Daniel #4 - The Fire (Oct 4, 2020)

Daniel 3:1-30

Introduction: We are continuing our series in Daniel to learn from his example of exile in Babylon and understand how it can be significant for us today. The book of Daniel has a lot to say about going through tough times but remaining faithful to God at all costs. Daniel and his friends were exiled to Babylon after King Nebuchadnezzar conquered and ransacked Jerusalem. Though they faced temptations to fully assimilate into Babylonian culture, Daniel and his friends actually experienced a strengthening of their faith in God and their witness for him during their time of exile. That is why this book is so important for us right now – exile meant that Daniel and his friends had lost their “normal lives”, including their normal structure of worship. Their faith was tested in every way possible – mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual – in what can be called a “crucible” of faith. BUT God reveals that he is in control over the crucible and is at work in it.. The fire of exile, which feels like it might consume our faith, can actually deepen and strengthen it.

Definition: a Crucible of Faith | A “crucible” is a place or situation in which concentrated forces interact to cause or influence change and/or development. In simpler terms, it is a vessel used to burn something in a fire at an extremely high temperature. In this passage, the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego shows us 3 things about living in a time of exile and experiencing a crucible of faith.

1. The Pressure to Worship is Intense

The first thing this passage shows us about life in the crucible of exile is that we will feel intense pressure to worship whatever we think will get us through. Worship in the Bible is not simply about singing songs or attending Sunday service. It’s what is at the core of everything we do. Here are some thoughts to consider:

1. Every person worships. We don’t choose if we worship, we chose what we worship. Every human being has a controlling center – what we value, seek and serve before anything else. When we dig deep down to the core of what drives us, it is worship (what we were made of). Perhaps this is why the very first Commandment is “You shall not have any other gods before me”. Obeying all the other commands hinges on this 1st Commandment because everything else hinges on worship.

2. Every person & every culture/nation sets up gods to replace God. The most repeated word in this passage is the one translated in English as “set up”, which is repeated 10 times! People are worshipping something set up (ie. man-made). We all – collectively and individually – set up other gods to replace God; even when these are “good” things, the problem arises when we make them ultimate things.

3. In exile, the pressure to worship (ie to idolatry) is intense. For many of us, the things we have most valued, served and sought are lost, gone, threatened, or simply not coming through for us; things that we have feared and dreaded are happening, or the fear of them happening is paralyzing us. And we are perhaps realizing for the first time that these weren’t just good things we wanted, but actually things that we worship (safety, control, comfort, security); gods that we have set up, good things made into ultimate things.

2. The Nature of Our Faith Is Revealed

In the intense pressure of Babylonian exile – the pressure to worship and bow down before the statute or face the fiery furnace – one of the most famous and powerful declarations of true faith in the whole Bible is produced (vv.16-18):

16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied to the king, “Nebuchadnezzar, we don’t need to give you an answer to this question. 17 If the God we serve exists, then he can rescue us from the furnace of blazing fire, and he can rescue us from the power of you, the king. 18 But even if he does not rescue us, we want you as king to know that we will not serve your gods or worship the gold statue you set up.”

These three young men are declaring their belief that God can deliver them (and us!). They are trusting him to deliver them from the furnace and EVEN IF he does not, they are still going to worship and trust Him alone. Their faith reveals something so important about the nature of genuine faith:

Genuine faith means serving and seeking God for God; it is NOT serving and seeking God for what we get/expect from Him, or serving and seeking as long as He comes through for us in the way we demand.

When the crucible comes, fire comes in the form of suffering and hardship and the nature of our faith is revealed. Are we trusting God? Or are we trusting God + our idea of what God should give us/do for us?

3. The Promises of God Are Our Hope (in the Fire)

How can we have a faith in God like this? This passage not only shows us what faith is, it builds and forms our faith by showing us what God promises to us when the fire comes and what he does not. This is the difference between faith that is consumed and faith that is refined in the fire/crucible of suffering/pressure of exile:

1. God doesn’t promise to deliver us from the fire.. 1 Peter 4:12: Dear friends, don’t be surprised when the fiery ordeal comes among you to test you, as if something unusual were happening to you. The Bible tells us that there is no way to fire-proof our lives – suffering will consume our faith if we falsely believe that God will fire-proof our lives if we accomplish specific things, live a certain way, believe hard enough, and pray fervently enough.

2. God promises to deliver us through the fire. Even though it would have made for an incredible story, God did not send mighty angels to strike down the king’s soldiers and deliver Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego to safety (and glory). They went into the furnace. BUT this is where we find out what our faith is truly in.

3. God promises to be with us in the fire. Although only 3 went in, the king sees 4 men in the furnace! This is the angel of the Lord, the presence of God in human form, saying: in the fire I will be with you in the most personal way possible – you will not be alone, ever. This is the promise of the passage.

4. God promises to deliver us from the greatest fire. This story also points us to another time when God entered a furnace to deliver his people And because of that, a day is coming when the final furnace will remove all of the brokenness, idolatry and troubles in our fallen world (Malachi 4:1-2, Matthew 13:42, 50). – and that is a furnace that no person’s life would make it through, except for Jesus. Jesus went through the greatest furnace for us and for our healing; He will not let the crucible harm us but will use it for our good, and He is the one entirely deserving of our worship and our trust!

REFLECT OR DISCUSS

1. What about the message is most relevant to you? How do you feel the challenge of the “new normal” is impacting you most right now? Do you relate (or not) to the image of a crucible for the times we are living in?

2. How are you feeling the pressure to worship (serve, seek and trust) whatever will get your through this crucible? Are their good things in your life that you have come to realize that you have “set up” as an idol to worship?

3. The bible says suffering relates to our faith as fire relates to gold. The fire reveals what our faith is in; it reveals the genuineness of our faith. It can also lead to a refined faith. What do you notice about the 3 men’s profession of faith in 3:16-18? What would it look like for you to make this kind of profession in the fire we are currently experiencing?

4. What enables us to trust God even when he doesn’t carry out our agenda, doesn’t answer our prayers and doesn’t come through for us in the way we expect Him to?

5. Of the 4 points under “The Promises of God” above, which do you think you most need to remember? How have you learned to find hope in God’s promises? How does knowing that Jesus went into the greater furnace for us give us hope that he will deliver us through this (smaller yet real) furnaces we face?

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Daniel #3 - The Dream of a Kingdom (Sep 27, 2020)

Daniel 2:31-49

Introduction: We are continuing our series in Daniel to learn from his example of exile in Babylon and understand how it can be significant for us today. The book of Daniel has a lot to say about going through tough times but remaining faithful to God at all costs. Daniel and his friends were exiled to Babylon after King Nebuchadnezzar conquered and ransacked Jerusalem. Though they faced temptations to fully assimilate into Babylonian culture, Daniel and his friends persisted in seeking the kingdom of God over the kingdom of man. This was not easy because it meant adjusting to a new normal. Not only did this new normal result in a political and spiritual crisis, but also a personal crisis. Like Daniel, we are exiles today adjusting to a new normal. The temptation for us is to trust in earthly kingdoms, but God reveals to us in the dream of King Nebuchadnezzar that it is his kingdom that we should ultimately place our trust in.

The Vision of a Kingdom Crushed

Dreams in Scripture can often be confusing and draw upon numerous themes that leave even the brightest scholars puzzled. Yet, we have seen in Daniel chapter two that God granted divine wisdom to Daniel to reveal and interpret a recurring dream of King Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel reveals this dream as a magnificent statue of different metals and clay that gets smashed to pieces by a stone. The terrifying interpretation of this dream is related to the dismal future of the Babylonian kingdom, and for King Nebuchadnezzar it tied directly to his legacy. We can only imagine how troubled we would have felt if we would have experienced a similar recurring dream in 2019 of how our aspirations for 2020 were to be crushed. The significance of this passage for us is that God wants to reorient us from living for a dream of a kingdom that won’t last to a kingdom that cannot be shaken.

1. The Kingdoms We Live In

First, the dream reveals to us the truth about the kingdoms we live in. We cannot escape the obvious political nature of the dream’s interpretation. Daniel reveals to King Nebuchadnezzar that the kingdom of Babylon relates to the head, and that after Babylon, numerous kingdoms will come. One temptation for us is to focus solely on decoding the dream in relation to a chronology of earthly kingdoms. Rather, the dream and its interpretation challenges us to take on a new perspective:

1. God is sovereign over the kingdoms we live in - Though this concept is difficult for us to comprehend, it nevertheless resolves one of our most fundamental questions: Is history (and my life) in the hands of the leaders and kingdoms of the world, or in the hands of a sovereign God? If it is in the hands of God then we have an ultimate answer to panic, despair, division, and the new normal. This is not to diminish our genuine struggles and concerns; it is to reorient us from placing our ultimate hope in the kingdoms we live in. 

2. God’s purpose does not depend on the kingdoms we live in - The kingdoms of the world come and go, but God’s purpose will prevail beyond their existence. Our temptation is to trust in the politics of worldly kingdoms. Many Christians claim loyalty to the purposes of particular political parties and celebrate this as if it is equal to the purpose of God. Daniel’s interpretation gives us a new vantage point. In politically tumultuous times we must step back and reacquire our perspective on the vantage point of the existence of earthly kingdoms from the perspective of heaven.

2. The Kingdom That Will Last

The king’s dream shows us the difference between the kingdoms humans build and the kingdoms that God builds. The stone in the dream contrasts with the dazzling statue in a way that shows how we perceive earthly kingdoms in contrast to God’s kingdom. Earthly kingdoms often seem dazzling, glorious, and strong, but God’s kingdom can seem small, weak, and unremarkable - like a stone. For Daniel, this was good news because God was in control and at work to establish his kingdom – even though it didn’t look like it to Daniel and the exiles. For us, it is even better news because we know what the stone means today. Jesus relates the stone in this dream with the rejection he faced from his people. In Luke 20:17-18 Jesus says “What then is this that is written: ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone’? Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.” The significance is astounding! Jesus is the stone that comes to crush human dreams of kingdoms that we make so that we might build our lives on the kingdom that lasts. We can often feel like our dreams are shattered and our hope is diminished based on the kingdoms and situations we see around us. But a gospel lens will help us see that, even in exile, the kingdom of God alluded to in Daniel has come to us in Jesus Christ, and it will one day come again to stand alone forever.

3. How God Gives Us Wisdom

There are certainly macro-level implications for kingdoms and nations of the world evident in the king’s dream, but what about for the individuals involved, like King Nebuchadnezzar himself? This was his dream after all. Following Daniel’s correct interpretation, he fell face down and worshipped Daniel. The immediate question is whether this was sincere or not. Sadly, the context makes it clear that it was not. In the very next chapter, we see King Nebuchadnezzar at work on building another statue. It was as if he was thinking that he could still do something differently in spite of his confrontation with the kingdom that lasts. The fact that he reacted this way may seem silly, but what do we do today when our dreams for the future are shattered unexpectedly? Don’t we often do the same thing as King Nebuchadnezzar? Though we see our own dreams for the future crushed we hold onto them anyway, sometimes in outright defiance and anger. Like the king, this is building upon the kingdom of self. God invites us to live not for the kingdom of self, but for His kingdom: the kingdom that lasts. This kingdom is not established by human effort alone and it may seem insignificant to us at the moment, but it is more powerful than any human kingdom. The kingdom of God lives on forever.

REFLECT OR DISCUSS

1. What about the message is most relevant to you today? How do you feel the challenge of the “new normal” has impacted you most?

2. Do you understand the political nature of the king’s dream? How does Daniel’s interpretation spark tension in how we think about earthly kingdoms and American politics?

3. Have you ever felt the need to question your loyalty to politics in light of God’s revelation of His own kingdom as revealed in Scripture?

4. Read Daniel 2:44-45. How might this picture of God’s kingdom inform how we think about the future of America and role as exiles in America?

5. The stone compared to a mighty statue seems small and insignificant. How does the kingdom of God share these qualities? Does it give you hope to reflect on how God chooses to use small things to accomplish great things? How does this give us hope in these hard times?

6. Read Luke 20:9-18. How does this parable of Jesus and his response to the chief priests relate to Daniel’s interpretation of the king’s dream?

7. How have your dreams been broken or shattered in 2020? How does this passage give hope and perspective for us when this happens? What would it look like to seek first His kingdom when dreams of our kingdom are crushed?

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Daniel #2 - The Wisdom to Understand (Sep 20, 2020)

Daniel 2:1-28

Introduction: We are continuing our study of Daniel to seek encouragement and wisdom from God during our turbulent times. The book of Daniel has a lot to say about going through tough times but remaining faithful to God at all costs. Daniel and his friends were exiled to Babylon after King Nebuchadnezzar conquered and ransacked Jerusalem. Though they faced temptations to fully assimilate into Babylonian culture, Daniel and his friends persisted in seeking God for strength and wisdom. God’s wisdom is far above and beyond our own, but He does not leave us endlessly grasping without hope. This is exactly what we see in chapter 2 as Daniel confronts the limits of human wisdom. He turns to God, and God graciously responds to him at the right time. Like Daniel and his friends, we are exiles today, and we must look beyond ourselves to God who is the ultimate source of wisdom.

What is Wisdom?

Wisdom is a word that is spoken of highly in many circles, but it is not always used correctly. First, wisdom is not mere knowledge. It is often used synonymously with knowledge, but this is to miss something very important. Wisdom includes knowledge but entails life experience and good judgment, which generally yields a well-developed character. Wise people are certainly knowledgeable, but that is not all they are. In fact, learning wisdom is a process of humility. If we desire to be wise, we would be foolish to think we can acquire it quickly without regard to the posture in which we receive it. Wisdom often comes to us in ways that require us to grow out of a different way of thinking and behaving. On a similar note, wisdom can be imparted to us by God. In God we can find vast treasures of wisdom (Col 2:3), and we could not contain all of it even if we tried. Because of His grace, He will often grant us wisdom in different ways and at different times in life as we draw near to Him (Prov 2:6). This makes it pretty clear that human wisdom is not all there is. We see this play out in Daniel as he interacts with the mighty King of Babylon.

1. Our Wisdom

The story begins with a dream that King Nebuchadnezzar does not understand. In his confusion, he seeks his best and wisest advisors to help him interpret and understand the dream. Their inability to help him understand his dream and interpret the meaning leads to him being deeply troubled, feeling anxious, and acting unreasonably angry. Ironically, the wisest counselors of the greatest nation at the time are left powerless by these circumstances. God essentially taught the King a hard lesson in the form of a dream and its interpretation: human wisdom is limited and incomplete. It is limited in the sense that there are some things we just cannot comprehend, and incomplete in the sense that even if we do comprehend some things, it is generally not the whole picture. The significance for us here is that in the face of a confusing situation we are tempted to imitate the King’s frustrated behavior. What can we do about Covid-19? Who will we vote for? How can we know what the best response is to events that call social justice into question? This is especially difficult for those of us who value control over our own lives and circumstances. But we must accept this: God allows certain circumstances that are beyond our control to expose the limits of our wisdom. To be truly wise, then, presupposes the acknowledgement of our own limitations, and the incomplete nature of our efforts to comprehend everything around us.

2. God’s Wisdom

How is it that Daniel was able to respond differently to this situation especially considering the high stakes of a threat of death resulting from the King’s frustration with his counselors? Daniel understood the limits of human wisdom, and held a proper posture toward the wisdom of God, one of humility and trust. This can be understood in relation to what God knows, and what God makes known.

What God Knows: Simply put, God knows everything. It is part of His nature not only that He knows everything, but also how to accomplish the right ends, in the right ways, and at the right times. Romans 11:33 reminds us, “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!” Even in a situation that is bewildering to us, God knows how to handle it. We ought to be humbled by this like Daniel.

What God Makes Known: Daniel not only believed that God is wise, but that He can reveal wisdom to us. One of the hardest things for us to do as Christians is to trust God in a situation where the solution is not immediately apparent to us. God does not reveal to us everything we want to know, or everything we demand to know, but what we need to know. And what God has already revealed to us enables us to trust him with what we do not yet know. In essence, the sufficiency of God’s revealed wisdom elicits trustworthiness regarding His secret wisdom. We can acknowledge our own limits of wisdom, but still see value in seeking wisdom and trusting God like Daniel

3. How God Gives Us Wisdom

The heart of Daniel chapter two is not the dream of King Nebuchadnezzar, but God’s wisdom to Daniel. He says to the King in verse 27, “No wise men, enchanters, magicians, or astrologers can show to the king the mystery that the king has asked, but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries.” How does God do this? For Daniel, God gave wisdom in prayer. God answered the sincere prayer of Daniel and his friends as expressed in verse 17. Elsewhere in Scripture, we see God’s desire to provide us wisdom through prayer (Jam 1:5-6). We should be encouraged that this is not in a vacuum as if it were apart from our own human experiences. Recall from Daniel 1:17 that wisdom is mentioned alongside education. Again, don’t let the limits of human wisdom prevent you from sincerely seeking human wisdom. It is fair to say that much of human wisdom can overlap with divine wisdom. Finally, God gave wisdom to Daniel in praise. Daniel did not rush off after receiving wisdom from God as if some divine transaction had been completed. He remained in the presence of God and praised Him for revelation. This speaks to the posture of receiving wisdom. When we are in a place of worship and God is more valuable to us than anything else, we are simultaneously in the place of greatest sanity and wisdom.

To the world, this is foolishness. For them, wisdom is not grounded in relationship with God, but a purely rational enterprise. But God often works in this way. Consider how Daniel confounded the wise of his day by staking his life upon something that seemed foolish. It points us to the cross of Christ of which it is written, “For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God... Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe” (1 Cor 1:18,20-21).

REFLECT OR DISCUSS

1. What about the message is most relevant to you today? Where do you feel most in need of wisdom in the many challenges you are facing right now?

2. What is the relationship between wisdom and knowledge? Why is it important for us to know the difference, especially in a world overloaded with information?

3. What does it mean that acquiring wisdom is a process of humility? What does this mean about our inclination to seek quick answers or give/get instant advice to the complex issues we are facing today? Why is it so hard for people (for you!) to admit the our wisdom is limited and incomplete?

4. Read James 1:5-6. What difference does it make to know that God is generous and ungrudging in giving us the wisdom we need? Do you see value in seeking wisdom through prayer in community?

5. It was said in the message that, “what God has already revealed to us enables us to trust him with what He has not revealed.” What is that you wish God revealed to you that he hasn’t? How does knowing what he has revealed help you trust Him for what He has not?

6. Why does the gospel tell us we have to become fools in order to become wise? How does the gospel give us wisdom to trust God and no matter what is happening in the world and in our lives?

7. Read James 3:13-18. Here James gives us the marks of the wisdom God gives and the kind of wisdom that creates peace and righteousness. How does this provide a filter for us for who to listen to? How does this challenge you to grow in wisdom?

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Daniel #1 - Faithful in Exile (Sep 13, 2020)

Daniel 1:1-21

Introduction: This Fall we are turning to the book of Daniel to give us encouragement and wisdom amid the Covid-19 Pandemic and the ensuing political unrest of an election year. The book of Daniel was written at a similar crossroad in the history of Israel. Daniel was one of the first among the Jews to be exiled during a time when Israel was at its lowest point, a time of crisis, as King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon conquered and ransacked Jerusalem. Like Daniel and his friends, we are exiles, and we should look to none other than God, who is in control. He will give us the strength to be faithful in this time of crisis. The central theme of Daniel is God’s sovereignty over history and that all kingdoms will culminate in a final kingdom in which God’s faithful ones, through trials, will be raised to glory, honor, and everlasting life.

The Relevance of Daniel

As we consider our own exile as Christians, we would do well to consider what Daniel’s exile meant for him. First, it meant the loss of normal worship. The normal structure of Israel’s worship was completely upended. There was no more Temple worship, no more sacrifices, no more festivals. It was an entirely different world that was spiritually disorienting. As a result, it induced a crisis of faith. While every believer at this time could have imagined a crisis of faith at some point in their lives, none could imagine one such as this. God’s people were conquered, subjugated, and colonized. Why would God allow this to happen? How could He possibly come through? Finally, this new environment was one of immersion in political idolatry. The temptation for God’s people would be either to look at the newly introduced political system and its leaders as a savior, or to despise them as a great enemy to destroy. This was Daniel’s world, and he was thrust into it, as many of us feel today

1. The Temptations We Face In Exile

Before we can grasp how to be to be faithful in exile, we must understand the temptations presented to us in exile. As we look to Daniel, there are two main temptations:

1.) The temptation to assimilate - The pressure for Daniel to assimilate was no small matter. Part of the King’s strategy was to fully assimilate Daniel and his companions into Babylonian culture. The idea was simple but powerful. If leaders or influencers of the Jews could be compromised, then the people would soon follow suit. But Daniel resolved not to defile himself when he resisted the King’s food and wine that was freely offered to him (1:8). This may not seem significant, but it becomes apparent later that Daniel’s greatest contribution to Babylon was his ability to remain distinct from Babylon. Likewise, one of our great temptations today is that of political assimilation. If we do not follow Daniel’s resolve, we are likely to get swept right up into divisive political identities. Though difficult, exile proffers an opportunity for us to extract ourselves from political assimilation and rediscover faithfulness to our one true God and his kingdom.

2.) The temptation to withdraw - If the temptation to assimilate is so strong, then why not withdraw from it all? Many Christians have chosen this path, especially considering the difficulty of integrating faith with culture and politics. But this response is to overlook some important considerations. In fact, Daniel and his friends were some of the best political leaders in Babylon, and this as a result of their diligence as students of Babylonian culture. Could it be possible that being in Babylon was actually the impetus for Daniel’s faith? Sometimes we forget that comfort can prompt us to take things for granted. For Daniel, the solution to the crisis of exile was the opposite of withdrawal. Exile was actually an opportunity to renew and redefine his faith. Christians today can follow this example and better equip themselves to be witnesses to a world that needs the gospel.

2. The Truth We Need In Exile

In the face of such temptation what are we to do? Daniel and his friends give us a simple and subtle truth: God is in control. Even when we can’t see it, feel it, or conceive it, God is at work. Think about it. If there was ever a time where it would seem like God was no longer in control, it was at this moment in Israel’s history. How could God be working while His temple was looted and a pagan king had taken His people from their home and forced them into physical and spiritual bondage? Well three little words show up several times in Daniel chapter 1: “The Lord gave…” It may have seemed that they were solely in the hands of Babylon, but they were not. They were still in the hands of a sovereign God, and He was at work among them like He is today. I know this might be hard to believe, but among everything from a global pandemic to political tension to your own unique situation, God is in control.

3. The Triumph We Can Have (Even) In Exile

The mighty King of Babylon took away generations of hope and faith from the people of God. For him, the loot of Jerusalem was just another set of trophies for his trophy room. But the question remains: Who won? The only reason we know anything at all about King Nebuchadnezzar today is because of we’ve dug up traces of his kingdom from the sand! But verse 21 tells us Daniel outlasted King Nebuchadnezzar and the great Babylonian kingdom! Daniel, the kid who was kidnapped and subjugated, outlived an entire empire by remaining faithful. His faith can be counted a triumph. This triumph is certainly legendary, but it points to one even greater. Jesus Christ of Nazareth held no political office, commanded no army, and conquered no earthly oppressors. Still, he is remembered, cherished, and worshiped by billions throughout history. In his darkest hour he faced a similar exile - one of despair, loneliness, and shame. Yet he cancelled our debt, nailed it to a cross, and he triumphed over rulers and authorities (Col 2:14-15). Jesus won, and this is a victory we can celebrate today. Out of what seemed like the greatest loss (his exile on the cross) came his greatest victory (His triumph over sin, death and evil). As we see in the examples of Jesus and Daniel, may we emulate them in holding firm convictions with soft edges and have faith that triumphs in the face of exile.

REFLECT OR DISCUSS

1. What about the message is most relevant to you today? Do you feel impacted by the loss of normal worship, a personal crisis related to the Covid-19 pandemic, and/or the weight of political tension in our culture?

2. Which one of the two temptations do you resonate most with in your own life? Do you give into the pressure to assimilate, or rush to withdraw? Have you ever fluctuated between the two as a result of an experience?

3. Have you ever resolved to “not defile” yourself, like Daniel, in an effort to remain faithful to God? Do you think that Christians can practically apply this principle today?

4. Daniel and his friends found a way to learn Babylonian culture and politics without being indoctrinated by it. Do you think this is an important component of their leadership? Why or why not? What challenges can you think of that would hinder you if you tried to apply this today?

5. Have you ever struggled to understand the sovereignty of God in a tough situation whether recently or in the past? How did that experience shape your faith into what it is today?

6. What is the role of truth in a crisis of faith? Can you think of any other biblical examples of God’s people that remained faithful to the truth while in the face of dire circumstances?

7. Be honest, do you feel more overwhelmed today by circumstances, or by the triumph that we have in Christ? In what ways does this message remind you of Jesus and His gospel message for us?

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Signs of Life - Generosity (May 17, 2020)

1 Timothy 6:7

Introduction: Just as we are now paying very close attention to certain metrics and vital signs of physical health – our temperature, cough, fatigue, 1 Timothy was written to show us what metrics and signs we should be paying attention to for our spiritual health. As we come to the end of Paul’s letter, these last verses give us one final sign of life that wraps up his teaching what spiritual health looks like – Generosity. This passage raises three questions we need to ask ourselves and answer to walk the path toward a life of generosity.

1) Am I Rich?

Paul specifically directs this passage at “those who are rich in the present age”. So our first question must be to ask if his words here even apply to us. For a great many of us, our first reaction is likely to be something along the lines of: “I’m not poor but I’m definitely not rich!”. Similarly for the church in Ephesus, there were some who were poor (such as widows), along with a few who were undeniably wealthy.  The rest, like many of us, likely felt that they were (or wanted to be) somewhere “in the middle”. Paul, however, does not give anyone that option; here (and in many other places in the Bible), we are given a binary option: am I rich?  Or am I poor?.

• The Bible defines a rich person as someone who has more than “enough”. Earlier in 1 Timothy, Paul says “If we have food and [shelter], we will be content with these” (1 Tim 6:8). The implication is that if we have more than these, we are rich!

• For perspective: If you make over $32,400 per year, this puts you in the top 1% of income earners in the world. More than 730 million people in the world live on less than $1.90/day. 800 million+ do not have enough food to survive. Over 1 billion people – no regular access to clean water. This perspective can help push us out of the middle towards one side or another

Why does this matter? Paul forces us to acknowledge this reality so that we can reckon with the 2 major obstacles that keep a rich person from being generous. 

1. Arrogance – While he uses a very strong word here, Paul is simply referring to the idea of status based on what we have.  When our status is tied to money or things, we tend to take credit for having earned it.  Thus it is that much harder to accept if God asks us to give it away

2. False hope – Paul also calls out what we look to for our security, what we count on when we feel anxious or unsure, and what is comforting us when we do feel secure. When our hope for the future is more tied to how much money we have than on God and his character/calling on our lives, we will not be generous

If we don’t believe we are included in verse 17 (that we are rich), we won’t be able to do what is instructed in verse 18 (to be generous).  We must first acknowledge that we are rich before we become generous.  But we also cannot skip over the second part of verse 17 – the part that makes all the difference…

2. Is God Generous?

Paul summarizes the God of the Bible, his true character/heart like this: God is “The one who richly provides us with all things to enjoy” (v17). Underline it. Circle it. That is the God of the Bible. Is that your view of God? There really are only 2 views of God:

1. There is a God - but he isn’t really generous. A god of performance-based religion, which many people mistakenly think the God of Christianity is, can never be described this way. This kind of god is the god who provides exactly what people deserve, what people earn and work for. No more no less. This feeds into arrogance (status – good/bad, deserve/don’t deserve, in/out). We can never be secure with a god whose favor/provision we have to earn and keep. “Religious” people cannot be truly generous - because they don't believe God is truly generous (with a God like this – we get what we deserve, good or bad)

2. God really is the One who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. “Who richly provides” is present tense (He is always the God who richly provides, and always has been – this is Who He Is). Why does he richly provide all things for us? So that we would enjoy them!  Some people seem to be believe that God gave us things to forbid us from enjoying them. No! The word for “enjoy” used by Paul is a very strong word – it means to take great pleasure in something. Hebrews 11:25 also tells us that we don’t get what we deserve, we get far more above and beyond!

If this really is who God is, and if we really believe it, THEN we have everything we need to know in order to be radically generous, to do everything v18 instructs us to do.

To become generous – “to do good, to be rich in good works, share” – is a matter of whether we know God to be this God.  The gospel, the good news about Jesus Christ, alone reveals just how generous God really is! If God only gave me what I deserved, I would have nothing because I deserve nothing. Our lives, all we have, all the joy we have experienced in life – it is all a gift from a generous and loving God. We all know it is far easier to be generous to someone who is appreciative than to someone who is entitled and ungrateful – who says, “that’s it?”. But that’s us. The gospel has to get to the root of our arrogance, to make us acknowledge” I deserve nothing”.

In the gospel we have a status and a security that is greater than anything our money/wealth could give us. We are sons/daughters of the generous God who made everything and owns everything. He promises to never withhold anything we need. So is God generous? Far more than we could ask or imagine!

3) What Will Happen if I Generously Give?

If you don’t believe you are in the first verse (rich), you won’t be in the second (generous) and you won’t get what is offered to you in the third (a good foundation and life that is truly life). So what will happen if I generously give?

Here’s that will happen - You will let go of some things and you will give them away. If you are truly generous, it will be HARD, it will feel like sacrifice, but you will take hold of something else. Something else more solid and more real than anything you let go of.

The truth is, to know the answer to this question, you can’t really know until you do it. In a book called the Paradox of Generosity, Notre Dame sociologists Christian Smith and Hilary Davidson share what they call a sociological fact established by their research: “Those who give, receive back in turn…By grasping onto what we currently have, we lose out on better goods that we might have gained.”  In that vein, here are 2 paradoxical applications to consider:

• Giving (generously) fills us when we feel empty. When we are feeling dry, down and like nothing is there spiritually, very often God will become more real and joy will come as we give. To be clear, this is not always the whole picture but it is something we must not overlook as a very effective ‘treatment’ for anxiety, fears, some periods of depression, etc.

• Giving (generously) prepares us for seasons of losing. When our treasures are in heaven, losses of possessions on earth are more easily consoled than when our hopes for this life are wrapped up in these possessions – which can make all the difference in experiencing times of financial uncertainty and even great crisis such as we are now.

• Giving (generously) makes us rich. The truth of v19 is this paradox: “Generosity will always make you richer” in true wealth, in what is truly life. It gives us a truly solid foundation for a future that is secure/stable. And as we share and let go of our things, we enter more and more into, and take hold of, what is truly life. And what is that? It’s the life of God Himself. The Giver. The God who gave everything for us so we might share in this life with Him.

DIAGNOSE – Using the handout diagnose one area God has grown you in generosity and one area where He is calling you to grow?

REFLECT OR DISCUSS

1. Do you believe you are rich? Why or why not? How does the text challenge you in this way

2. Do you (really) believe God is generous? Why or why not? How does the gospel demonstrate the extent of God’s generosity to us?

3. Do you believe what this text says will happen when you are generous? Why or why not? What are your fears? In what ways you have you seen this to be true?

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