Blue Lake Presbyterian Church | 8-23-2015
Good morning,
Years ago my wife and I bought one of those Thomas Home Center Barn building kits. In the spirit of American dream this was our very first own home and we lived in for nearly a decade. A good portion of the construction we did our selves with the help of some contractors, such as the concrete contractor doing the foundation.
We had bought a lot on a fairly steep hill site, consequently the foundation at the back of the house was a ground level while in the front it was 12 ft in the air. The contractors did a great job. This foundation was tested a few times, it withstood the earthquake of 1992 and many fierce south winds pounding the house on this south facing slope during many of the strong winter storms of the nineties. Remember those years? That is when we still had rain.
The foundation may be the least appeling section of a house but yet it is the most important part. The nicest house with all the amenities but without a strong foundation will not stand.
So it is with our faith in Jesus Christ, our Lord, our redeemer. The Foundation lays in the Old Testament from Genesis to Malachi, covering more than 2000 years of history.
This morning we will touch on the relevance of this biblical history leading to God sending his only begotten son, who promised that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. We will use portions of 1King 8 and John 6 56-59 in today’s message.
Last time we talked about David and Bathsheba, in the biography of David, the book called 2 Samuel.
Today we red from its sequel 1 Kings. This book largely describes the life story of David’s son Solomon who succeeds him as the next King.
It is a fascinating story and also a paradox. David committed adultery with Bathsheba, and it is Bathsheba that carried the child that turned out to be the heir to the throne. And it wasn’t for a lack of successors.
David had 20 sons from 8 wives and it was Solomon that was anointed by Zadok the priest and the prophet Nathan to succeed David to the throne.
And this is where it gets interesting. David was a notable figure in Jewish history. He accomplished a lot in his life time, but the following generation the successor, turns out to be an amazing Monarch with incredible wisdom and he over shadowed his father in many ways.
We grow flowers in Arcata, Willow creek, Oxnard Ca and St Catherine Canada.
At these farms we grow mostly Iris, Tulips and Lilies.
In order to provide a great assortment to our customers, we grow numerous varieties. Through the years these varieties have evolved from generation to generation and new ones surpass the qualities of their predecessors.
40 years there was an Iris variety called professor Blauw, a blue variety and in the seventies this was the main variety, today 80% of the blue iris sold in America is a variety called Telstar, a prolific performer with the best vase life of any Iris, a definite upgrade from that Professor Blauw from 40 years ago.
The tulip world in the 70’s was dominated by two cultivars: Apeldoorn and Golden Apeldoorn, these two varieties led the chart for more than a decade. Today the leading tulip variety is called Strong Gold, there are more bulbs grown of this variety than any other Tulip and it is the best yellow in the market with an amazing vase life far surpassing that of Golden Apeldoorn.
40 years ago, the leading Lily varieties were Enchantment and Rubrum, today these varieties are gone. The variety with largest acreage in the World today is called Siberia, a strong White Oriental lily with millions of bulbs shipped all over the World particularly into China.
Generations come and generations go, so it went with David and Solomon. David reigned for 40 years .7 years in Hebron and 33 years in Jerusalem. David’s dream and quest was to build a house to hold the Ark of the Covenant.
What is the Ark of the Covenant?? We need to go back in time 480 years, when Moses came down from Mount Horeb with the tablets, with inscription of the Ten Commandments. These tablets were put in a box,,,, a chest,,,, that was built out of Acacia wood and overlaid with gold.
The Ark was with the Israelites throughout the 40 years in the desert, it came along when Joshua lead the people of Israel across the Jordan into the Promised Land after Moses has passed away.
Then the Ark stayed with the Israelites for another 440 years and it was well guarded, but it was held inside a tent, yes a tent.
After his arrival in Jerusalem, David prepared the blue print to build a magnificent house “the temple “to permanently create a sacred place to hold the Ark.
As David was proceeding to start construction, the Lord spoke and forbid David from continuing, because of the all blood that David had shed in battles and the sins that he committed, in other words he called a time out. God then commanded, that his successor, the next king of Israel was to build this glorious structure.
After Solomon took the throne he had a dream one night, in which the Lord appeared. God said ask what I should give you.
Just for a moment imagine that, how would we answer that request? Let’s see if we can ask anything we want, a new car, a nice house, a great job, money in the bank, in today’s material World that list could be endless.
But this is what Solomon asked for: Lord give me an understanding mind (wisdom) and the ability to discern between good and evil. God was pleased with this request, and he not only blessed Solomon with incredible wisdom but also with amazing riches.
Israel experienced a prolonged period of peace and prosperity during the reign of King Solomon.
Solomon wrote 3 books, two of these books provide us with his amazing insight and wisdom while reading Proverbs or Ecclesiastes. We find quotes such as:
Your own soul is nourished when you are kind; it is destroyed when you are cruel. A good name is more desirable than great riches. A happy heart makes the face cheerful. A fool is wise is his own eyes. Start with God, the first step in learning is bowing down to God , only fools thumb their noses at such wisdom and learning.
In those days Solomon’s wisdom was universally known throughout the Middle East and well into Africa. As a matter of fact the queen of Sheba (now a days Ethiopia) was so curious she paid him a visit.
As the story goes it developed into a bit more than just a visit and she returned home bearing a child that was conceived by the king.
Since the inception of the state of Israel in 1948 Jews from all over the world have immigrated back to their ancestral home land.
Particularly after the fall of the USSR a huge influx of Russian Jews were absorbed into Israeli society including learning Hebrew, the official Jewish language.
Last year I was talking to one of our Israeli bulb suppliers and he told me about a sizable community of Jews living in Ethiopia that traced their roots back to King Solomon. Most of these Solomon descendants have come back home to Israel.
In 1 kings 8:22 we read about Solomon dedicating the newly built temple.
i22Then Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the assembly of Israel, and spread out his hands to heaven. and in verse41“Likewise when a foreigner, who is not of your people of Israel, comes from a distant land because of your name42—for they shall hear of your great name, your mighty hand, and your outstretched arm—when a foreigner comes and prays toward this house,43then hear in heaven your dwelling place, and do according to all that the foreigner calls to you, so that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you, as do your people of Israel, and so that they may know that your name has been invoked on this house that I have built.
Solomon is his dedication of the temple and his prayer in in the presence of all the assembly of Israel is foreshadowing what is to come 1000 years later when God sends his son from heaven to dwell on earth. And how foreigners like us right here are given the opportunity to come into the kingdom of God.
This is very significant as this will prove to become an amazing gift, our ticket to Salvation.
Before we go there it is important to recognize how the pathway to Salvation came about.
Sam Walton describes in autobiography “Made in America” that when he decided to find a site for a new store in a town that he had targeted, he would not drive around in that town to find the site. He had learned that it was far more effective to look from above, so he would climb in his Cessna 414 and scope out that town from the air. It gave him a much better perspective.
To understand Jewish history and how the Old Testament (the foundation) is such an integral part of our believe in Jesus Christ and the pathway to Salvation, I invite you to come along on a quick flight to survey the history of Jewish people.
The word Covenant is mentioned 280 times in the Old Testament. God made a covenant with Abraham and he promised: I will make your people as plentiful as the sand on the sea shore and the stars in the sky. From Abraham, Isaac to Jacob to the twelve sons of Jacob, the Israelites find themselves in Egypt for nearly 5 centuries. God selected Moses to free the people from Egyptian slavery.
This brings us to Mount Horeb. This is where God invokes the law with the 10 commandments. The book of Leviticus actually lists 613 laws that first penned down by Moses as he received the word from God, and was added onto later.
These laws dominate Jewish culture from then forward. This is the whole reason the temple was built by Solomon, even when this temple was destroyed by the Babylonians in 587 BC a new temple was rebuild 70 years later. The laws of Moses were the law of the land for 1500 years up to the days of Jesus.
The Salvation question among the Jewish people of that day was not clear. Some said salvation was only possible by obeying the law. Others disagreed. Just like the supreme court of today, the Pharisees and Sadducees of the time held huge power as they were the class in society interpreting these laws, but they could not agree on the Salvation question either.
It is at that point that God sends his son from heaven to save the people of Israel and the World. This is very confusing to the Jewish people.
This brings us to the text in John 6:56-69 in our pew bible on page 98 and 99.
56Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them.57Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me.58
This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever.”59He said these things while he was teaching in the synagogue at Capernaum.
60When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?” But Jesus, being aware that his disciples were complaining about it, said to them, “Does this offend you?62Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before?63
It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh is useless. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. 7So Jesus asked the twelve, “Do you also wish to go away?”68Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life.69We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.”
Folks this brings us to a fundamental question, the way we started this morning with the foundation of the house.
Can only those who believe in Jesus Christ receive eternal life???? That question was confusing to the people when Jesus said these words.
The setting in John 6 took place the day after feeding the 5000. Even though all witnessed this incredible miracle the crowd is still skeptical about Jesus, particularly when he tells these folks that whoever eats this bread will have eternal life.
These folks were raised in the Jewish tradition with the Ark of the Covenant and the laws of Moses. That is what they knew, but now things have drastically changed and the people are confused.
They keep asking Jesus what we need to do, Jesus answers from verse 28 to verse 60, roughly 10 minute dialogue.
Jesus doesn’t just answer the question once or twice.
No he repeats himself 9 times. I find this amazing, 9 times Jesus says believe in me and you will never thirst or hunger and receive eternal life.
I can’t think of another place where Jesus repeats himself like this, obviously to underscore the point. The answer to the salvation question can’t be any more clear.
These words from Jesus changed the world forever. Many people at the time didn’t want to hear and covered their ears and didn’t want to see the light and closed their eyes.
Think of it as for thousands of years the only mode of transportation was a four legged animal pulling a vehicle, and suddenly the automobile changes everything. Imagine still wanting to use the horse and carriage today and reject the car, this seems improbable right?
Or likewise it is like insisting in communicating through writing letters, while the rest of the World, uses cellphones or email, or Twitter, or Facebook.
There are still folks around the world that do not see the shining light of Jesus, that light that can provide us with Eternal life.
Solomon in his dedication asked God to answer his prayer so that all peoples of the earth may know God and be accepted into the kingdom.
The simple truth is this: all one needs to do is: say yes to a personal relationship with Jesus, ask for forgiveness, eat his bread, believe, and you will receive eternal life.
In a few minutes we will sing Joyful Joyful we adore thee,
Ladies and Gentlemen, as we close today I honesty cannot think of a more Joyful promise than the promise of eternal Life.
Thank you, and God bless you.
Amen,
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