RENEW - Chronicles: Rediscovering Who We Are and Why We're Here - Sermon Study Guide #4- Success, Failure, and Renewal

READ – 1 Chronicles 21

Chapter 21 is a unique chapter in Chronicles because it tells the story of a major failure in the life of Israel’s model king – David. David is the most prominent character in Chronicles by a long shot. (21 of the 65 chapters are about him and all subsequent kings are measured against him.)  In a book that focuses almost exclusively on David’s positive example, we find that one of his greatest failures is highlighted as one of the most important lessons he left behind about how God brings renewal to our lives.

SUMMARY: Renewal comes when we are humbled in our successes and restored in our failures. 

1. HOW WE HANDLE SUCCESS 

1 Chronicles 18-20 recount success after success for David. Enemies that had plagued Israel for years were being defeated and driven away – the Philistines, the Ammonites, the Syrians even giant warriors (20). They all “fell by the hand of David and his servants.” (20:8) As we come to Ch 21, David seemed invincible. He was at the top of his game.

It was at this point that we read Satan (or an actual military opponent – the word “Satan” can be translated “adversary”) incited David to take a census of his army. What’s wrong with a census? It wasn’t David’s action that displeased God, but his motivation. Why would David take a census? Like many rulers of his time, David wanted to assess the power & strength of his military. The census was David’s way of measuring & proving his success, his security and his strength. His motive was pride. At his most successful, David was most vulnerable to pride, self-reliance, independence and self-absorption. The lesson - The most dangerous and potentially destructive moments in our lives are when we look at our success and accomplishments and there's that little voice inside of us that says, “Look what I've done.” One of the most important factors for our ongoing spiritual renewal is whether our success leads to becoming puffed up with pride or deeper into humility.

2. HOW WE HANDLE FAILURE

After David carried through with his census, God sent the prophet Gad to rebuke him and offer the choice of 3 different consequences for his failure - famine, defeat by enemies or pestilence in the land. David didn’t really choose; instead he asked to fall into the hand of the Lord “who has great mercy.” Verse 14 says God sent a plague that resulted in the loss of many lives.  This led David (together with his leaders) to put on sackcloth and publicly confess his sin and failure. “It is I who have sinned and done great evil… Please let you hand, O Lord my God be against me and against my father’s house. But do not let the plague be on your people!”

How did David move from selfish pride to humble repentance and willingness to suffer so others might live? I think the answer is two-fold:

1) He didn’t minimize his failure. It is when he saw and felt the impact his actions had on others that was humbled and broken. This story teaches us that failure can either harden us or humble us. David could have tried hide his failure, blame others or blame God – instead he owned it. But he had to feel the impact his pride had on other people. There is always a cost to others when we act out of pride.

2) He didn’t miss what his failure was teaching him. God’s great gift in failure is the smashing of our pride. When our pride is smashed, grace can flood into our lives. For this reason, our failures will be our greatest opportunities to see if we really believe the gospel. David began to understand that our failure and sin are costly and can only be forgiven and covered at great cost. He offered his own life but God accepted a substitutionary sacrifice in his place. In David’s failure, he was taught the heart of the gospel - God pays the price to redeem our failure.

3. HOW GOD REDEEMS FAILURE

The conclusion to this story is extremely significant. 22:1 tells us David said, “This (piece of land he bought for the sacrifice) is the house of the Lord God.” In other words. “I have found the place where the temple will be built.” What’s going on here? The very center of worship for Israel and the most important place in the whole nation is the Temple. It was the center of spiritual renewal for the people. This is the backstory to the temple. It was built on a place where great failure was covered, where great sin was forgiven and redeemed. It was built on a place where the tables were turned on evil and Satan.

The temple served as a foreshadowing of the gospel – God will redeem our failures through substitutionary atonement. He doesn’t ignore the consequences and cost of our prideful sin; he fully bears the cost Himself on our behalf in Jesus. The temple was meant to serve as a constant reminder until Jesus came – He is a God who redeems our failure. In John 2:21, Jesus tells us how his story ultimately fulfills the backstory of the temple. He said, “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.” At the cross, we see that what seemed like the world’s greatest failure and tragedy (the cross) is the world’s greatest redemption.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

1.       What about the sermon most impacted you or left you with questions?

2.      Have you seen how success can be an occasion for pride in your life? How has this looked for you? What has the impact been on the other people in your life? How might we handle success well?

3.      How would you say you usually handle failure? In what ways are you tempted to minimize your failure? How can we find ways to see and feel the impact our pride, sin and failures have on others?

4.      It was said in the sermon that “our failure whether we are living with a religious approach to life or a gospel approach to life.”  What is your reaction to the explanation of this below? What does your reaction to your own failures reveal about you?

·        Sin and failure are the great threats of religion to be avoided with all our energy. Religious people can’t learn from failure so they hide it, blame others or divert all their attention on other people’s failures and sin. Failure crushes the religious person. But sin and failure are not threats to the gospel. In fact, they are – no matter how great – our gateways into gospel renewal. Failure humbles but doesn’t crush the person whose life is built on the gospel.

5.      Do you agree that the greatest places of renewal and worship in our stories and lives will be the places where we have greatly sinned & failed and found a redeeming and forgiving God? Why or why not? How is this true in your life?

6.      How are you most struggling to believe that Renewal comes when we are humbled in our successes and restored in our failures? Share this with your group and close in prayer.

RENEW - Chronicles: Rediscovering Who We Are and Why We're Here - Sermon Study Guide #3 - The Promise of Renewal

READ – 1 Chronicles 17:1-15

Chronicles was written to bring about a renewal of heart and mission for people who struggle with disappointment, disenchantment and doubt. Israeli scholar Sara Japhet says the whole book is geared around addressing what she calls the “gap” - the gap between our lives and what we read in the bible, the gap between the life we want to live and the life we have. She writes, “[t]he book of Chronicles represents a powerful effort to bridge this gap.” Chapter 17 in Chronicles shows us how God meets us in these “gap moments” to renew us by his promise.

CONTEXT

In 1 Chronicles 13-16, we read how, after uniting the people and organizing his military, David was laser focused on one thing - retrieving the ark of the covenant. Why? The ark was the most important and powerful symbol for Israel. It was meant to be in the Most Holy Place in the tabernacle. The ark was the symbol of God’s rule and presence on earth. Inside were the most important reminders of the covenant relationship between God and his people - the tablets on which were written the 10 commandments. So, the ark was a reminder to the king and to the entire nation that their life revolved around and centered on God and the covenant relationship they had with Him. After retrieving the ark, David’s next goal was to build a temple to house it.

SUMMARY: When we are living in the gap of disappointment and disillusionment, renewal comes as we look to and trust in the promises of God.

1. THE PROMISE AND IMMEDIATE RESULTS

Chronicles shows us David had a very clear plan - unite the people, gather the army, secure the capital (Jerusalem), get the ark, build the temple. When we read 17:1, the strategy seems sound and we think David is being very humble and spiritual when he says, “How can I live in a better house than God?” But there is more going on. In the Ancient Near East, temple building was very common. It was the expected final step for a real king to demonstrate legitimacy; to say, “I’ve arrived!” David is following the script of all the other nations, kings, gods of his day. He’s essentially saying, “God, in order for us to show the world we are for real, this is the next step. Let’s do this now!”

Through the prophet Nathan God responds to David’s plan and tells him, “Not now and not you. When it comes to the temple, you are called to the work of preparation not to the work of completion.” For the first time since he became king, David experienced a “no, not now” from God. God told David that He would build a house for him (not vice versa).  Both houses – the temple and his future dynasty – would be things David would not live to see completed. David’s prayer (17:16-27) shows he got it. He experienced a renewed sense of humility, gratitude and praise. All because God said, “not now.”

Much of our disappointment in life and disillusionment in faith is a failure to see the significance of the work of preparation versus the pull and tug of instant gratification. This text shows us that God renews us in times of preparation just as much as in seasons of completion. Renewal of heart and mission comes when we learn not to demand or expect immediate results from God. To do this requires hope and trust in his promises.

2. THE PROMISE AND VISIBLE RESULTS

It wasn’t only David’s timeline that God had to address. In 17:5-6, God challenged David’s motivation for building the temple. At this time, a temple was the visible result people were looking for as proof of a king’s success and of a deity’s power and reality. Though God does approve of this project for David’s son (v12), he approves of the project with an important correction.  In 17:5-6, God says, “Why do you think I need a temple anyway?” God was issuing a warning to David and to the readers of Chronicles: The temple can be the most visibly impressive building in the world, but it can be empty and devoid of His presence. Far more important than the temple is what it represents - the promise of His presence to be with his people.

Just like David, we often measure our lives and faith using our culture’s narratives and metrics for success. But God’s presence cannot be contained in what we can see.  God’s work cannot be measured if we are only looking for visible results.  Much of our disillusionment comes from measuring God’s work in us and in the world using the dominant cultural scripts of success that are solely focused on looking at the visible results. This will either create a gap of unfulfillment – the visible results are never enough or discouragement – we are failing to achieve the visible results we think we are supposed to. In these moments, we need to look to the promise of God’s presence with us.

3. THE PROMISE AND ACHIEVABLE RESULTS

Judging by God’s response to David, it appears that David needed a fresh dose of humility. Maybe his success and prosperity had gone to his head. Underneath his desire to build the temple was a prideful attitude that said, “Look at all I have achieved and what I will achieve next!” God reminds him of where he came from and who got him there. The most obvious feature of verses 7-14 – is the overwhelming emphasis on God speaking in the 1st person: I took, I have, I declare, I will. (11X!!)

God reminded David - You did not achieve this. You received this. Though God’s future promises to David were unachievable for him, he experienced a renewal of hope, humility and faith when he heard them. What was unachievable to David seemed even more impossible for those to whom Chronicles was written (600yrs later). There were no descendants of David to be seen. Why write this to them? The answer is that Chronicles is saying to them and to us: Don’t give up hope! God will keep his promise even when it seems impossible.

All other approaches to life offer us a goal and tell us that it’s up to us to achieve this goal. Christianity is unique among all belief systems in that its main message is the life God calls us to and wants for us is unachievable for us. The gospel is that a descendent of David has come to achieve the unachievable, to fulfill the impossible. Jesus, David’s greater Son, is the fulfillment of the promises of 1 Chron. 17. His life, death and resurrection achieve a salvation for us that we could never achieve on our own. Because of how God has fulfilled his promises in Jesus, we can be confident that those promises yet unfulfilled will be accomplished in his timing.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

1.       What about the sermon most impacted you or left you with questions?

2.      Is there an area of your life where you are experiencing disappointment or disillusionment because you are looking for immediate results or instant gratification? How does it change things to know God can renew us in times of preparation just as much as in times of completion? See Philippians 1:6 for an example of a promise that God can encourage us in times of preparation.

3.      In the sermon, it was said that there are two basic narrative scripts that can shape our lives and expectations (see below). What narrative is currently shaping you more? How can you tell?

·        Results-Oriented Narrative of Success. Driven by performance and visible results.

·        Relational-Oriented Narrative of Presence. Driven by promise/covenant.

4.      “Renewal comes when we realize that God’s goals for us are unachievable in our own wisdom, ability, strength and power. It is then we realize we are fully dependent on his promise.” How does this challenge you? How does it comfort you? How does it drive you toward a renewal of trust in what Jesus has done, is doing and will do for you?

RENEW - Chronicles: Rediscovering Who We Are and Why We're Here - Sermon Study Guide #2 - The Fight For Renewal

READ – 1 Chronicles 10:1-7; 11:1-3, 9-10; 12:38-40

After 9 long chapters of genealogy, the book of Chronicles begins its re-telling of the story of Israel’s kings in chapter 10. The first three chapters of the narrative (Chapters 10-12) recount for us in stark contrast the demise and fall of King Saul and the dramatic emergence and rise of King David. Saul’s story ends with him dying alone in defeat. David’s story begins with “all Israel” gathered with him ready to go to battle wherever he leads.

CONTEXT 

To understand these 3 chapters and their application to our present day, we need to remember that Chronicles was written during one of the hardest and most discouraging times in the story of Israel. They had just passed through the lowest point in their story as a people – the exile. They came out of this time with excitement, returned to their homeland and made some progress BUT… their lives were not turning out as they had hoped, their faith wasn’t as vibrant as they thought it would be. Many were disillusioned, almost everyone was dealing with some level of disappointment. They needed something that would enable and inspire them to endure. These 3 chapters are the opening “pep talk” in the book of Chronicles meant to inspire hope that God can and does bring renewal to people when it seems like all hope is lost.  They show us four things everyone needs to know about how God brings renewal to his people.

SUMMARY: 4 Things We Need to Know About Spiritual Renewal

1. WE NEED TO KNOW IT'S GOING TO BE A FIGHT 

The thing that all three of these chapters have in common is that they are all about fighting.  The very first words in the narrative after the long genealogical introduction to the book are not “Once up on a time…” but “Now the Philistines fought…” (10:1) It’s important that we make a simple observation here. The author of Chronicles knew the people to whom he was writing were struggling and disillusioned. They were fighting just to live a life above their daily circumstances. He must’ve thought, “I’m not going to start at the high point in Israel’s history, when things were great, and the land was at peace and rest. I’m going to start this story in the heat of the battle.” All spiritual renewal and growth comes as a result of a hard-fought struggle. Some of us get extremely discouraged because we have the wrong idea of what spiritual renewal looks like. Renewal is not about reaching a state of spiritual tranquility and serenity, it’s about staying engaged in “the good fight of faith.” (1 Tim, 6:12) As Ralph Erskine wrote, “Faith, without trouble or fighting, is a suspicious faith; for true faith is a fighting, wrestling faith.” 

The Chronicler highlights a few stories to show us what kind of fight we’re up against. It’s not just any fight, it’s a fight with impossible odds against us. The stories of the mighty men (see Eleazar 11:12-14 and Benaiah 11:22-25) are examples of how God wants to bring us renewal in places where we believe it’s most impossible. While it may not bring us a feeling of relief, knowing renewal is going to be a fight helps us to persevere in the process of change trusting that God is at work even in our struggles.

2. WE NEED TO KNOW WHAT TO FIGHT

Not only does Chronicles show us that renewal is a fight, we also find wisdom here for what battles we are called to fight. One of the main things that prevents us from orienting our lives around God and his kingdom is that we tend to fight the wrong fights. Instead of pouring our energy into loving God and others, we use so much of our energy seeking our own self-advancement and desires.

Here the contrast between David and Saul is instructive. Saul lost his battles because he was fighting to prove himself to others. In his insecurity, he ended up fighting his best ally (David) instead of with him. David on the other hand fought to have the help of a community in his life. Saul tried to fight his battles alone. He didn’t admit his need for help or ask for help until it was too late (and even then, he looked for it in all the wrong places). David, from the very beginning knew he needed help. (Look at 11:10, 12:1, 12:18.) We need to fight to be people who are fighting with and for us in the pursuit of God and his kingdom.

3. WE NEED TO KNOW WHY WE FIGHT

There is one thing about these chapters filled with incredible triumphs and impossible victories that – if you take it away – none of it happens. None of it is possible. That thing is a person – David. If David isn’t in this chapter – none of these things would have happened. These warriors are not fighting for self-preservation or self advancement. They are fighting for David and his kingdom. It was their love for David and desire for his kingdom to come that motivated them. THAT is WHY they fought. (Read 11:15-19 for an example.)

Chronicles was written to awaken hope in a greater David to come. Someone who would inspire boldness and courage. Someone who would bring unconquerable renewal to the world.  The gospel is that the greater David has come. Jesus came fighting our true enemies with us. And ultimately, He fought and conquered them for us – taking on our sin, death, evil on the cross. In the greatest victory of all time, against all odds, it was One Man vs. the entirety of human sin, death itself and all evil and the One Man emerged victorious from the tomb. We fight our battles for spiritual renewal and growth out of love for the One who fought for us and his kingdom.

4. WE NEED TO KNOW WHO FIGHTS FOR US

The great hope given to us in these chapters is that we don’t fight or achieve impossible victory in our strength. God fights for us. All other religions tell us to fight for our standing and approval before God. It’s up to us. The irreligious approach to life is to fight for our needs and rights. It’s up to us to fight for ourselves. The gospel tells us “The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.” (Ex. 14:14) Our great fight is the fight of faith – to trust that, in Jesus, God love us and is always fighting with us and for our renewal into the image of his Son.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

1.       What about the sermon most impacted you or left you with questions?

2.      Do you struggle with having the wrong idea of what spiritual renewal looks like, expecting to achieve a state of tranquility and peace vs. the continued good fight of faith?

3.      Is there a place in your life/soul where you have given up hope? A place you think renewal of God’s work in your life is impossible? How might this passage give you hope that God can work in this part of your life? 

4.      It was said in the sermon that we should keep in mind the development of the bible’s teaching on the battles we are called to fight. The New Testament clarifies who the real enemies of the soul are – the world, the flesh and the devil. Do you find that you tend to spend your energy fighting the wrong battles (in family, marriage, parenting or work?) How can you redirect your energy into the right battles?

5.      How does the gospel give us the right motivation to fight - love for Jesus and his kingdom?

6.      What would it look like to be a community that is fighting with and for each other’s spiritual renewal? Spend time praying for each other. You may want to read aloud the following passages as a reminder that God fights for us.

        Jeremiah 1:19, Exodus 14:14, Deut. 1:30, 3:22, 2 Chon. 20:17

RENEW- Chronicles: Rediscovering Who We Are and Why We're Here - Sermon Study Guide #1 - Rediscover

READ – 1 Chronicles 1:1-3; 2 Chronicles 36:23

9 Chapters of genealogy!?! When we come to places like this in our reading of the bible, we often skip forward or mindlessly tune out. What’s the point? The point is that genealogies function as links from the past to the present. Chronicles was written to tell us two things about our present lives no matter what time we live in: 1) The present is always a time of great possibility and opportunity for God to work in you and through you 2) The present is always  filled with very real difficulties and discouragements – sometimes so hard, we lose hope and we lose sight of God.

To show us how God can powerfully renew us in the present, Chronicles takes us back to the past. It is a re-telling of the story of Israel (especially the stories of 1-2 Samuel and 1-2 Kings) that points us to how God has worked in the past – not for us to go backward - but to move us forward with great hope.

 CONTEXT

In order to understand Chronicles, we first need to understand a little bit about to whom it was written. They are called the “post-exilic community.” They were a group of Israelites who had resettled back in Jerusalem after what was the lowest and most tragic point in their history as a people – the exile. During the exile their land was taken over, most people were taken captive to Babylon, and the temple was destroyed. Everything was lost - their homes, their freedom, their entire way of life and the centerpiece of their faith. Having gone through the exile, the people were wondering, “Are we still God’s people? Where is God in all this? What happened to his plan?”

Along come the prophets of the exile. Their message - “This isn’t the end! There is going to be a return from exile! And guess what – all the stories you’ve heard about Abraham, Moses and the Exodus, the great Kings of old… the return is going to be better than all of that combined. It is going to be the most awesome thing God has ever done!!” When we arrive at the end of the book (2 Chron 36:23), the point is clear - you are part of the promised return! It’s here! It’s you. But the problem was that their reality wasn’t awesome. It was actually very difficult. Progress had been made, but rebuilding was hard, results were unimpressive and resettling was dangerous. They were wondering - Who are we, really? Why are we here?

SUMMARY 

The beginning and ending of Chronicles show us three major rediscoveries God uses to renew us:

REDISCOVERING OUR STORY

By starting with the name, “Adam,” Chronicles is telling us where all our stories begin. We all trace our beginnings back to Adam and find that we are made to be in relationship with God and to reflect Him (image Him) in all of life (work/play, relationships, mind, soul, body, marriage, family, on good days, bad days, all days). This means our stories don’t start with us - our story begins in Eden. If we don’t remember that – we won’t know who we are or why we are here. We are created, called and are destined for something great – to know God + to make him known.

With its conclusion, Chronicles highlights another major theme in the story God is writing in history and in our lives. By ending with the return from exile, the message was clear - “the exile wasn’t the end.” The message for us is that what looks like “the end” to us is never THE END - it’s always a gateway into a new beginning; death leads to resurrection. There are many ways we write THE END in our stories, when God says it’s just AN end. No matter the loss, the hardship or the trial, God can renew us with hope and purpose.

REDISCOVERING OUR MISSION

One of the biggest mistakes we can and do make and do make as the church is to evaluate the effectiveness of God’s mission in the world with the wrong metrics - power, popularity, headlines. The genealogies of Chronicles 1-9 remind us that from Adam all the way up until the present day through many years of ups and downs, in and through the sins, stumblings and failures of His people, through the valley of the exile, all the way to today, God is moving His mission forward. Even when we can’t see it, nothing can stop God’s mission to bring renewal to us and through us. God isn’t losing!

The genealogies also show us our place in God’s mission. We see the personal love of God (he remembers names no one knows!) right alongside the big purposes of God (9 long chapters of names!). God zooms in on his people. He knows our names, our situation and our struggles. But he also calls us to zoom out to gain perspective on our place in a much larger purpose/mission than our own individual happiness. We are invited to be a part of his great mission.

REDISCOVERING COMMUNITY

The genealogies of Chronicles also lead us to a rediscovery of community. From Adam all the way until the present God always renews us in the same way – not as isolated, private individuals for our own good but in community; in relationship with others. In these long lists, we find Abraham and Moses mentioned in passing right along with guys named Jobab and Chelub. Each person’s life is a link in the chain of God’s redemptive plan for humanity – everyone is needed, everyone has a place.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

1.       What about the sermon most impacted you or left you with questions?

2.      How might remembering that your story begins with Adam provide you with renewed perspective on the difficulties/disappointments in your life? What places in your life have you written “THE END” over, where God might be calling you to see it as AN end that leads to a new beginning?

3.      Do you sometimes look at the culture, the world or your own life and feel like “God isn’t winning?” How does it give you comfort and hope to remember God isn’t losing even when we can’t see how?

4.      In the sermon it was said, “Chronicles points us ahead to God’s greatest win in Jesus. What we find from God’s greatest victory is that love loses in order to win. God’s mission moves forward not by seeing things from a win-lose perspective or even a win-win perspective BUT from a lose-win perspective. Through giving up rights, letting go of power, serving of others and sacrificing to bless, God’s mission moves forward and we become more like Jesus.” Do you agree? How does this challenge you?

5.      How might God be calling you to rediscover your need for and place in community? How might this community group be a community that brings renewal to your life?

6.      Read Luke 3:23-38. How does Luke’s genealogy complete the Chronicles? Why is our connection to Jesus (the 2nd Adam) the essential link in the chain for our renewal?

RESOURCES FOR FURTHER STUDY

1. I & II Chronicles (Daily Study Bible) by JG McConville. Great short commentary.

2. Cornerstone Biblical Commentary 1-2 Chronicles by Mark J Boda. Longer but readable commentary on the book.

Flourish- The Sermon On The Mount: Sermon Study Guide #5- Cutting Off Lust

READ Matthew 5:27-30

In a culture that has gone through a sexual revolution resulting in the throwing off of sexual boundaries and the freedom of sexual expression, what Jesus says here sounds puritanical, repressive or just unrealistic. It sounds like going backward away from flourishing, not deeper into it. Is lust really something that we need to cut out of our lives to flourish? Jesus says, “Yes, and we need to be ruthless and radical when it comes to cutting lust out of our lives.”

REDEFINING SEXUAL FAITHFULNESS

Jesus’ definition of sexual faithfulness and flourishing goes far deeper than simply refraining from the physical act of sex with another person’s spouse (the technical definition of adultery). Sexual faithfulness is not only a matter of your body; it is a matter of the intentions of your heart; it’s a matter what your heart is looking to and for.

It’s important that we read Jesus’ strong words against lust in this sermon in the larger context of the Bible’s teaching on our sexuality. To be anti-lust is not to be anti-sex. God is the creator and designer of our sexuality. Jesus and the whole Bible are enthusiastically pro-sex. God created something that is intoxicatingly pleasurable and good and he gave it to us as a gift to enjoy in the covenant of marriage and to reveal something of Himself to us. The church has not always done a good job at defining sexual faithfulness - often focusing on preventing its misuse by ignoring its God intended delight and goodness.

With this context in mind, we can more clearly understand what lust is and isn’t. Lust is not the same thing as sexual desire nor is it the same as noticing someone’s beauty and attractiveness. To lust is to covet or desire someone sexually who has not been given to you by God as your spouse. Jesus’ definition combines the 7th commandment with the 10th commandment (you shall not covet your neighbors’ wife). Jesus is so ruthless when it comes to lust because it leads us away from sexual faithfulness and flourishing. Lauren Winner, in her book Real Sex, outlines three purposes of sex. Each shows us lust’s distortion of God’s good gift. 

1.      Unitive – Sex is meant to unite two whole people; lust leads us to objectify people.

2.     Creative – Sex is meant to give life; lust looks only to take and get.

3.     Sacramental – Sex is never meant to be about just sex; lust is only about sex.

TAKING DRASTIC MEASURES

Though many in our culture would say lust is just harmless fun and natural desire, Jesus says if we don’t cut out lust there are grave consequences. The more we indulge our lust, the more we distance ourselves from true sexual flourishing. The more we choose lust, the more we train ourselves to avoid the hard work of love (sex was never meant to be easy but the reward of promises made and kept). Jesus says refusing to cut off lust leads a person to Gehenna (“hell”) – a place absent of life, flourishing and love.

What are the implications of all this? It means we need to start by being ruthlessly honest about where we struggle. Nothing fuels lust like secrecy and shame. In a world saturated in lust-filled images, advertising and pornography, we need to “look at what we look at.” This may mean hard decisions about what we can watch and the kind of filters and protections we need in our use of technology. Though it won’t be easy and may make us seem strange, Jesus says, “Don’t delay!”  

FINDING SEXUAL HOLINESS + WHOLENESS

Though cutting off eyes and hands sounds like Jesus is chopping off pieces of our humanity, the call to sexual holiness is a call to become both holy and whole people. Cutting off lust is just the first step. When we cut off lust the real work can begin toward becoming holy and whole. One of the biggest side effects of the struggle with lust is that it often reduces our relationship to God to a single issue- Have I been sexually faithful or not? This creates an unhealthy obsession over one area of our lives.

The goal of cutting off lust is not to stop lusting. The goal of cutting out lust is the purity of heart that enables us to see God (Matt. 5:8). The more clearly we see God as He is – gracious, holy, whole, loving & compassionate - the more we see other people the way He does; not as objects to use and to look at in lust but as people made in his image to love.

The only thing that can drive out the passion of lust is the passion of a better and more satisfying love. A love that quenches our deep thirst to be fully known and loved - even in our brokenness, sin, shame and guilt. This kind of love can be found only in the gospel. Though we so often refuse to cut off lust and we direct our thirst away from God placing our pleasure over relationship, Jesus was willing be completely cut off and experience an unquenchable thirst for God (Gehenna/hell) – for the sake of relationship with us. This pursuing and passionate love of God is the antidote and the healing power for our lust and all its attendant shame and guilt.

In all our struggles with lust, He loves us still. It’s important that we balance this intense passage with how Jesus dealt with the sexually broken people who came to him – the woman at the well (John 4), the prostitute who came weeping (Luke 7:36-50), the woman caught in adultery (John 8:1-11). He was so gentle, compassionate and always eager to extend forgiveness. The same is true for us. His grace forgives and changes us so that we can “go and sin no more.”

FURTHER THOUGHTS

Sexual holiness + wholeness for those married – Read 1 Corinthians 7:1-11. Married couples need to continually work on deepening their exclusive sexual passion and delight in their spouse. Those with less desire need to hear this passage tell you thata part of discipleship is your sexual life. It should not be ignored, put off or minimized. Those with more desire than their spouse need to hear that the sexual part of your relationship cannot develop without the other parts of your relationship (emotional and spiritual oneness).  

In the old marriage vows a husband and wife would say to each other: “With my body I thee worship.” The meaning of this vow was that with our bodies we show our spouse that they alone are worthy of our love, devotion and desire. Married couples should be enacting this vow with great pleasure and frequency.

Sexual holiness + wholeness for those who are single – Read 1 Corinthians 7:25-40. Sexual celibacy (temporary or as lifetime calling) is not only extremely difficult in our culture, it is also often devalued by the church (sometimes in an attempt to restore God’s design for sex in marriages). The apostle Paul (who was single) says seasons of singleness should be honored as seasons to develop holiness in both body and spirit; seasons of focused spiritual development (7:34).

Celibate seasons are seasons to learn to live for God’s pleasure alone. Sex is not necessary to be a whole and fulfilled human being. Jesus was the most complete and perfect human being to ever live. Yet the living example of human flourishing was single and did not experience a sexual relationship with any person.

Questions

(Because of the sensitive nature of this topic, group leaders should use their discretion in how to best divide and structure the discussion.)

1.      What about the sermon most impacted you or left you with questions?

2.     How did you develop your definition of sexual faithfulness and flourishing? How has that impacted your ability to embrace and live according to Jesus’ definition?

3.     Why is it important to place Jesus’ radical teaching on lust within the whole Bible’s teaching on sex and sexuality? How does contrasting lust with the 3 purposes of sex (outlined above) help you to see how lust leads us away from flourishing?

4.     Why do you think Jesus recommends such drastic action against lust? What kind of drastic measures have you taken? What kind do you need to take?

5.     How does the passionate and pursuing love of God shown to us in Jesus have the kind of power to drive out the lust of our hearts?  Why it is important to see how Jesus actually interacted with sexually broken people?

6.     The 3 quotes below were shared as key principles for cutting lust out of our lives. Which is most helpful to you? Why?

·          “Lust is never your most important problem; lust is your favorite solution to deal with your most important problems" (paraphrased Nate Larkin, Samson and the Pirate Monks).

·          “Lust is the craving for salt of a man dying of thirst.” (Frederick Buechner)

·          "The young man who rings the bell at the brothel is unconsciously looking for God." (The World, the Flesh and Father Smith, Bruce Marshal)