Michiana Covenant Presbyterian Church

[Sung Psalm: 72] In Isaiah 60, we hear a promise that the coastlands shall hope for the LORD – and ships of Tarshish will come, bringing your children home – laden with gold and silver. We don't know the exact location of Tarshish – but many have suggested that it may refer to a trading port in Spain. In Romans 15, Paul speaks of his desire to go to Spain the preach the gospel there. He also speaks of how the Gentiles now share in the Jews' spiritual blessings, and so should be of service to help with the Jewish Christians' material needs. Both things are found in Isaiah 60. Isaiah 60 speaks of how the glory of the LORD will rise upon you – and how the wealth of the nations will come to Jerusalem – on ships of Tarshish, no less! And all this because the LORD has made you beautiful! When King Jesus sat down at the right hand of the Father, his people – his city – holy Zion – is beautified and built up by the glory of the nations...

This is a passage that has often been misread. Too many commentators and preachers have tried to psychologize Elijah. They think that Elijah is whining – and that God is rebuking Elijah for self-pity. Baloney. Elijah is not whining. He is complaining! If you would learn to complain well to God – then listen to Elijah! And further, where in this passage do you hear the slightest hint of rebuke? If you would learn to listen well to God – then you may also take comfort from the gentleness and kindness of Elijah's God!). Dale Ralph Davis says it well (268): "I would far rather fall into the hands of Elijah's God than into the clutches of his interpreters." After all, what do you do when God's purposes for history are going backward? God's purposes for history, after all, are centered around the establishment of his kingdom. Jesus himself said, "The gates of hell will not prevail against my church." So what do you do when the gates of hell prevail? That is the situation that Elijah is facing. I did what you told

In Luke 9 Moses and Elijah appear on the mountain with Jesus at his transfiguration. Moses is the obvious one. He was the one whom God used to bring Israel out of Egypt. But why Elijah? Why not Abraham or David or Isaiah? When you consider what Jesus came to do, it makes sense: Elijah is portrayed in Kings as a new Moses. He is the one who leads a new exodus out of idolatry. Just as Moses had triumphed over the gods of Egypt, so now Elijah triumphs over the gods of the Canaanites (in Israel). Moses had faced the magicians of Egypt single-handedly, as now Elijah faces the prophets of Baal (in Israel). In other words, when you think about who is the "prophet like Moses" that Deuteronomy had promised? The book of Kings makes a strong case that the answer is Elijah! And so when Moses and Elijah show up at the transfiguration, it is as if to say, yes, Elijah was – sort of – the prophet like Moses... but Jesus will take it to the next level as he faces down not merely the apostasy of the priests in the temple in Je

[Sung Psalm: 90] In Romans 15, Paul will refer to the "priestly service of the gospel of God, so that the offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable." Where would Paul have gotten the idea of offering people to God? Obviously, human sacrifice is condemned and forbidden by God! Well, Isaiah 66:19-21 speaks about how God will send survivors to the nations – those who "have not heard my fame or seen my glory. And they shall declare my glory among the nations. And they shall bring all your brothers from all the nations as an offering to the LORD...just as the Israelites bring their grain offering in a clean vessel to the house of the LORD. And some of them also I will take for priests and for Levites, says the LORD." Now, I realize that some commentators think that "all your brothers from all the nations" refer merely to Jewish exiles being returned home. I don't pretend to know what was in Isaiah's mind – but on the authority of the apostle Paul, I am willing to state that what was in God's mind when he inspired

Why is Elijah sent to a Sidonian widow? Well, remember what we saw last time? Ahab had married a Sidonian princess! Ahab "took for his wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians." The name of Baal – the Canaanite god – is all over verses 31-32 of chapter 16: "he took for his wife JezeBaal, the daughter of EthBaal king of the Sidonians, and went and served Baal and worshipped him. He erected an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he built in Samaria." Ahab has turned away from Yahweh and identified himself with Baal...

[Sung Psalm: 69] Last time we saw at the beginning of chapter 14 that the strong should welcome the one who is weak – but not to quarrel over opinions. The one who is weak (according to Paul) is the one who tends to be judgmental and legalistic – in Paul's day, this was the one who insists on following the details of the Mosaic system with respect to food laws and feasts/fasts. Paul repeatedly warns the weak, "Do not pass judgment on the one who eats." (v3) The weaker brother is one who is bound to the Mosaic food laws: and the strong should receive him – so long as the weaker brother is willing to avoid quarreling about the subject. (And this is why, in Galatians, where these "weaker brethren" are trying to force Gentiles to observe the Mosaic law, Paul will change his tone!) It is important to understand that when Paul says not to make your brother stumble, he is saying, do not make him do something contrary to his conscience (in things indifferent). If it is something truly indifferent, then it really does

Have you heard of the "year of the four emperors"? In AD 69, there were four different emperors who ruled in Rome. After Nero's suicide in AD 68, there were four men who reigned in the next few months: Galba (reigned for six months – assassinated in January), Otho (committed suicide after losing a key battle in April), Vitellius (killed by a mob in December), and Vespasian, who finally restored some semblance of order. This is pretty much the story of 1 Kings 16. After Baasha died, Elah reigned for "two years" (which could mean as little as two months, since it just means "parts of two years"). Elah was a drunken fool who preferred drinking parties to governing well, and so Zimri struck him down and reigned in his place. But Zimri only reigned for seven days – and then he committed suicide when he saw that Omri had the support of the people. But Omri only had support of half the people – and so Israel was divided for four years (between 27th and the 31st years of Asa, King of Judah)...

[Sung Psalm: 34] Paul has just said that we are not to live like the nations around us. The night is far gone; the day is at hand. We live in the hour between the resurrection of Jesus and the final resurrection of the dead. We cannot live in darkness – we cannot walk in the ways of darkness, in orgies, drunkenness, sexual immorality, sensuality, quarreling and jealousy. We are called to put on the armor of light – to "put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires." (13:14) There is no place in the Christian life for indulging the flesh. Paul is about to introduce the question of "adiaphora" – things indifferent – things about which Christians may disagree. But before this he has made it perfectly clear: there is no place in the Christian life for gratifying the desires of the flesh. We have freedom in Christ, but do not use your freedom for selfish reasons...

Is God enough for you? One phrase that we have often heard in the book of Kings is that "his heart was wholly true to the LORD" (15:14) Or – in contrast – "his heart was not wholly true to the LORD" (15:4) The word "shalem" has the same root as "shalom" (peace) and it means "complete, full, perfect." "His heart was complete in the LORD" It was used of Solomon – both positively in 1 Kings 8:61, and negatively after he was drawn away by his foreign wives in 1 Kings 11:4. We will only hear it used one more time: of Hezekiah, who walked before the LORD with a heart that was wholly true to the LORD (2 Kings 20:3) Is your heart wholly true to the LORD? Does your heart rest complete and content in him? Our problem is that we are too much like our fathers...

[Sung Psalm: 80] Last time we saw that the politics of the kingdom of God demands that we submit to earthly rulers, even as we seek first the kingdom of God. And in verse 7, Paul concluded his exhortation regarding this submission by saying, "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." But now he follows that up with "owe no one anything"? What does this mean? Let's look at this in context: He has just said that if you owe taxes, pay your taxes. If you owe honor, then show honor. And to be clear – with honor (as with taxes) you do not get to decide what is owed! When your tax bill comes, that's what you owe (unless you can persuade them to reduce the bill, and such an appeal is part of the process that the government has established – so when you appeal your taxes, you are still honoring your rulers). So if Paul says to owe no one anything – why does he say to pay what is owed?! The answer is pre

Solomon's sin was that he was led astray by his foreign wives – nd aso he worshiped foreign gods. The result was that his son, Rehoboam, lost the kingdom to the upstart, Jeroboam. God promised Jeroboam that if Jeroboam was like David and was faithful to Yahweh, then God would establish Jeroboam's house. But instead, Jeroboam refuses to allow his people to worship in Jerusalem, and he builds golden calf shrines at Bethel and Dan. If Jeroboam had trusted God, he would have allowed his people to worship God the way that God said! In other words, Jeroboam is trying to worship God in ways "he devised from his own heart." God warns us against worshiping him in any way other than that which he himself has commanded...

[Sung Psalm: 2] Francis Schaeffer warned that Christians should not become identified with a particular nation or political party. Christians can be co-belligerents with those who share our views on a particular issue. We can work together with anyone – in any party – who will do what it right before God. But our allegiance is not to a political party – or even to the United States of America. Our allegiance is given to King Jesus. If anyone tries to tell you that Christianity is not political, they are mistaken: Christianity is political, but the politics of the Kingdom of Christ cannot be easily squished into the political categories of modern American politics. After all, in politics (as much as any area of life) you must not be "conformed to this age", but you must be "transformed by the renewal of your mind." (Romans 12:2) And Romans 13 tells us what this looks like, because while we serve the King of kings and the Lord of lords, we are called to submit to earthly authority – just like he did...

[Sung Psalm: 94] Our ordinary Christian life is lived in union with Christ. Our everyday, normal existence is normed by life in the Spirit. And that means that you don't need to "make up" for failures in the ordinary through doing something extraordinary – but simply through repentance. And what is repentance? I like the Shorter Catechism's answer: "repentance unto life is a saving grace, whereby a sinner, out of a true sense of his sin, and apprehension of the mercy of God in Christ, does, with grief and hatred of his sin, turn from it, unto God, with full purpose of, and endeavor after, new obedience." Repentance includes a clear recognition of how you have fallen short – as well as grasping hold of what God has done in Jesus to deliver us from sin! And when you clearly see your sin – and God's grace and mercy in Jesus – then you hate your sin for what it is – and turn away from sin, and turn towards God! Learning to live an ordinary life the way God calls you to live! And that ordinary life is a life of

In chapter 11, we heard how Solomon's life had ended poorly. The wages of sin is death – not only the death of Solomon himself, but also the dismemberment of the Kingdom. The golden age of Israel's history – the new Eden that Solomon built – ends the same way that the first one did. And Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the LORD. When his heart was set on the LORD, he built a house for the name of the LORD. Now that his heart is set on foreign women, he builds houses for the names of their gods. God had warned him! But still he did precisely the thing that God had told him not to do! Sounds like Adam, doesn't it? God gives a very specific command – if you do this one thing, you will die–your kingdom will be taken from you. And so what is the one thing that Solomon makes sure that he does?! God had brought everything to fulfillment in the days of Solomon. All that God had promised to Abraham and Moses had come true. But the Second Adam–the one who restored paradise – did not persevere to the end. This

[Sung Psalm: 131] How often have you heard people object that "Christians are hypocrites"? How do you answer someone who says that? I think the best answer is to confess that too often it is, in fact, true. And not just in "churches out there" – but right here. How often have we thought about "what do I get out of it?" As we go through these verses, we need to confess that we have fallen short of what our Lord Jesus Christ has called us to do and to be! Paul had said in Romans 11 that we Gentiles should not get cocky, but we should remember that if God cut off the natural branches to graft us in, he can just as easily cut us off, if we rebel like they did...

In chapter 3, verse 1, we are told that Solomon made a marriage alliance with Pharaoh. But we are assured two verses later that Solomon loved the LORD. So at the beginning of his reign, Solomon married Pharaoh's daughter while remaining true to the LORD. But now – we are told that Solomon "loved many foreign women, along with the daughter of Pharaoh." In other words, if he had only loved one – that could have meant the salvation of Egypt! But Solomon turned aside from the path of faithfulness. He forgot the LORD and clung to foreign women instead. In Hebrew, the "heart" includes both the intellectual and the emotional. This is the part of you that makes decisions, and thinks things through. And five times in verses 2-4, we hear about the heart: "You shall not enter into marriage with them, neither shall they with you, for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods." (v2) "His wives turned away his heart" (v3) "his wives tuned away his heart after other gods" (v4) "and his heart was not wholly true

[Sung Psalm: 51] In Romans 12 Paul launches a new section of Romans. He will now talk about the "practical" side of the Christian life. He has spent the last 11 chapters talking about the importance of Christian doctrine – the importance of the good news of what Jesus has done. We should remember that "doctrine" simply means "teaching." Doctrine is the foundation for practice. "Teaching" is the starting point for "doing." Doctrine results in practice. It always does. Whatever you really believe is what you will act upon! So if you want to know what you really believe – take a look at your life! How you live tells the world what you believe! How do you live? Does your whole life revolve around your family? Do you focus your energy simply on enjoying life now – whatever the cost? What do your priorities say about what you really believe?

1 Kings tells the story of Solomon as a story of wisdom. The whole Solomon narrative revolves around the gift of wisdom and Solomon's use of that gift, centered around the building of the temple – and indeed, with the worship service of chapter 8 at the very heart of the narrative. Our passage tonight returns us to the general theme of Solomon's wisdom, which we saw exhibited in chapters 3-5. In 4:29 it started with the nations and moved to Hiram. Here it moves backward, starting with Hiram and ending with the nations coming to Solomon...

[Sung Psalm: 80] The basic picture in Romans 11 is that of a cultivated olive tree. The olive tree refers to Israel – you might say that it has an Abrahamic root! Exile and judgment is described by the prophets as a "chopping down" of the tree. When God sends his people into exile, he sends his agents to cut down the tree – but trees are resilient – and you never know what will grow back. I grew up in a Coastal Redwood forest. There was an old stump by our front walk that had been cut down years before the house was built. But it kept putting out suckers – and so my dad had me and my brother cut it back every year. When my parents sold the house in 1985, the new owner decided to stop fighting. Less than 40 years later, there is a massive 100 foot tree eating up the front walk! So the fact that a tree is felled does not mean that the tree is gone forever! Isaiah spoke of a shoot that would come forth from the stump of Jesse. because all the promises to Israel have their focus on the house of David – and, as Pa

[Sung Psalm: 69] At the beginning of this series on Romans we looked at Paul's mission: "to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations." In other words, Paul's mission is to make disciples of the nations. And his letter to the Romans is all about that mission. Paul wants you to understand your place in the kingdom of God. He wants to you understand what God is doing in history – and how you fit into what God is doing. What is God doing? The Bible is not an instruction manual. If you approach it that way, you will find vast swathes of the Bible that would appear useless. What do you do with the hundreds of chapters of OT history and prophecy that has no obvious "application" to my life. Rather, the Bible tells a story. The Bible contains the narrative of what God is doing in history. You and I are not the main characters in this narrative. The story of the Bible is not all about me. The story of the Bible is all about Jesus. And because it is all about Jesus, it does spea