First Baptist Church – Iowa Park, TX

For our final First Five let’s move ahead approximately 30 years of time, but just 2 chapters of scripture to Luke chapter 4. This is what is often considered to be the beginning of Jesus’ earthly ministry.

Rejection at Nazareth

¹⁶ He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. As usual, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood up to read. ¹⁷ The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to Him, and unrolling the scroll, He found the place where it was written:

¹⁸ The Spirit of the Lord is on Me,

because He has anointed Me

to preach good news to the poor.

He has sent Me

to proclaim freedom to the captives

and recovery of sight to the blind,

to set free the oppressed,

¹⁹ to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.

²⁰ He then rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. And the eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fixed on Him. ²¹ He began by saying to them, “Today as you listen, this Scripture has been fulfilled.”

²² They were all speaking well of Him and were amazed by the gracious words that came from His mouth, yet they said, “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?”

Here at the beginning of Christ’s ministry on earth he gives his mission statement. A quote from Isaiah chapter 61:1-2. What could be better at the beginning of our own school year than to remember what our mission is.

First, we do nothing outside of the power the Spirit has given us. Even Jesus teaches and heals in the Spirit. You and I can do nothing apart from the power of the Spirit. We need to know and understand that. We will not be able to participate in any of the other missions Jesus lays out in this passage without that connection to the power of the Spirit. If you have never trusted Christ as Savior and Lord of your life- His Spirit does not live in you. Maybe this year’s new beginning is your first encounter with accepting Christ’s forgiveness and leadership in your life. We can’t do anything without it.

Jesus then talks about his ministry to four groups of people: the poor, the captives, the blind, and the oppressed. At first glance this seems to be quite a limited group of people, but as Jesus’ ministry unfolds you begin to see yourself in that list…

Jesus came to bring good news to the poor. This doesn’t make a lot of sense to many Americans until you realize that Jesus means this both physically and spiritually. We may not be physically poor but spiritually we are bankrupt by our sinful nature. The good news for the spiritually poor is Jesus presence means forgiveness. This passage in Isaiah was referring to a practice in Israel’s history known as Jubilee. Every 50 years in Israel all debts were forgiven, all prisoners were set free, and all lands were returned to their original owners. It was their version of a do-over. The news Jesus brings us- and we bring others- is His presence means we get a spiritual do-over. Our sin debt is cancelled by Christ. We are no longer spiritual paupers- but heirs with Christ, sons and daughters of God.

Jesus came to proclaim freedom for the captives. For most of us our shackles are not physical. Our incarceration involves the power of sin, not the strength of steel bars. We are bound by the sin we have entangled ourselves in. Jesus proclaims freedom. Freedom he paid for with His life. We are free and are charged to share that freedom with others. No one has to be imprisoned  by sin any longer. And we know what the key is.

Jesus came to give sight to the blind. Our sin not only kept us bound but also relegated us to live in darkness. A darkness that made us believe there was no light. A darkness that made wrong seem right and right seem wrong. Jesus provided sight to the blind by being the light. It’s amazing how much different things look in the light. When we live in the light of Christ we begin to see what brings real joy and peace in life. What are you doing to reflect his light to the blind?

Jesus came to set free the oppressed. Aside from being poor, bound and blinded, sin has also convinced us that there is no hope. We are constantly reminded that we are lousy followers of Christ, ungrateful for His sacrifice, and beyond His forgiveness and care. Jesus bursts into the hopelessness with an assurance that frees us from that oppression. “I have come that they might have life and have it to the fullest.” “I am with you always, to the end of the age.” “The Son of Man came to seek and save that which was lost.” “Behold I have overcome the world.”

It’s my prayer that we would be a people, a church, who live the mission of Christ in this new beginning. I pray that we forgive with the grace of Christ, free captives with the redemption of Christ, relieve blindness with the light of Christ, and end oppression with the hope of Christ.

I know it’s the end of August, and I know it’s probably going to be 100 degrees on the day you read this but let’s flip over to one of our favorite new beginnings: the birth of Christ. Seriously, sometimes I think we can really take more away from this story when we don’t read it in conjunction with the cultural trappings of the  holiday it’s associated with. So indulge me and check out this passage from Luke chapter 2 with August 25th eyes instead of December 25th eyes.

Luke 2

The Birth of Jesus

¹ In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that the whole empire should be registered. ² This first registration took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. ³ So everyone went to be registered, each to his own town.

⁴ And Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family line of David, ⁵ to be registered along with Mary, who was engaged to him and was pregnant. ⁶ While they were there, the time came for her to give birth. ⁷ Then she gave birth to her firstborn Son, and she wrapped Him snugly in cloth and laid Him in a feeding trough—because there was no room for them at the inn.

The Shepherds and the Angels

⁸ In the same region, shepherds were staying out in the fields and keeping watch at night over their flock. ⁹ Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰ But the angel said to them, “Don’t be afraid, for look, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people: ¹¹ today a Savior, who is Messiah the Lord, was born for you in the city of David. ¹² This will be the sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped snugly in cloth and lying in a manger.”

¹³ Suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel, praising God and saying:

¹⁴ Glory to God in the highest heaven,

and peace on earth to people He favors!

¹⁵ When the angels had left them and returned to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go straight to Bethlehem and see what has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.”

¹⁶ They hurried off and found both Mary and Joseph, and the baby who was lying in the feeding trough. ¹⁷ After seeing [them], they reported the message they were told about this child, ¹⁸ and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. ¹⁹ But Mary was treasuring up all these things in her heart and meditating on them. ²⁰ The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had seen and heard, just as they had been told.

What an ordinary beginning. That’s seems like the best way to describe it. Ordinary. Maybe painfully so. Aside from a concert by the Heavenly Host played exclusively for a late night gathering of shepherds this has none of the spectacular grandeur of some of God’s earlier works. There’s no showing off here. No plague inducing, red see parting, earth standing still kind of moment here. That’s not to say there weren’t issues, quirks if you will. Not everyone is born in a backwater town in Judea. Not everyone is born in a feeding area for domesticated animals. Not everyone’s birthplace is visited by curious shepherds. Still, those are things that happen to my family on a cross country road trip, not to the Son of God, at His birth. So I still think ordinary fits.

I don’t know about you, but I really like it that way. It stands in such stark contrast to the way our culture celebrates Christmas that it is a great reminder about what’s important at Christmas, what’s real and lasting.

The People. The people in this account remind me that God can and will use anyone at anytime. There was nothing special about any of the participants in God’s plan and that is good news. As you stand ready for your new beginning as a sophomore, as a mom of a 3rd grader, as a grandmother of a preschooler, you may not feel like anything special either. And that’s just the way God likes it. The thing that most unifies the people in God’s new beginning is that they knew they were nothing special. They never demanded better treatment. Paraded themselves through the streets or claimed royalty for themselves. They were simple people being obedient to a great God. Isn’t that something you and I could do? Maybe you won’t write a book, or speak to thousands, or give away millions, but you and I can both be simply obedient.

The Place. The fact that God chose such an ordinary place for his birth reminds me that God loves the out-of-the-way, the hard-to-reach and the where-in-the-world places on our map. And that should be good news to us. As I have stated before there are still many in my own family who aren’t completely sure if Iowa Park is in Texas or Iowa. Bethlehem reminds us that it’s not the locale that makes somewhere holy or extraordinary, it’s God who resides there. All that to say anywhere God is, is holy. Important. Noteworthy. Even Iowa Park. No matter what state it’s in.

The Response. If the people are not that different from myself. And the location is a lot like my own. Then why is my response often so much different than theirs. Luke says the shepherds, these lowly, uneducated, scruffy, earthy men, told everyone the news they received from the angels, and returned to their fields glorifying and praising God for what they had witnessed. Why is my reaction so much more subdued? Why is my voice so meek, my message so timid?

Truth of the matter is this “new school year feeling” won’t last long. Students will get over it in a matter of days, if not hours. Parents might take a week or more to get over the shock of having a new high schooler, or a kindergartener for the first time. But that won’t last long either. The school year is not a sprint by any means. Somewhere in that 180 days it’s going to become very ordinary. Extremely routine. But that doesn’t make it any less important. Embrace the ordinary. Remember what God did? He took some pretty ordinary people and in a pretty ordinary place and made it extraordinary by His presence. Would you be willing to do the same with His presence in you?

For day 3 I hope that you will indulge me a little. I wanted each post to be about scriptural beginnings that can help with our current beginnings. For this post, I’m going to stretch the theme by looking at Psalm chapter 1. The beginning of the Bible’s personal song book that speaks well to our own new beginning.

Psalm 1

BOOK I
Psalms 1–41

¹ Blessed is the one
who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
or sit in the company of mockers,
² but whose delight is in the law of the LORD,
and who meditates on his law day and night.
³ That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither—
whatever they do prospers.

⁴ Not so the wicked!
They are like chaff
that the wind blows away.
⁵ Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.

⁶ For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.

I love this Psalm. Sometimes I try to think about what kind of music would have been sung with the Psalms, and I think this would have been a soaring anthem. You know the kind of song that perfectly begins your favorite album. The kind of song that you can sing along with and gets stuck in your head for days. That’s the kind of music I think goes with Psalm 1.

This song is about two types of people, the blessed and the wicked. In verse one, it’s as if the songwriter is standing at a new beginning. Maybe a crossroads of decision. He is weighing the paths before him. The path of the wicked and the path of the righteous. The path of the wicked descends into deeper and deeper trouble- look at how he describes it. First, you WALK in step with those giving bad advice, then you STAND with them, and finally, you SIT with them. Can you see the progression there? From just walking with them, to hanging out with them and finally joining them? Our song writer is warning us that our friends matter. Our choices of companions will effect our paths and our destinations. Who are your traveling companions this year?

The wicked also enjoy a comparison to chaff- the annoying coating on the outside of a grain of wheat. It is removed during the grinding process and because it’s not used for anything it is allowed to blow away. The best picture I can think of to help you gain a picture of chaff is to think of the annoying part of popcorn that finds it way between your teeth where it continues to torment you for hours because even your toothbrush wont dislodge it. The songwriter is reminding us that the wicked are purposeless. They have no use in God’s plan now, or as we see in verse 5, after the judgement. Anything that looks good about that life now- is a mirage, a false front to the purposeless existence that lives behind it. The way of the wicked is not only good for nothing now- but full of consequences later.

What about the righteous? Their path begins with a delight in God’s word. I love that word: delight. For the righteous, God’s word is a joy. It’s a safe haven, a place that is longed for. What about you? Could you and I, in this new beginning, do better at making God’s word a delight. Not a chore. Not a discipline. Not even a habit. How about a delight. A joy that we long for day and night. The righteous are like trees panted beside the water source. They are nourished and thus do what they were created to do: grow fruit! Notice that the song writer is quick to mention that the fruit is grown in season- life is like that, some seasons are for growth, some for recovery, some for root development so have patience with God and His work in your life. We are reminded at the end of verse 3 that when we are on that path of righteousness, whatever we do prospers. I think one of the implications of that statement is that no matter what season we find ourselves in, they are all profitable. Even when we don’t see the grown or the fruit. If we are planting ourselves by the stream, every season has it’s purpose in our lives. Finally, remember this: the Lord watches over the way of the righteous. While you stand at the starting line of a new adventure, a new opportunity, a new responsibility- God stands with you. He watches over you. He leads you and guides you.

I have a feeling that when this song was a hit in the temple of Jerusalem, I would have loved it. What about you? Can you see the paths set before you at this new beginning? Can you see yourself walking down one or the other? Which one will you choose?

The second beginning I want to look at is from the book of Joshua. Our student ministry has been camped out there this Summer so this thought has been marinating in my head for a while. At the outset of Joshua we find the nation of Israel in transition. Moses has died and God is appointing Joshua as the new leader of the people. Can you imagine being passed leadership from MOSES! What an incredible task. What an unthinkable legacy to live up to. I can’t imagine the emotions that were running through Joshua as he stands at the beginning of his appointment as leader of this nation. Just think about how you felt when you walked back into school for the first time yesterday or dropped your little one off for their first day: maybe a little nervous, apprehensive, or unsure of what the year was going to bring- now imagine your walking into the shoes of one of the greatest leaders of all time… He must have been jacked up on adrenaline! Fortunately, God knew this task was too big for Joshua- and had some words to help set him at ease.

Joshua 1

Encouragement of Joshua

¹ After the death of Moses the LORD’s servant, the LORD spoke to Joshua son of Nun, who had served Moses: ² “Moses My servant is dead. Now you and all the people prepare to cross over the Jordan to the land I am giving the Israelites. ³ I have given you every place where the sole of your foot treads, just as I promised Moses. ⁴ Your territory will be from the wilderness and Lebanon to the great Euphrates River—all the land of the Hittites —and west to the Mediterranean Sea. ⁵ No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live. I will be with you, just as I was with Moses. I will not leave you or forsake you.

⁶ “Be strong and courageous, for you will distribute the land I swore to their fathers to give them as an inheritance. ⁷ Above all, be strong and very courageous to carefully observe the whole instruction My servant Moses commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right or the left, so that you will have success wherever you go. ⁸ This book of instruction must not depart from your mouth; you are to recite it day and night, so that you may carefully observe everything written in it. For then you will prosper and succeed in whatever you do. ⁹ Haven’t I commanded you: be strong and courageous? Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”

I don’t know if you caught this or not, but in the three verses that God is speaking, he says be strong and courageous three times. It doesn’t take a Bible scholar to tip us off that this is a pretty important statement. And a really cool thought for us as we step into the unknown of another school year.

Be Strong. It think we can agree that what God is asking from Joshua is not to get bulked up. The strength that God requires is strength of will. God is asking Joshua to hold on tightly to God’s commands, His leadership. God knew that as the Israelite people entered the promised land they would encounter all kinds of Godlessness. Some it repulsive. Some of it extremely attractive. He wanted Joshua to be prepared to hold on tight to the things of God when the world came calling. God also knew some things Joshua didn’t. Like how he was planning to defeat Jericho- “unconventional” doesn’t begin to describe that battle plan. Or how the nations of Canaan would passionately defend their land by force or by trickery. Joshua needed to hold firmly to his confidence in God’s plan, no matter how crazy it sounded. You and I are called to the same strength. Let’s not kid ourselves, we’re not the leaders of a great nation, but we are surrounded by Godlessness, God’s ways are challenged at every turn and, admit it, the world’s ways are tantalizing. We need that same strength of will. We need that steady, unwavering grip on the commands and promises of God. And more than ever, we need to be comfortable with the truth that God’s leading in our days is still incredibly “unconventional”. As we face this new beginning- we need to do it with strength.

Be Courageous. You have probably heard courage commonly defined as something like, “Venturing into danger, despite your significant fear.” Courageous people aren’t people who are never afraid, they are just people who have learned to act despite it. I think the action part of this definition is the part God was focused on here. First, he encouraged Joshua to hold on tight to his beliefs about God and His leadership. Then, He asked Joshua to act on those beliefs. It’s one thing to SAY you believe God can conquer a city by marching around it and blowing trumpets. It’s another thing to ACTUALLY march around it and blow trumpets. God is asking for Joshua’s action. God is also asking for ours. It’s not enough to SAY you believe. It’s not enough to just agree with that God’s ways are best. It takes us living them, doing them, being them for our lives to match God’s desires. Sometimes that’s really hard: taking a new job, breaking off an old friendship, learning a new habit. MOST of the time it’s not: respecting your teacher that everyone else doesn’t, not cheating on that homework, helping a co-worker with a project. MOST of the time the question isn’t CAN we live courageously. The question is simply- WILL we?