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Naked and Ashamed (Survey of Isaiah #30) (CC Troy)

Lindsey Gardner on

SERMON TEXT: ISAIAH 20&21

20:1 In the year that Tartan came unto Ashdod, (when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him,) and fought against Ashdod, and took it;

2 At the same time spake the Lord by Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, Go and loose the sackcloth from off thy loins, and put off thy shoe from thy foot. And he did so, walking naked and barefoot.

3 And the Lord said, Like as my servant Isaiah hath walked naked and barefoot three years for a sign and wonder upon Egypt and upon Ethiopia;

4 So shall the king of Assyria lead away the Egyptians prisoners, and the Ethiopians captives, young and old, naked and barefoot, even with their buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt.

5 And they shall be afraid and ashamed of Ethiopia their expectation, and of Egypt their glory.

6 And the inhabitant of this isle shall say in that day, Behold, such is our expectation, whither we flee for help to be delivered from the king of Assyria: and how shall we escape?

21:1 The burden of the desert of the sea. As whirlwinds in the south pass through; so it cometh from the desert, from a terrible land.

2 A grievous vision is declared unto me; the treacherous dealer dealeth treacherously, and the spoiler spoileth. Go up, O Elam: besiege, O Media; all the sighing thereof have I made to cease.

3 Therefore are my loins filled with pain: pangs have taken hold upon me, as the pangs of a woman that travaileth: I was bowed down at the hearing of it; I was dismayed at the seeing of it.

4 My heart panted, fearfulness affrighted me: the night of my pleasure hath he turned into fear unto me.

5 Prepare the table, watch in the watchtower, eat, drink: arise, ye princes, and anoint the shield.

6 For thus hath the Lord said unto me, Go, set a watchman, let him declare what he seeth.

7 And he saw a chariot with a couple of horsemen, a chariot of asses, and a chariot of camels; and he hearkened diligently with much heed:

8 And he cried, A lion: My lord, I stand continually upon the watchtower in the daytime, and I am set in my ward whole nights:

9 And, behold, here cometh a chariot of men, with a couple of horsemen. And he answered and said, Babylon is fallen, is fallen; and all the graven images of her gods he hath broken unto the ground.

10 O my threshing, and the corn of my floor: that which I have heard of the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, have I declared unto you.

11 The burden of Dumah. He calleth to me out of Seir, Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night?

12 The watchman said, The morning cometh, and also the night: if ye will enquire, enquire ye: return, come.

13 The burden upon Arabia. In the forest in Arabia shall ye lodge, O ye travelling companies of Dedanim.

14 The inhabitants of the land of Tema brought water to him that was thirsty, they prevented with their bread him that fled.

15 For they fled from the swords, from the drawn sword, and from the bent bow, and from the grievousness of war.

16 For thus hath the Lord said unto me, Within a year, according to the years of an hireling, and all the glory of Kedar shall fail:

17 And the residue of the number of archers, the mighty men of the children of Kedar, shall be diminished: for the Lord God of Israel hath spoken it.

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Directives for Women (CC Troy)

Lindsey Gardner on

SERMON TEXT: GENESIS 2:18-25

18 And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.

19 And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.

20 And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him.

21 And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;

22 And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.

23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.

24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.

25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

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Directives for Men (CC Troy)

Lindsey Gardner on

Sermon Text: Genesis 2:4-18

4 These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens,

5 And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground.

6 But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground.

7 And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

8 And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.

9 And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

10 And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads.

11 The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold;

12 And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone.

13 And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia.

14 And the name of the third river is Hiddekel: that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates.

15 And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.

16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:

17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

18 And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.

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Immovable Christians (CC Troy)

Joshua Edgren on

INTRODUCTION

How can man stand solid and immovable, like a stone wall? How can a young man go off to college and not get sidetracked from his mission by loose friends, pretty girls, and beer? How can a young mother roll up her sleeves and accomplish her to do list for the day without getting distracted by a million different needs? Paul tells the Corinthians in 1 Cor 15:58 to “be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord.” We must understand how to obey this command to become a rock, like Christ is a rock.

TEXT

 1 Chron 21:1-20: “Now Satan stood up against Israel and moved David to number Israel. So David said to Joab and to the leaders of the people, “Go, number Israel from Beersheba to Dan, and bring the number of them to me that I may know it.” And Joab answered, “May the Lord make His people a hundred times more than they are. But, my lord the king, are they not all my lord’s servants? Why then does my lord require this thing? Why should he be a cause of guilt in Israel?” Nevertheless, the king’s word prevailed against Joab….

SURVEY OF THE TEXT

In verse one we see Satan scheming a deceitful plan to move David to number the Israelite armies. David is deceived, verse two, and in his pride tells Joab to go and number all of Israel. Joab is wise enough to know that this is a bad idea and tries to persuade David not to do it, verse three. But in verse four we see that David does not listen. Joab gives way and counts the people and reports back to David in verse five, but he only puts in half effort because he knew the command was wicked.

In verse seven the text tells us plainly that this was displeasing to God and He strikes Israel. David recognizes the judgement from God, and he immediately repents in verse eight.

In verse nine God speaks through Gad the seer and tells David he has three choices. God will send either three years of famine, three months of defeat in battle or three days of plague with the angel of the Lord destroying throughout the land of Israel. David chooses the third option, for he would rather be judged directly by God then fall into the hands of his enemies.

So, in verse 14 we see the Lord sends a plague on Israel and seventy-thousand men of Israel fall. God sends His angel to destroy Jerusalem. But it was then that the Lord relented and ended the plague. The angel stops at the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.

David can see the angel of the Lord, and he and the other elders fall down in sackcloth and pray for mercy. David takes full responsibility for the great evil and supplicates on behalf of his nation. In humility David prays for God to strike him, and not his people.

The angel of the lord commanded Gad, the seer, to tell David to get up and erect an altar to the Lord there on the threshing floor of Ornan where the Angel had stopped. David obeys in verse 19. And in verse 20 we are introduced to Ornan the Jebusite. We are told that Ornan turned and there in front of him was the angel of the Lord, the angel of death. His sons do the natural thing and get out of there as fast as the can and go hide. But remarkably Ornan turns continues with his work threshing wheat.

That is when David shows up. David asks for the threshing floor for a place to build an altar. And in verse 23 Ornan offers it all to him free of charge, his oxen for the sacrifice, his threshing tools for the fire, and his wheat for the grain offering. He gives it all.

David takes it for the sacrifice but insists that he pays for it all rather than offer something that costs him nothing.

MOVEABLE DAVID AND IMMOVABLE ORNAN

At the start of this passage David was moved by Satan to do a wicked deed. He is blinded by his pride and falls easy prey to Satan’s temptation. We don’t see any pushback from David to the initial temptation, and even when Joab tries to speak reason to him, David is already set in his sin and will not listen. Joab knows it is wrong, but nevertheless he also gives in. Both David and then Joab were moved wickedness. The Lord’s anointed and his right-hand man, and they fell easily.

Fast-forward in the story to Ornan. Ornan is a Jebusite. The Jebusites were a tribe in the land of Canaan that Joshua couldn’t quite wipe out. Their capital city was Jebus, which was a fortress city with high ground and strong walls. David finally defeats the remaining Jebusites by taking Jebus (1 Chron 11:4-9), which becomes the city of David. So Ornan, from a pagan nation, appears in our story and he is the first person to not be moved. He stands firm in the face of almost certain death. In fact, he does more than stand, he get’s back to work.

BUILDING ON THE ROCK

Everybody knows the story at the end of the sermon on the mount in Matt 7:24-27. There were two men, one wise and one foolish. The wise man built his house on the rock, and when the storms came, his house stood firm. The foolish man built his house on the sand, and when the storms came, his house fell. What is the moral of this parable? Verse 24: “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, is like a wise man who built his house on the rock….But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.” The difference is in what you do with God’s words.

LEARNING TO DIE

Paul tells the Corinthians to be steadfast and immovable in 1 Cor 15:58. But that command starts with a “Therefore”. Paul is finishing off an argument about death in Christ. Christ really died and Christ really rose again (1 Cor 15 1-11). If Christ didn’t rise then there is no hope, you might as well go any way the wind moves you, “eat drink and be merry” for you have no hope in life and life has no point. But Christ really did rise, and when He did, He changed everything. For now, death is not the end, death is the beginning. You and I will rise with Christ. So how can you fear death any longer. In fact, so far from fearing death, Paul says that he dies every single day (v 31). “Foolish ones”, don’t you know you have to die in order to be raised? Death was defeated by Christ’s death, but it is not yet fully destroyed, it will be the final enemy (v 26). But every time a Christian dies on this earth, death is destroyed further. For when you die, death loses all power. Death has no power over those raised in Christ.

ABOUNDING IN THE WORK OF THE LORD

1 Cor 15:58b “…always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord”. A man does not stand immovable by holding really still.  God has called each one of us to a mission. You have daily missions, short term missions, and a life mission. God gave you this life, and He will take it away from you. That is not your worry. Focus your attention on what work He has put before you. You are not doing this on your own or without example. Christ too had a mission. He set his face steadfast, like flint. He saw the joy before Him and He got after it, enabling you to do the same.

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Seven Keys to Becoming a Spiritual Prepper (CCT)

Joshua Edgren on

INTRODUCTION

As we consider the state of our culture around us, it is manifestly clear that things are not normal. We all see trouble on the horizon, but some qualifications must be made. We know that many terrible things are coming—most of which are not going to happen.

Worry agonizes over a thousand things, most of which do not materialize, and all that expended energy doesn’t do anything much except tighten up all the muscles in your shoulders and neck, and give you problems with sleeping. So each day has enough trouble without you bringing in your imaginary supplements (Matt. 6:34).

At the same time, some of these difficulties are obviously going to materialize. What should we do to prepare for them?

THE TEXTS

“A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: But the simple pass on, and are punished”
(Prov. 22:3).
“The simple believeth every word: But the prudent man looketh well to his going” (Prov. 14:15).

SUMMARY OF THE TEXTS

Anxiety just spins your wheels pointlessly. But sharply distinct from sinful worry, we do find in Scripture the virtue of prudence. A prudent man sees possible trouble coming and prepares accordingly. The first proverb above commends the wisdom of such preparation, and warns us that the simpleton goes on blithely unaware and catches it in the neck (Prov. 22:3). The second proverb condemns the practice of reading every hysterical thing on the web you can find, and getting yourself into all of a doodah. That is a simpleton’s way also—giving way to doomscrolling, which is a hindrance to wise preparation.

What pending trouble does is remind us of our duties, but these are not just our duties in times of pending trouble, but rather are our constant duties, as pending trouble so kindly reminds us. So what follows are seven key principles to remember as you seek to get you and your family into fighting trim. You could call these pastoral exhortations, or perhaps pastoral exhortations from a Dutch uncle. This is how you should strive to become a wise spiritual prepper.

WORSHIP GOD REGULARLY

One of the early fathers said lex orandi lex credendi—the law of prayer is the law of faith. Liturgy shapes us. The way we worship shapes us.

“Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to
be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Pet. 1:13).

“Brethren, be not children in understanding: howbeit in malice be ye children, but in understanding be men” (1 Cor. 14:20).

Come to worship prepared for the time to help you gird up the loins of your mind. Prepare for the worship to mature your understanding. This is the way.

DEAL WITH PERSONAL SIN

Learn to confess your sins to God, honestly and forthrightly. He sees down to the sludge layers at the bottom of your heart anyway, so there is no sense trying to blow sunshine at Him. Simply acknowledge it. Ask Him to deal with it as only He can deal with it. You know He wants to.

Confess your sins (1 John 1:9). Forsake them (Prov. 28:13). Just as Achan was for all intents and purposes fighting for the Canaanites, so you also are on the other side if you are nurturing and hiding some misbegotten sin in your life. You cannot prepare to withstand the enemy when you have made your own secret alliances with the enemy. And this means that, to take one common example, if you have a secret porn habit, regardless of your ostensible politics, you are cheering the progressives on. Stop rationalizing, and just deal with it. All of the lunacy that we are currently dealing with is downstream from the sexual revolution, and could not have happened apart from that sexual revolution. Reformation in the church—which is most necessary—is not going to happen apart from full and complete repentance on this issue.

MINIMIZE ENCUMBRANCES

When we are told to run the race in Hebrews, we are told to prepare ourselves to do so by setting aside the weight that so easily entangles us. We are beset by sin, the passage tells us, which was my first point, but there are also weights that get in the way.

“Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us” (Heb 12:1).

In ordinary times, it is good and proper to use up all your available bandwidth with various projects, challenges, commitments, and so on. But now may be the time to streamline. This is not because the coming crisis is a time to be lazy, but rather because you are freeing up available bandwidth so that you can protect your family more effectively. Those of you who have a lot of projects going are doing it so that you might provide for your family, which is a good thing. But your other central duty is that of protecting your family, and we may be moving into an era where protection takes priority over provision.

Streamline your affairs, wherever possible. The riches of this world and the cares of this world are not sinful in themselves (Matt. 13:22), but they do have the capacity to choke out the Word.

STOCK UP ON THE WORD

Now is the time to become serious about storing up the Scriptures in your heart and mind. “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee” (Prov. 119:11)

You worship God in a church that is logocentric. You can’t turn around in the liturgy without bumping into Scripture. You have the kind of service that enables you to memorize multiple passages of Scripture simply because you have heard them read or declared so often. In addition, you should be a regular, diligent, focused Bible reader. And sing the Word. Learn the psalms. Sing the psalms also (Col. 3:16; Eph. 5:19).

DO NOTHING THAT FEEDS YOUR FEARS

It would be better to go into a time of trouble with a true evangelical confidence and no freeze-dried food, than to have a generator and lots of gas that represented, in a rather tangible way, the sum total of all your fears.

Do not prepare for trouble in any way that paralyzes you. Hoarders and preppers are often susceptible to the temptation that says, “There is no conceivable way that we will ever be on the offense.” But you can’t score points unless you have the ball.

We need a new brand of preppers—postmill preppers, prepping for actual victory, which leads to the last point.

ASSUME THE POSTURE OF VICTORS

We should be preparing in our hearts for that glorious moment—after fierce fighting—when we raise our flag on the top of a spiritual Iwo Jima. As Chesterton once put it, there is one taste of paradise on earth, which is to fight in a losing battle, and then not lose. Or as Aragorn put it, “Men are better than gates.”

“This is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith” (1 John 5:4).

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