Empire by iron and clay. These are great, powerful empires that built grand important things and made massive developments in science, architecture, education, philosophy, mathematics, and language that impacts us to this day. We have inherited Greek much from the Greeks and Romans. You did not ignore them at the time and you cannot ignore them today — and yet, God sees them hundreds of years before their rise and thousands of years after: all they are is a blip on the map of history. They were each unstoppable, impregnable in their day, until at the seeming high of their blind and arrogant power, they were dismantled practically overnight in most situations. With Rome, it didn’t even take another major empire — just the invasion of Germanic forces.
  • Roughly every 200-300 years, this is what happens: the power of the earth are shaken up, new players show up on the scene, new borders are drawn, new governments come into existence. Go to YouTube and watch a video that shows how much the world map has changed over time. Most everyone in the world knows this, it is an accepted reality — but for Babylon, this reality is a mystery that not even the wise men can discern, it must be revealed by God in heaven because in her pride she cannot even imagine a scenario where she is not the head of gold on top — the whole image should be made of Babylonian gold in her mind.
  • Look at where the U.S. is today. And what were we a couple hundred years ago? Begging the French for help with the English.
  • But even what Daniel reveals here changes very little for Nebuchadnezzar. In fact, it gives him an idea. Turn the page and he has indeed made an entire image of gold and is forcing everyone to bow before it. What chest of silver? Thighs of bronze? Legs and feet of iron and clay? What rock from heaven? This is project “national unification liturgy”: pledge allegiance and worship to the image, to Nebuchadnezzar, unite the empire, and prevent the vision from coming true. We can’t point at Nebuchadnezzar and miss the log in our own eye: Every major empire wants to prevent the vision from coming true too.
  • A day is coming for every nation on earth and the pagan in heart see this vision and go home to plot how to prevent the rainy day from hitting them. But rainy days like these when God decides to snap his fingers when the borders are redrawn or invasions take place? They don’t care that you bought those emergency rations for your family. They don’t care that the deed says Scott and Ashley Kercheville own this property. Or look at what happens in other countries when their dollar crashes: they don’t care how much you saved in your nest egg when the value crashes. Our faith may be ready to stand in the midst of excess of food and TV screens, but what about when the place we love becomes like chaff that the wind blows away? May we take care, lest parties, drunkenness, and cares of this life weight us down and that day catch us off guard. Take care, lest our hope is shown to be in the kingdoms of men. But, fortunately, that’s not all this vision has to offer. What will be after this, after this age?

• The Kingdom of God is a [Rejected] Stone That Fills the Earth
  • In the end, this is not a vision to lament or prevent at all, because what is it that turns these kingdoms into dust? The stone from heaven that becomes a mountain that fills the whole earth: King Jesus and the kingdom of God. Jesus says it is a stone rejected, and a stone that crushes in pieces those that reject it.
  • We were told from the beginning to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it as God’s images. This is why Jesus came: to start his kingdom on earth that will destroy every kingdom and do what we failed to do: fill the whole earth with God’s rule and goodness. What kingdom are we hoping will have dominion in the land? Seek God’s kingdom first. We certainly hope along with the Judean exiles that things go well for us in the land of our exile. At the same time, we seek God’s kingdom first — and we must not confuse the interests of the United States with the interests of God’s kingdom.
  • In that vein, may we re-orient what we imagine our hope to be around what the Scriptures say is coming. Often our imagination and hope is transformed by songs that are not always well informed, by cartoonish pictures of what is coming, and by the modern 20th century ideas about the afterlife. The imagination of the Scriptures is not that we will leave our bodies behind to float on clouds. The imagination of the Scriptures — and especially right here — is that God’s kingdom will fill the earth. Is that what we are looking for? If not, ironically, we’ll look for another kingdom to fill our Father’s World. And that’s what this world is — it’s not a false world that is waiting to be completely obliterated with no hope at all. Romans says the creation actually has hope. It will be destroyed by fire, and yet God says he will make a new heavens and a new earth — the kingdom of God is what we are looking to fill our Father’s world and the new creation.
  • This world has been dominated by wickedness. But think of it: this vision promises a day when the wicked and proud are no longer in control, no longer able to fill the earth with their images, with their ways. A day is coming when God will fill the earth with the designs he had for it when he created it in Genesis 1 when he said it was good in the beginning. In the final day his project will be complete and the kingdoms of men will become the kingdom of our God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. May God hasten that day!

Series: N/A

Service: Sun AM (2)

Type: Sermon

Speaker: Scott Kercheville

• The nation of Israel was supposed to be a model for the nations of God’s ways. The nations were supposed to walk by the light cast from their land. But they turned from Yahweh who taught them his ways of love and justice toward idols who are demonic. They became selfish. They stopped loving as they should. They stopped caring for widows, orphans, and foreigners as they should. Their leaders wrote laws that were unjust and failed to execute justice. So God’s presence left them.

• But now God’s Spirit has filled the assembly of those who are loyal to the true king of Israel and of the world: Jesus the Messiah. He is forming us as a holy nation known for justice and peace. We are the new temple, the new Jerusalem, the Israel God always wanted, a city set on a hill — and everything about our community is supposed to show the lost and fallen world what families, cities, nations, and the world should look like. We are intended to be a model of the New Jerusalem by which the cities of the world fashion themselves.

• But as Brent has noted from Acts 6, things don’t always go right in the church of Jesus Christ. We have not yet become that perfect New Jerusalem, that holy nation. Satan is still on the prowl. And sometimes, the weak still get overlooked — whether due to disorganization or prejudices. Sometimes, spiritual leaders become distracted from the word of God and prayer. Is this something that ever happens here? The Lord wouldn’t need to come if we never faced these challenges! But this is a situation that could not continue then, and cannot continue today — the reputation of Jesus as King is dependent on it. We are a light by showing the world what it will be like when Jesus is king.

• Thus, men who have quality character who have good reputations, who are full of the Spirit and of wisdom are needed to help the church work through difficult material situations with serious spiritual implications. We need servants and their wives who are spiritually wise to be able to make sure the church is a city where the weak are cared for.

• The Scriptures refer to these men as “servants.” “Deacons.” Greek-speakers used the same word for “servants” - translators have simply transliterated this word from the Greek to help us see that this is referring to someone who serves the church in a more official way. This is good for us to see from the beginning: we are not simply choosing men who have these qualities, we are choosing servants who have the character described here. We are not looking for preachers, teachers, shepherds with this character, but servants — which requires different spiritual gifts than other positions.

• Dignified - honorable, respectful, of serious demeanor. This doesn’t mean we are looking for people who do not smile; rather, we are looking for someone who displays honor and respect in their demeanor, someone who will take their responsibility seriously. It is not a joke to them. They won’t jeopardize everything with irreverent, immature behavior.

• Not double-tongued - not deceitful, not two-faced. We won’t catch this person intentionally or compulsively spinning everything in the best light. They do not hide the truth. We will not catch them saying one thing in one situation and then another thing later. Not only is this important so they do not bring dishonor on the church, but because they will also be communicating a lot as they manage. Honesty is key.

• Not addicted to much wine. We are not going to find them compulsively going back to the bottle. Alcohol simply is not a large part of their life.
• Not greedy for dishonest gain. We need to be able to trust this person with money and resources. Sadly, there have been many preachers, elders, and deacons in the past century who have embezzled money or used money inappropriately. This brings terrible shame on Christ’s church. A deacon cannot be shady in this way at all. They will often have responsibilities over material resources - we must be able to trust them.
• Hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. The “mystery of the faith” most likely refers to truths of the Christian faith that were once concealed - a mystery - but now they are revealed. This is not someone who is waffling around on the revealed truths of the Christian faith, especially with respect to major, concrete truths. Resurrection, return of Christ, one body, faith, Spirit, Lord, hope, baptism, and Father - these are not in question. This is a great time for us to see that these are not careless or apathetic men when it comes to truth and spirituality. We are not looking for someone who is simply handy with a screwdriver or checkbook. We are looking for a serious and spiritual man. Acts 6 gives us plenty of reason to see why. Simply because the situation here had material components does not mean the situation was not  important or highly spiritual. Just because work has materiality to it does not make it less spiritual. When Jesus washed the feet of the apostles, that was a material work with highly spiritual implications. This is not a situation where we are saying that we don’t need a Mary who sits at Jesus’ feet but a Martha who gets stuff done.

• Tested and proved blameless. There are two major ways to interpret this statement. The first interpretation says you should look at the qualities here and test the men by these qualities. Someone can serve as a deacon if they come out blameless as you test them by these qualities. The second interpretation says you should give them some responsibility and see how they handle it. See how well they organize people to accomplish a task. If they have responsibility to lead singing, clean the building, help someone in need, give a talk - do they fulfill the task in a blameless way? Are they prepared?  At the moment, I tend to lean toward the first interpretation.

• Wives (of deacons) or women (deaconesses) are likewise dignified, not slanderers, sober-minded, and faithful in all things. Basically, whoever this is referring to, they need to have essentially the same character as deacons. A lot of evidence on both sides is used to say Paul is referring to wives, and a lot of evidence is used to say Paul is referring to deaconesses. In recent years, I have tended toward interpreting Paul as referring to deaconesses - though, the majority seem to believe this is speaking of wives. The Greek word for women can be translated either wives or women - context always determines which is being spoken of. There is not a different word for wives or women that Paul could have used to make it clearer. Either way, anyone who says this is easy or clear is not being forthright with you. However, at this time, we are only appointing deacons - men - no matter what this text is referring to. We will leave it to the church as to whether or not you consider the character of a man’s wife as you nominate these men.

• Let deacons be the husband of one wife. Obviously, this would rule out someone who has not been married or a polygamist. However, the intention is not to give us a “married” checkbox. This is referring to someone who is a “one-woman-man.” He is devoted to his one wife. He is not a flirt. He is not someone who messes around with other women or with porn. This is important because it speaks to the faithfulness of the man. If he is faithful toward his wife, the hope is that he will faithfully serve this church.

• Managing their children and households well. This is not a hands-off husband or dad, but a man who is involved in the managing of the kids and the family. He is involved in discipline and the raising of the family in a Christ-centered home. This shows us whether or not a man is hands on with people. He knows how to manage and organize people with care and with a servant’s heart. He is not oblivious as to how to manage people in a loving way.

Series: N/A

Service: Sun AM (1)

Type: Sermon

Speaker: Scott Kercheville

Series: N/A

Service: Sun AM (2)

Type: Sermon

Speaker: Scott Kercheville

Notice Philippians 3:13-14. I’ll never forget watching a documentary a few years ago about the sorts of training Olympians do to prepare to compete in their sport. They reorganize their entire lives around the hope of even to maybe compete and maybe win a medal. Sure, they get up early and work out. But they eat differently. They do school differently. They have very little time for friendships or a complex social life. In fact, as the Olympics were drawing nearer, one family we followed fired their coach and friend of many years, packed everything up, and moved across the country to train with another coach.

Paul is writing to the Philippians who lived in the midst of a colony that worships the self and its desires and puts its hope in Rome. But he is trying to help them become a colony — a church — that worships God, and embraces the way of the cross — love, suffering, and self-sacrifice — as the means of gaining the prize of Jesus and resurrection life. So, Paul helps them by imaging the Christian life as a race. And if we’re are going to race, we have to accept that it’s hard and there’s a lot we will have to leave behind. Except this race, the stakes are different: if we don’t leave everything behind, we’ll lose everything forever. Let’s notice how Paul gets there.

No Confidence in the Flesh (3:1-6)

The Bible often speaks of "the flesh" in different symbolic ways. Based on the context, flesh here takes the meaning of human strength, accomplishments, and identity — the ability to gain something by human might. Human might versus God's might. Flesh also has a little double meaning here with circumcision. Some put confidence in human work — like the cutting of flesh.

And Paul tells these Philippians: you rejoice in and put confidence in the Lord. Why? Because there are all sorts of people who rejoice and put confidence in the flesh — in who they are, what they have done, what they can do. They are going around undermining people's confidence in the Lord by circumcising and mutilating their flesh to give them confidence that now they are the real deal: now they really are part of God's people and share in his promise of eternal life in his kingdom. Paul says, "I want you to know in advance that you who are allegiant to Jesus are already the real deal, you are already "circumcised," you worship God by the Spirit, you glory in Christ. You don't need any extra human accomplishments or “flesh!”

In fact, the one person who really could try to put confidence in the flesh — in his great feats of obedience for the  Lord — would be Paul, and he doesn’t do it. He was circumcised the 8th day like a good Israelite; he was more Hebrew than any Hebrew around; he was a Pharisee; he was so zealous for God that he persecuted the church; and you'd be hard pressed to find any sin on him with the law. But Paul says, “I put no confidence in that stuff. Doesn't matter.” In fact, he takes it one step further. Notice verses 7-11.

Christ Is Everything, All Else Is Rubbish (3:7-11)

Let this text sink in deep. Not only does Paul not take confidence in his human identity, accomplishments, or great feats of obedience to the Lord: he counts every single perceived gain or good thing he has as rubbish, as a lost. Why? To know Jesus has surpassing worth. In fact, he feels as though he has lost everything in the pursuit of knowing Christ Jesus. It didn't matter what stood in the way, he was happy to be rid of it to know Jesus and share in his sufferings.

Keep in mind, Paul is referencing his identity, nationality, righteousness, his life's work, and everything he owned here. No small thing. This is his life. This is who he is. And notice how he describes it all in verse 8: rubbish. Some translations say, “garbage,” “filth,” and “dung.” The NET says this word was often used as a vulgar term for fecal matter and that there was probably some shock valve in Paul's use of this word. He wants everyone to understand: anything that stands between me and knowing Jesus, being declared righteous by faith in him, being transformed, sharing in his sufferings, and attaining the resurrection frown the dead is garbage, filth, rubbish, fecal matter to me. He will do anything and lose anything to know Jesus and gain the prize. He has a fear of missing out on knowing Jesus. Knowing him and being faithful to him —  is the only way he will ever stand right with God, be formed into a righteous person, and gain the resurrection on the final day. Having the right parents can’t do that. Being part of the right nation can’t do that. Becoming a religious leader can’t do that. Relying on my ability to keep the law can’t even do that, because I just don’t fulfill it as I ought. So, what does he do? Not only does he treat every human benefit or quality he has as fecal matter, notice verses 12-16.

Forget the Past, Strain Forward (3:12-16)

One of the most annoying things to see in football is when a guy thinks he has everyone beat, so he starts a celebratory slow trot to the endzone. It's my favorite when someone actually catches up with him and unexpectedly takes him out before he gets there.

The apostle Paul, who so many are intimidated by because of his intense devotion never says, “I have been perfected,” or “I have the prize in the bag.” He doesn't slow trot. For Paul, his past had both terrible evils and great righteousness. It had wonderful joys. But he forgot it all so he could strain ahead. He was full of confident hope in Jesus, but never satisfied with himself as if he had attained righteousness and the resurrection before the race was over.

What Should You Do About This? (3:17-4:1)

1. Imitate Paul and others like him (3:17).

As Paul listed all the things he could take confidence in, we must recognize that at one point in his life these would have been valuable to him and devastating to lose. And yet he looked at this life and treated it as something worthy of losing, as “rubbish,” “fecal matter,” because Jesus was worth more to him, and he feared missing out on knowing him.

What do we fear missing out on? Let's get real, honest. Paul wrote this to the Philippians for a reason — they needed to learn this. When Jesus comes to us and asks for more of us — what do we fear we will lose? What do we fear we will miss out on?

There is so much to miss out on, isn't there? One of the subtle, insidious dangers of not just having wealth but living in a culture of wealth, liberty, and opportunity is we are surrounded by a mindset of endless possibilities. And everything we want is just within reach. We see the lives, experiences, families, friends, and experiences of others and we know that if we just work hard enough, great things, experiences, possessions, accomplishments can be ours. That's the American Dream, right? The pursuit of happiness. And so we can fear missing out on whatever the world defines is the good life — we can fear not having enough resources to meet my desires and accumulate happy experiences.

The problem is that my fear of missing out quickly becomes my master, my treasure, while I count Jesus Christ as rubbish. Try serving two masters? We begin to despise the good one. And yet, Paul says knowing Christ has surpassing worth. If we want to be motivated to serve just one master, we need to be able to see he is worth so much more.

So, let’s remember the surpassing worth of this Jesus. Though he was in the form of God, did not count his equality with God as worth holding onto because he feared not getting to have you. So, this Jesus emptied himself, took on the form of a servant, and was humbly executed on a cross because he wants you. He did it so you could have life. He did it so you could see what real living looks like. He did it so we could see how much he loves us. The infinite God became bankrupt to tear our eyes off of everything we fear losing. Everything we fear losing is nothing! — it will be dust in a few moments. He lost everything to gain everyone who would lose everything that is really nothing to have him. He emptied himself to fill us up with all things that last, not to take away any thing that will matter.

What stands in the way of us and knowing and seeing the surpassing worth of Jesus? What do we - like Paul - need to count as garbage? A dream? A person? A goal? A possession? A sin, a habit? Nothing is too small.

Let’s not only imitate Paul’s counting of every distracting thing as trash, but let’s also imitate his humble endurance. Let’s not slow trot or think we have already gained the prize. We can have confidence in salvation by grace through faith without being so foolish as to declare to ourselves "Well done, good and faithful servant" before the time.” What you and I did a day, year, or decade ago is in the past — whether good or evil — is in the past. Your righteous feats are in the past. Your sin is in the past. What matters is clinging to Jesus today, straining forward to know him, be more like him. Those who are mature, Paul says, think this way.

2. Recognize enemies of the cross for who they are (3:18-19).

When I think of enemies of the cross, I think of persecutors who ridicule Christians and policymakers who work against us. And, they are. But Paul tells us with tears about enemies who are far more subtle and pervasive than this. “Their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things.”

What is the cross? It is the place where the king of glory emptied himself to gain everything. The cross symbolizes this way of life where we empty ourselves with him for God and his people to gain everything in turn.  Who are the enemies of the cross? Again, Paul says, “Their god is their belly, they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things.” Enemies of the cross are those who refuse to accept emptiness to be full. They are those who buy a dozen donuts and eat them all. They stuff their cart on Black Friday with every item they want because they can. They yell at customer-service agents because their stuff arrived two days late. They feed their sexual appetite with whatever they can get their eyes. They can’t stop thinking about more square-footage and about better stuff to fill it with. They obsess over every ice-cream experience because their belly, their appetite can’t miss out on what’s good. All things are not gained by the path of the cross, they are gained with a fork in one hand and a credit card in the other. And not only that, enemies of the cross glory in, boast, brag about these choices.

Do we boast about worship of the belly and of earthly things? Or do we boast in Jesus’ self-giving love, and seek to lose everything with him for the sake of the kingdom — that kingdom in which we will find all things? We must identify the life that is at odds with the cross — life that is contrary to Jesus’ sacrificial love — so we don’t become enemies of the cross ourselves.

3. Be steadfast because of your citizenship and the hope it carries (3:20-4:1).

The Philippians had a tremendous privilege: Philippi was considered a colony of Rome and its people were considered Roman citizens. Philippi was called “Little Rome” in the past. It wasn’t Rome. They didn’t come from Rome, and they would never live in Rome. And yet they were an outpost of Roman culture. And they knew that if any enemy came against them, they would be protected with the full force of Roman authority.

Paul tells these Christians to make a clear distinction: they are not enemies of the cross whose end is destruction, they are citizens of Heaven whose future is transformation into the likeness of Jesus’ glorious body. Like the Philippians, we do not live in heaven, but that is where our citizenship is. That means we are a colony representing the authority and culture of heaven right here in the greater Phoenix area. And we must be steadfast because if our citizenship is in heaven, we have absolute confidence that salvation will come for us from from headquarters in heaven.

Our bodies and the bodies of those we love will decay, but that should not make us afraid. Not because we don’t need our bodies. No, hold on to them, because Paul says Jesus is going to come from heaven and transform these lowly bodies to be like his glorious, permanent, heavenly body. On that day, we will have the opportunity to hear, “Well done good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your master.” Brothers and sisters, that day is everything. And it’s worth losing everything to have it.

There is so much glamor and glitz that distracts us. There is a lot to fear missing out on. What a shame if that FOMO would take our eyes off of Jesus so that we miss out on the only day that matters. Let us not think we have yet gained the prize, let us press on to know the Lord: in him and the way of the cross, all will be found. If you miss Jesus, you just missed everything there is.

Series: Daniel (Faith among Babylonians)

Service: Sun AM (1)

Type: Sermon

Speaker: Scott Kercheville

• Babel. They used their brick technology to build a city and a tower with its top in the heavens so they wouldn’t be scattered and so they could make a name for themselves. God scattered them, but the Babel/Babylon of Daniel’s day is a retry at that same project.

• Nebuchadnezzar. It’s around 604 BC, Nebuchadnezzar is in his second year as king, and — on paper — nothing could be better for him. He’s the man on top of the most powerful empire on earth. He is successfully squashing out other kingdoms, taking their gold, their silver, and their brightest and best-looking youths to serve him. This is the man everyone wants to be. Except, you don’t actually want to be him. Young people, this is the one thing we come to realize with time: the rich, famous, powerful, and influential (influencers) have problems too. Among other challenges, there are two major paranoia problems.
  • First, there’s the paranoid question: does anyone actually like me? love me? How can I earn and maintain goodwill with everyone?
  • Second, there’s the paranoia that everyone else wants what you have. Nebuchadnezzar has been taking down other nations — they don’t want to stay down.
  • So, like a watchman on the city wall, Nebuchadnezzar has to keep his head swiveling around every which way, moving his chess pieces just right to make sure he keeps what he has. So, how well do you think this newly crowned king of Babylon was sleeping at night?

• Notice 2:1-3. Sleep is fleeing from him. When he sleeps, it seems he’s having the same nightmare over and over again: we discover later it is a nightmare of a great image of a man that’s getting smashed to bits by a stone from heaven (and likely, he realizes it represents him in some way). While he is on top of the world with everything he could ever want, Nebuchadnezzar is literally having nightmares about what’s next, who’s next, and whether he’ll be able to hold onto his power forever or not.

• And he is very troubled. So, what does he do? He has worked very hard to surround himself with the most educated and wise people this world and Babylon has to offer — the magicians, enchanters, sorcerers, and Chaldeans. So, he calls for an urgent board meeting of everyone who knows anything. These are the world-famous Harvard, Princeton, MIT elites combined with the best fortune-tellers that Sedona has to offer. This is the sort of moment he has kept them on staff for, this is why he’s been funding their living and their research grants: tell me, he says, what was my dream?

• And Nebuchadnezzar’s elite cabinet replied, “You first, Nebuchadnezzar! You tell us the dream, then we’ll give you the interpretation.” But Nebuchadnezzar replies, “How about this: tell me what my dream was and its interpretation and if you do I’ll give you riches and honor, and if you don’t I’ll rip the arms and legs off of every last one of you.” So, the Chaldeans stalled: King, if you’ll just tell us your dream, then we’ll tell you what it means!” What they are saying in essence is this: that’s not how it works in all their textbooks and divination trainings: the king is supposed to tell them his dream so they can make up its meaning and keep their jobs.

• But Nebuchadnezzar is shrewd: “I know you have all agreed to lie to me and make up an interpretation if I tell you the dream,” he says, “so if you tell me the dream, only then can I know that you actually know the meaning.” So the Chaldeans confess: “King, nobody can do what you are asking. Kings have never asked Chaldeans and magicians stuff like this. Only the gods can show the king what he wants to see, and the gods don’t dwell with mankind.”
• And that was the straw that sent to Nebuchadnezzar’s explosion of murderous rage. Why has he gone through all this trouble to surround himself with the best and brightest if they have no answer in a moment of profound mystery like this? So, he ordered that every single wise man in Babylon be killed. Imagine, this just in: the President of the U.S. has just decided to execute his entire cabinet and all his advisors.

• Nebuchadnezzar has very intentionally built everything he has — and so ddi his father — with no regard for the God of heaven in Jerusalem — the God whose temple he robbed. He believes he has laid the foundation stones of his life, he has made himself glorious and powerful, and he believes he’s the only one who can hold it all together.

• We may think his murderous rage simply because he doesn’t have the intel he wants is over the top, but when was the last time we panicked, became anxious, or became angry when our Babel-like control over the world fractured for a moment? the internet or electricity went out? our phones stopped working? Google and ChatGPT couldn’t give us the answers we wanted? Brothers and sisters, this is the foolishness of desiring to be in control of everything. And we shouldn’t kid ourselves, whether we are young or old, rich or poor, this desire to be in control of our lives, our destiny, the world around us has rested in every single one of our bones ever since Eve reached for the fruit to become like God. Take care: this is what the absurd growth of modern wealth, technology (whether convenience, medical, information, or otherwise), and A.I. is all about: control.
  • One great danger behind A.I., wealth, modern technology, and many forms of education: the worldly assumption behind all of them is that we have the power to make our world from the bottom up as we see fit in our own image, all the way down to the finest details.
  • This is the foolishness of building a life with ourselves, our plans, our desires, our version of reality and right or wrong at the center and foundation of our lives.
  • (By the way, fathers and mothers: there is a very fine line between attentively shaping our children in God’s image and seeking to control them. The path of control leads to constant frustration for a reason.)
  • Though Job’s friends should not be often quoted, Paul quotes Eliphaz’s wisdom from Job 15:20-25, which does capture well what this obsession with power, wealth, and control results in. We will not rest on our beds, we’ll hear sounds in our ears, we’ll know we can’t and don’t hold everything all together. We’ll fear that our lives — which consist of human power — will crumble, and that the other show will drop. We just don’t know when. Obsession with control and power leads to fear and paranoia. The foolish man builds his house on the sand and thus has no peace in his heart because he knows: floods are coming.

• But Daniel, he’s still in Babylon University, at this point, only in the second year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, and he hears the king is ready to kill them all, burn the whole wise man project/school to the ground — so he asks Arioch what’s going on. Arioch tells him. And at this point, Daniel’s childlike faith (not power or paranoia) changes the entire trajectory of the story, of his life, of his friends lives, and of the empire. Read Daniel 2:17-24 with me.

• So often, I have fled from this scene to the second half of the story when Daniel interprets the dream, but none of that would have happened without what Daniel does here. And Daniel’s faith is a perfect contrast to Nebuchadnezzar’s mania. The dream would have never been interpreted — there would be no book of Daniel to even read beyond chapter 1 — if Daniel wouldn’t have paused amidst the pandemonium, gathered his friends, kneeled on the ground, and prayed.

• What would be different in our lives, families, church, and world if we would seek the Lord in prayer with our brothers and sisters? I ache to think about what I never brought to the Lord. What obstacles would be cleared? What wisdom would be given? What situations would be turned? “Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him.” (1 John 3:21-22 ESV) Just imagine walking into life with the confidence of John and of Daniel that we are walking in a way that pleases God and able to ask whatever we need to of him and to watch him answer. Certainly, this does not give us Babel like control of the world. That’s what Nebuchadnezzar was seeking and it led to anxiety, mania, and eventually a total loss of control. But it does place all our situations under God’s control for him to act in his own love, wisdom, and power.

• And do you see the psychological contrast? Nebuchadnezzar saw the kingdom of God in his sleep and it terrified him. Daniel saw the kingdom of God in his sleep, and that pleasant dream woke him up praising Yahweh. This is what Paul talks about! “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”(Philippians 4:6-7 NLT)

• And so, as we consider building our lives, our families, our homes, and this church, let us also receive the warning and counsel of Psalm 127:1-2. “Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. It is vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil, for he gives to his beloved sleep.”

Series: N/A

Service: Sun AM (2)

Type: Sermon

Speaker: Scott Kercheville

• Proverbs 27:4, “Wrath is cruel, anger is overwhelming, but who can stand before jealousy?”
  • Do you remember what it was like the last time you dealt with an angry person? What were they like? Were they red hot?
  • Solomon’s wisdom: if you think anger is tough to endure, try standing before jealousy.
• Jealousy is tough to understand and work through: it is a sin of man, and yet it is a positive and praiseworthy attribute of God. Here’s how we’ll structure our lesson:
  • God’s jealousy (this will help us appreciate holy jealousy)
  • Our jealousy
  • Help to overcome jealousy
  • Aiming for holy jealousy

1. God’s Jealousy

• Exodus 34:13-16. God’s instructions: destroy all images because I am a jealous God. In fact, I am so jealous, you can just call me “Jealous.” The essence of jealousy is seen here: it is a refusal to tolerate rivals.
• Is this this okay for God to be like this? Notice Isaiah 45:20-23. There is no other God like him, none else can save, he alone is due glory — would it be right for another god to receive glory? No! It’s simply not right.
• Furthermore, consider, he is jealous for our allegiance, he refuses to tolerate rivals - because he knows if he is  tolerant like everyone else, we will seek out other gods, other hope, and loves outside of him and we will fall and fail and harm ourselves if we do this.
  • Yahweh’s jealousy is a refusal to give us up.
  • Isn’t our God so amazing to be so fiercely protective of his glory? He will not allow us to give credit to another, or to see him as a sort of good God, or even as pretty good. If he were not jealous, he would be robbed of the glory due him, and our eyes would wander to our own detriment.

2. Human Jealousy

• 1 Corinthians 13:4, “Love does not envy…”
• Our jealousy is also an intolerance of rivals - which is a subset of envy. It’s not simply envy - wanting what someone else has. Jealousy is when we want what someone else has because we see ourselves in competition with them.
• Jealousy in the family. Genesis 37:11 is one example. Jacob loved Joseph and he showed preferential treatment. Then Joseph was given a dream from God to the effect that Joseph would rule over his brothers. The text says they were jealous and could not speak peaceably with him. (By the way, I doubt they ever said they were jealous. Few people ever say they are. Normally, we will complain about unfairness or a lack of equality in treatment. I respect those who have the beautiful humility to be honest: I’m struggling with jealousy right now. That sort of person can get free of it.).
  • Do kids ever get jealous about inequality from parents?
  • Parents or grandparents ever get jealous when their kids helped by other friends or family members? (can be a big problem with in-law relationships)
  • Parents ever get jealous of another parent’s children having successes their kid doesn’t have?

• Spiritual family/spiritual gifts.
  • EX: Saul’s jealousy for David’s success and honor in 1 Samuel.
  • EX: Jewish leaders jealousy for Jesus’ popularity among the people.
  • Possible sources of jealousy in the church…
    • There can be rivalry for positions in leadership
    • Rivalry to serve in public worship
    • Rivalry for honor
    • Rivalry for being needed
    • Rivalry for friendships
  • EX: Numbers 16 — Korah’s rebellion. *Highlight this example*
    • 16:3 — Moses has taken what we all deserve.
    • 16:8-11 — reveals the real problem with jealousy.
      • We are thinking we are unhappy with someone else, but we are actually unhappy with God and with him for where he in his sovereignty has put us.
      • We aren’t seeing what God has given us. We aren’t thankful. The sons of Levi had been given so much!
      • This is why jealousy is so hard to stand before. We are dealing with both a God-complex (I am the only) AND a thankfulness issue (it’s not about others for their good; it’s all about me… but we will never say this).
  • This jealousy among a spiritual family can destroy so much. Saul lost so much by not rejoicing in David’s success and honor before the people. The Jewish leaders lost even more when they didn’t rejoice in Jesus’ increase and Jesus’ time. Just think of all we can do together when we don’t try to beat each other and when we learn to simply rejoice in other’s successes?

Help to Overcome Jealousy (Psalm 37)

• Ask ourselves some questions.
  • Are we insecure for some reason? Sometimes there’s some unresolved trauma or hurt from the past. But that can lead to these feelings of insecurity and loss… and instead of resolving that trauma, we turn to selfish patterns of thinking. We compare what we have or get, with others. Meanwhile, others are often confused — there was no intended competition or rivalry. But jealousy is insatiable, and we demand equality and fairness.
  • Is our jealousy really righteous? Is it just? Is it in other’s best interest? Hardly. If we are honest, our jealousy has nothing to do with what is truly best for others, it’s about us and what we want. If we think we are what is best for someone, maybe we have a pride problem. Maybe we have a God-complex. “I can help and I can love - me and me alone. I am the only one you need.”
• Notice Psalm 37:1-4. There is a difference between envy and jealousy, but there is a relationship and this scripture can help. Envy and jealousy are often times insatiable because we aren’t first learning to delight ourselves in the Lord. So not only are we not seeking him for what we need, we will also feel a hole in our hearts… and no one else’s stuff or love will ever satiate us.
• Romans 12:15, “Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep.”
  • Vital to cultivate a heart that genuinely rejoices when others have cause to rejoice.
  • If we don’t? Story of family friends who lost friends when they had success. The pain jealousy caused them was so hurtful… imagine if someone who has less than you being jealous of the love, attention, the family, the position, the wealth you have, imagine how hard it would be to sleep at night and thank God for what you have.

Aiming for Holy Jealousy

The Bible speaks of two kinds of jealousy we should have. Instead of having a sinful jealousy, pursuing these kinds us of jealousy can put this desire in its place.

1. Marital jealousy (cf. Numbers 5). In marriage, God has given us exclusive rights to each other in romance and sexuality. Actually, if we aren’t jealous for each other’s romantic and sexual attention, there’s a big problem. 1 Corinthians 7 teaches us that, in marriage, we must pursue and receive one another sexually. And we should do that exclusively among each other (cf. Proverbs). Though, let’s recognize that a constant, undeserved insecurity about your spouse’s affections is not healthy, not trying to legitimate narcissism.

1. Divine jealousy for God’s glory.

1. • Read Numbers 25:10-13 after recounting 25:1-9 briefly. God praised and rewarded Phinehas because he tolerated no rivals to God. Phinehas hated that this man was with a woman who worshipped idols. He hated that they were casually in their sin among the congregation near God. His jealousy for God was righteous and admirable.
   • 2 Corinthians 11:2-3 demonstrates that this sort of jealousy was still relevant. It appears some of the Corinthians didn’t like Paul as an apostles and preacher anymore, and the scary thing 2 Corinthians reveals is that they didn’t like him because he was too much like Jesus. So Paul says he is jealous for them — not that he is concerned about whether they like him or not — but he is jealous because their rejection of his life and message is a rejection of the Lord Jesus.
   • Do you want to be jealous for something? Be jealous for God’s glory. Our world is all about tolerance. Complacency. Tolerance is seen as something to aim for. It is considered praise-worthy. Nothing could make God more furious. A lack of divine jealousy is a lack of love for people and for God’s kingdom. May we not be complacent about wickedness in the church or complacent about people honoring themselves or another god.
   • If you are not a child of God or if you have strayed, our God is not complacent about that. He is willing to do the unpopular thing and pursue your love, faith, and allegiance for his glory and your good.

Series: Daniel (Faith among Babylonians)

Service: Sun AM (1)

Type: Sermon

Speaker: Scott Kercheville

Babylon was in the business of conquering nations, hand-selecting the brightest and the best-looking, and giving them a free ride to Babylon University so they could rewrite their worldview and identity from the ground up. The young men Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were in this group. And Nebuchadnezzar wanted to make sure they knew that Babylon’s literature, language, science, politics, and religion. Everything they learned was contained with in a Babylonian story that centered on Babylon’s triumph for Babylon’s glory.

But how did Daniel and his friends respond to this situation? And how did God help them?

1. They resolved to not defile themselves without being jerks (1:8-13)

Daniel and his friends were put through a lot. They were ripped form their homeland and families, they were given new names that praised Babylonian gods, and they received an education they could not agree with. As Isaiah prophesied, they were even made eunuchs — the person in charge of them was called the “chief of the eunuchs” (cf. Isa. 39:7). And yet, we don’t read of them openly rebelling against any of this.

But, when the king assigned them a daily portion of food and wine from his table, Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with it. Maybe the meat was unclean. Maybe it had been offered to Babylonian gods (though, the vegetables may have been too). Most likely, he was establishing a social distance between himself and the king. Whatever the reason, it would have defiled him, and he resolved not to allow that. We could put it like this: he didn’t eat the pride cake at the office party, he didn’t publicly signal that he agreed with a speech or policy that Christians shouldn’t support, he didn’t watch the immoral videos or listen to the sensuous music everyone was listening to. He resolved to not defile himself with what everyone else was eating.

It is no small thing to turn down the king’s food. This is the best food in the land. To refuse the king’s diet can easily be perceived as insulting the king. Consider the strength this requires. Everyone else is eating. Mom and Dad aren’t there. “Why go through the trouble? After all, it’s what’s in your heart that matters. I don’t want them to put me in this box and think food is the only thing that I or God care about. In my heart I’m loyal to God. Besides, how can I be a light if I appear to be so unreasonable?” And yet, no excuse: he resolved and he spoke with the chief of eunuchs.

But notice that we don’t get any sense that Daniel was arrogant or rude. He did not declare that “this isn’t fair” or that he has rights. If it was about his rights, he would have refused becoming a eunuch, not the food.

And so, Daniel asks for vegetables and water. But the chief doesn’t want to lose his head, so he declines. But, notice, Daniel doesn’t stop. “Well, I tried to do the right thing once — it didn’t work. God will understand.” He persists and talks to the steward next. And note Daniel’s reasonableness — “just test us for ten days and you can observe us and decide what you see is best.” This doesn’t have to become a big deal unless the Babylonians make it a big deal. Daniel kindly, peacefully, persistently resolved to do what was right, and he did it without being a jerk.

There will be times in university, school, school-trips, work, work-trips and more where we have to resolve to not defile ourselves. They will invite us to social functions and bars where we shouldn’t be. They may hand us a drink that we believe it wise to turn down. We’ll be invited to movies we have no business seeing. They’ll wear clothes we shouldn’t wear. They’ll spend money in ways we should not keep up with. Furthermore, young people, as you look for jobs, there are jobs that will try to take over your life. Some will not allow you to be here on Sundays and Wednesdays. And if God blesses you with a family, know that some will make it very difficult to be the parent and spouse God calls you to be. Before we ever get to those moments, we must resolve that we will love the Lord with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. We must resolve to not compromise, to not defile ourselves. And know this: you can do that kindly and quietly. You don’t need to make a big stink about it.

And making these resolutions will carry risks. Some will think we are weird (which, we are). We may not advance in school or in the company. We may not be asked about that big decision. We may be passed over for the promotion. They don’t always care what you know, sometimes it’s who you know and whether you were part of that conversation over drinks at the bar. Sometimes it depends on whether you went along with that unethical decision.

But, in this situation, notice how God gave them what they needed to thrive.

2. Against all odds, God gave them favor and good appearance (1:9, 14-16)

They live in the cruel Babylonian empire, yet the God leads the chief and the steward are to show compassion to Daniel. We aren’t guaranteed this — Jews would later die at the hands of Antiochus Epiphanes IV over kosher laws. We are called to be faithful no matter what, but we may just find God gives favor in compassion in the sight of those over us. This is what I was blessed to experience when I worked at restaurants in high school and college. I was determined to be at Bible class and worship on Sundays and Wednesdays — which is no easy thing in the restaurant business. They pushed back, but I kindly insisted. “I will work any time. Call me in and I’ll have your back. I’ll work hard. But not at those times.” I had to keep reminding them of my limits from time to time, but God gave me favor in their eyes.

Based on depictions of wisemen at that time, we know that Babylonians liked their wisemen to be on the chubby side. Don’t underestimate the importance of the right look in Babylon. Daniel and his friends likely needed to be chubby, yet they were going to eat vegetables and drink water?! Yet, verse 15: God causes them to somehow be both better in appearance and fatter in flesh than everyone else who was stuffing themselves with the king’s food and wine!

Faithfulness to God may seem like career suicide. “You’d better be willing to fudge the numbers for this boss, sign that paper and stop asking questions, lie a little here or there, eat and drink what’s put before you — or you don’t know what might happen.” And it would be an honor to suffer for the Lord’s name. And yet, when we give him room to work, you may be surprised at what he does. He may glorify his name through our faithfulness in career suicide or by causing us to thrive in unlikely situations.

3. God helped them excel without being co-opted by Babylon (1:17-21)

We don’t know what happened in the classroom. I imagine there were points where they took opportunities to respectfully offer different perspectives. However, I doubt they bucked and protested at every turn. They went to school and God gave them learning and skill and wisdom in very pagan Babylonian literature and learning. In fact, the king found that no one had the wisdom or understanding that these four youths had.

There’s a time to speak up and there’s a time to sit down, take notes, and quietly disagree They could have slouched and sighed and said this was all dumb. But they worked hard and learned and God made them excel. Col. 3:23–24 ESV, “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.”

While you’re in school, work hard. Use your mind and body for God’s glory. Learn about the world God has made. Learn a language. Enthusiastically read the literature. Receive from those who have more training than you. Gain wisdom! But remember: it may feel like it, but you aren’t learning unbiased facts. They choose the subject, the perspective that will be taken, and the questions — and all this limits the answers that can be given.

Daniel and his friends graduated suma cum laude at Babylon University, but they did not buy into their worldview for one second. If we remember that, God will give us opportunities to make the truth known as he did with these young men. Nebuchadnezzar was impressed with them beyond all the others. And, he thought his training made them into who they were, but he soon found out after some bad dreams that it was the Spirit of the living God in them. God used their hard work, success, and faithfulness to eventually bring pagan kings to their knees praising the true God as the King over all other kings.

Conclusion

Sometimes faithfulness leads us to thrive in Babylon, sometimes to die. But we must resolve to work hard and refuse to be co-opted and wait to see what God does. We could be imprisoned like Paul and embolden the brothers and sisters to speak more boldly of Christ as we testify to those in prison with us. Or God could put us at the top of the establishment to testify to kings and CEOs of his glory through the wisdom and power he gives us. The choice to thrive, be marginalized, or to die is not ours, but God’s (Heb. 11:32-28). Let’s trust him to do what he wills to do with our lives.

Series: N/A

Service: Sun AM (2)

Type: Sermon

Speaker: Scott Kercheville

• Due to their wickedness, Israel has been oppressed repeatedly for a couple hundred years. They cried for help and God sent a judge to rescue them. The judge would gather the tribes to battle against the enemy and dispense judgments.
• Now: Samuel has been a righteous judge and prophet to the people his whole life. Israel has enjoyed peace from their enemies. Life was good. But now, two problems.
  • Samuel is old, he appointed his sons as judges, and they are very corrupt.
  • We learn in chapter 11-12 that the Ammonites were a large threat to Israel.
• These problems haven’t gone away today.
  • We have a lot of light in our world, but for many segments of population there is a lot of darkness. At times we find all sorts of corruption in our leaders. Often, they are never charged, but we know it exists.
  • Enemy people/nations want to hurt us and take our people, possessions, land, and freedom.
• Where do we look when we see days like these? For action? Change? Rescue? Hope?
• 1 Samuel 8 shows us where Israel looked for national revitalization. It continues to be where people look today. Though idols weren’t involved, God compared it to idolatry. Lessons abound for us as we seek national change and global hope. Read 8:1-9.

Give Us a King (1 Samuel 8:1-9)

• The sons of Samuel are perverting justice, so they ask for a massive shift in government. Before, God appointed judges; now, they want a king.
• God had actually always spoken of a king in Israel’s past.
  • Genesis 49:10 — kingship would not depart from Judah’s family until the nations served him.
  • Numbers 24:17 — a king will rise out of Israel to crush Moab.
  • 1 Samuel 2:10 — Hannah declared that God would give strength to his king.
  • Deuteronomy 17:14-20 — God tells Israel that when they ask for a king like the nations have, they can have one. But, he must be a king that God chooses. Furthermore, God gives guidelines for that future king so he will fear God and not be a king like the kings of the nations.
• It is not that God is against government (they already have government - they have tribal leaders of 10’s, 100’s, 1000’s, and God has been appointing circuit judges for over 200 years). The key problem is their motive and reasoning behind wanting a king. We will consider this in a moment. Notice in 8:10-18 what this king will be like.

Your King Like the Nations Have (8:10-18)

• Here is the quick summary of what God says.
  • He’ll take your sons for fighting.
  • He’ll take your daughters as servants.
  • He’ll take 1/10 of your crops and flocks.
  • He’ll take your servants to be his servants.
  • You will be his slaves. You will cry out for help, but you chose him, so the Lord won’t help you. Basically: you deserve what you vote for.
• The injustice happening under Samuel’s sons was a problem. But this was clearly not the best solution. Their solution would create more problems. The king you want may not take secretly bribes, but he’ll openly take the best of what you have. And yet, notice the response of the people in 8:19-22.

The People Refused to Obey (8:19-22)

• Their response? NO! They refused to obey Samuel’s voice. God will give them what they want, but they are disobeying the voice of God’s prophet in this pursuit. They don’t care about the consequences. They will have what they want. Notice why they want a king in verse 20:
  • That we may be like all the nations.
  • To judge us.
  • To go out before us and fight our battles.

They Have Rejected Me from Being King over Them

If God was okay with bringing a king in the past, why was he unhappy with Israel now? We have said that Samuel gives us a typological picture of how God brings his kingdom into a dark world where there is no king and all do what is right in their own eyes. The chief danger for Israel and for us is that we will be satisfied with a false substitute for God as king - a lesser salvation.

1 Samuel 8:7-8 shows God’s problem with their plan. They have rejected God from being king over them. There are a variety of ways that their choice of a king is a rejection of God that will not materialize until we meet Saul. But there are two key reasons in this text that explain why this is a rejection of God as king.

1. This rejects God as king because their true desire is to be like all the nations.

• Leviticus 20:26, “You shall be holy to me, for I the Lord am holy and have separated you from the peoples that you should be mine.” Israel’s desire was the opposite of God’s covenant with them. God is holy and distinct. He wanted his people to be holy like him and to be his representatives to the nations.
• Israel’s desire is the exact opposite. We don’t want to trust you alone, we don’t want to be like you, we don’t want to represent you to the nations - we want to be like them. This was not an uncommon thing for Israel: it was the chief issue that led to their downfall. They always looked to what everyone else had and did. They didn’t like being different.
• Do we every struggle with that? It is high time that God’s people get used to being different from everyone else. You have probably experienced this too. I can’t tell you how many times I was made fun of in high school and college - at school, work, school clubs - for making decisions that centered my life on God. These decisions make us really different. We are citizens of and pledge allegiance to a different king and kingdom than the Americans around us.
• One chief danger for us is that we end up thinking about, talking about, and doing politics like every one else. We hear CNN and Fox News in the same way as everyone else. We vote the same as everyone else. We trust politicians like everyone else. We get really upset or really excited every 2 years like everyone else. Our chief interest ends up being in liberty and economics - not God’s standards and God’s justice - like everyone else.
• Let’s make no mistake: when we want to be like everyone else, when we do what everyone else does and talk like they do — we are rejecting God as our king.
• Think about this from a positive perspective. Israel didn’t realize how good they had it since they were different from the nations. No nation had a God so close to them as Israel. No nation could call out to heaven and receive a thunderous response. Good news: we are so much better off not being and living like everyone else. We don’t have to be like everyone else. But if we choose to be, we will lose our distinctiveness.

2. This rejects God as king because they had an idolatrous trust in human salvation.

• Previously, Israel had it so good: they cried to heaven for help and God sent them a judge to make execute justice and to lead them in battle. Other times - as in 1 Samuel 7 - God thundered from heaven and scattered their enemies.
• According to God, how will the king they want get stuff done in verses 10-18? He will have to take, take, take. Where do human rulers who don’t trust God find resources or power to do anything? Us! Unless they trust in the Lord, they have to take from us to get anything done at all. This IS God’s plan, but it is a poor substitute to trust them more than God!
• Psalms 146:3–4, “Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation. When his breath departs, he returns to the earth; on that very day his plans perish.”
• I don’t think it is terribly uncommon for Christians to trust human rulers and human salvation more than God as king. I want to prove that to you.
  • If I want this nation to go in the right direction, am I more likely to speak about a human candidate, or about the God who actually has the power?
  • Better yet, when I define what the right direction is for this country, do I talk more about the ideals of a party, the constitution, or of the true king?
• Why is this so tough for us? Probably because we prefer salvation that comes from a seen, tangible source. It seems more concrete. Israel probably felt really silly calling out to heaven while the Philistines surrounded them with swords. It is not that God does no rescue through humans, but trusting the unseen God to be the author of salvation provides far more concrete results.
• Let’s ask ourselves, who would we rather be king of the U.S.? God, or candidate 2020? God, or someone who keeps the ideals of a political party or the constitution? I recognize we cannot write Jesus on the ballot, but how we answer that question changes everything about our values, attitude, and hope.

How Should We Behave?

1. Respect and submit to human authorities, because God instituted them to execute justice (Romans 13:1, 6-7). “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God… For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.” And, vote for people who you believe will execute justice and honor God most.

1. Warn rulers and peoples to kiss the feet of the Son (Psalm 2:10-12). “Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.”

1. Pray for and give thanks for rulers (1 Timothy 2:1-4). “I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity. This is good and pleases God our Savior, who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth.” We don’t pray to the rulers, we pray to God that he would help them.

For now, remember who the Lord is. Jesus is Lord and we have all made that confession (cf. Romans 10:9). When we sing, “I will call upon the Lord who is worthy to be praised,” remember that we are not to call upon politicians for salvation. Though God has given them power, Caesar is not Lord, the President is not Lord - Jesus is Lord. That confession was the right one to make. When we trust in humans we are trusting someone whose plans die with them - or whose plans end after 4 years. They can only bring temporary solutions to permanent problems. Let us long for the day when all government and power rests on the shoulders of our King. In that day we will see no more darkness or corruption, but eternal light. Lord, come quickly.