Eastside Baptist Church, Winfield, Alabama

“Dark, Dark Darkness” (Genesis 10:21–29)

“Dark, Dark Darkness” (Genesis 10:21–29)
Pastor Cameron Jungels
Eastside Baptist Church
Sunday PM, October 1, 2017
 
Exodus 10:21–29 (NIV)
21 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward the sky so that darkness spreads over Egypt—darkness that can be felt.” 22 So Moses stretched out his hand toward the sky, and total darkness covered all Egypt for three days. 23 No one could see anyone else or move about for three days. Yet all the Israelites had light in the places where they lived.
24 Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and said, “Go, worship the Lord. Even your women and children may go with you; only leave your flocks and herds behind.”
25 But Moses said, “You must allow us to have sacrifices and burnt offerings to present to the Lord our God. 26 Our livestock too must go with us; not a hoof is to be left behind. We have to use some of them in worshiping the Lord our God, and until we get there we will not know what we are to use to worship the Lord.”
27 But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he was not willing to let them go. 28 Pharaoh said to Moses, “Get out of my sight! Make sure you do not appear before me again! The day you see my face you will die.”
29 “Just as you say,” Moses replied. “I will never appear before you again.”
 
Darkness as Psychological Judgment.
 
Darkness as Warning of Impending Death and Destruction.
 
Darkness as Symbol of the Un-Creation of Egypt.
 
Darkness as Demonstration of YHWH’s Mighty Power and Supremacy.
 
Darkness as the Condition of Pharaoh’s Heart.
 
 

“Death through Adam, Life through Christ” (Romans 5:12–21)

“Death through Adam, Life through Christ” (Romans 5:12–21)
Pastor Cameron Jungels
Eastside Baptist Church
Sunday AM, October 1, 2017
 
Romans 5:12–21 (NIV)
12 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned—
13 To be sure, sin was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not charged against anyone’s account where there is no law. 14 Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who is a pattern of the one to come.
15 But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! 16 Nor can the gift of God be compared with the result of one man’s sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. 17 For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!
18 Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people. 19 For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.
20 The law was brought in so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, 21 so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
 
We are either in Adam or in Christ; those are the only two options (12–21).
 
In Adam we are sinners condemned to death; in Christ we are justified, declared to be righteous (18–19).
 
Under Moses our sins were magnified; in Christ grace is magnified (20).
 
In Adam we were enslaved under the tyranny of sin and death; in Christ by grace we reign with him in life (17, 21).
 
Main Idea: “The combined power of sin, law, and death is defeated by the superabounding power of grace and righteousness in the Lord Jesus Christ.”

"A Praying Life" (chapter 20)

A Praying Life: Connecting with God in a Distracting WorldBy Paul E. Miller
“A Father’s Love” - Chapter 20
Distance from God
Why do we feel distant from God?Has God withdrawn from us?
Or, have we have drifted from God?
When we feel distant from God: We may ignore him in good times
And blame him in bad times.
Distance from God may result in or be related to our distance from other people.
What has caused us to drift from God?Self-dependence?
Selfish desires?
Pride?
Bitterness or anger?
Unconfessed/unrepented sin?
Cynicism/unbelief?
Apathy?
A Father’s Love
God loves us as his children in spite of who we are.God’s love is covenantal.
God’s love is unconditional.
God’s love is never-ending.
God’s love is infinite.
God’s love is incomprehensible.
God’s love is gracious and giving.
God’s love is sacrificial.
Nothing can separate us from God’s love.
Horizontal and Vertical
Our relationship with our heavenly Father is directly linked with our earthly relationships.
Distance in one will result in distance in the other.
A breakthrough in one leads to a breakthrough in the other.
Drawing near to God in love will help us draw near to others in love.
Tough Love
God often uses hardship and delay to draw us near to him.It decreases dependence on ourselves.
It strengthens and refines our faith.
It shatters our worldly idols.
It moves us to reflection and prayer.
It teaches patience and endurance.
It teaches us to wait on God’s timing.
It teaches us to trust God’s wisdom.
Broken Images of God
An earthly father’s love is intended to be a finite picture of the infinite and perfect love of God for his children.
What if an earthly father failed you?
How can you see God as your father if your father was distant, absent, or harsh?
The good news is our heavenly Father trumps the failures of earthly fathers.
Because we live in a fallen world, God has to use broken images of himself, such as fathers.
In fact, all the images God gives us of himself in Scripture are flawed.
The fact that we know our earthly father is flawed means we know what a good father should do.
Because we are created in the image of the triune God, we have an instinctive knowledge of how a father should love.
If we didn’t know what a good father was, we couldn’t critique our own.
What we feel we are lacking in our earthly relationships is fully present in our relationship with God, who is perfect.
God uses the weak things of the world—including fathers—to weave his stories.

“Lots and Lots of Locusts” (Exodus 10:1–20)

“Lots and Lots of Locusts” (Exodus 10:1–20)Pastor Cameron JungelsEastside Baptist ChurchSunday PM, September 24, 2017
Exodus 10:1–20 (NIV)
10 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his officials so that I may perform these signs of mine among them 2 that you may tell your children and grandchildren how I dealt harshly with the Egyptians and how I performed my signs among them, and that you may know that I am the Lord.”
3 So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said to him, “This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: ‘How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me? Let my people go, so that they may worship me. 4 If you refuse to let them go, I will bring locusts into your country tomorrow. 5 They will cover the face of the ground so that it cannot be seen. They will devour what little you have left after the hail, including every tree that is growing in your fields. 6 They will fill your houses and those of all your officials and all the Egyptians—something neither your parents nor your ancestors have ever seen from the day they settled in this land till now.’ ” Then Moses turned and left Pharaoh.
7 Pharaoh’s officials said to him, “How long will this man be a snare to us? Let the people go, so that they may worship the Lord their God. Do you not yet realize that Egypt is ruined?”
8 Then Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh. “Go, worship the Lord your God,” he said. “But tell me who will be going.”
9 Moses answered, “We will go with our young and our old, with our sons and our daughters, and with our flocks and herds, because we are to celebrate a festival to the Lord.”
10 Pharaoh said, “The Lord be with you—if I let you go, along with your women and children! Clearly you are bent on evil. 11 No! Have only the men go and worship the Lord, since that’s what you have been asking for.” Then Moses and Aaron were driven out of Pharaoh’s presence.
12 And the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over Egypt so that locusts swarm over the land and devour everything growing in the fields, everything left by the hail.”
13 So Moses stretched out his staff over Egypt, and the Lord made an east wind blow across the land all that day and all that night. By morning the wind had brought the locusts; 14 they invaded all Egypt and settled down in every area of the country in great numbers. Never before had there been such a plague of locusts, nor will there ever be again. 15 They covered all the ground until it was black. They devoured all that was left after the hail—everything growing in the fields and the fruit on the trees. Nothing green remained on tree or plant in all the land of Egypt.
16 Pharaoh quickly summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “I have sinned against the Lord your God and against you. 17 Now forgive my sin once more and pray to the Lord your God to take this deadly plague away from me.”
18 Moses then left Pharaoh and prayed to the Lord. 19 And the Lord changed the wind to a very strong west wind, which caught up the locusts and carried them into the Red Sea. Not a locust was left anywhere in Egypt. 20 But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let the Israelites go.
1. The LORD will glorify his own name, and he will move kings and nations in order to do it (1).2. The LORD desires for his name and his mighty acts to be known by his people for all generations (2).3. It is better to humble yourself before the LORD than to be humiliated by the LORD (3–7).4. The LORD’s commands cannot be negotiated down; and his people must never compromise with the world (8–11).5. Persistent rebellion against the LORD leads to more devastating judgment (12–15).6. A repentance that is induced only by the adverse circumstances and produces no real lasting change is not a genuine repentance (16–19).7. Persistent rebellion against the LORD results in reprobation, with the LORD delivering a person over to their depraved desires and thus confirming their condemnation (20).

“Death through Adam, Life through Christ” (Romans 5:12–21), part 2

“Death through Adam, Life through Christ” (Romans 5:12–21), part 2
Pastor Cameron Jungels
Eastside Baptist Church
Sunday AM, September 24, 2017
 
Romans 5:12–21 (NIV)
12 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned—
13 To be sure, sin was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not charged against anyone’s account where there is no law. 14 Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who is a pattern of the one to come.
15 But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! 16 Nor can the gift of God be compared with the result of one man’s sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. 17 For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!
18 Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people. 19 For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.
20 The law was brought in so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, 21 so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
 
Adam is a type of Christ. They both represent their people, but Christ’s headship over his people is so much superior to Adam’s. Note the contrasts between Adam and Christ:
Difference in kind of representation: We are in Adam physically; we are in Christ spiritually.
Difference in character: Adam’s trespass brings death as a matter of justice; Christ’s obedience brings life as a matter of grace.
Difference in the nature of their actions: Adam’s act was a selfish act of pride; Christ’s act was a selfless act of love.
Difference in the immediate effect: Adam’s act brought condemnation, with judgment following only one sin; Christ’s act brought justification, with grace following many sins.
Difference in ultimate effect: Adam’s act brings the reign of death (physical, spiritual, and eternal); Christ’s act brings our reign in life (physical, spiritual, and eternal).

"A Praying Life" (chapter 19)

A Praying Life: Connecting with God in a Distracting World
By Paul E. Miller
Part 4: Living in Your Father’s Story
“Watching a Story Unfold” - Chapter 19
Our Prayers Shape Us
God wants to do something bigger than simply answer our prayers.
The act of praying draws God into our lives and begins to change us.
Our prayers are not isolated from the larger story that God is weaving in our lives.
The act of praying alerts us and shapes our decisions.
Praying to not love the world, informs our purchase decisions.
Our prayers for others begin to shape our hearts – we begin to see the same things in ourselves.
Perhaps God is not answering our prayers because he wants to expose something in us.
Our prayers don’t exist in a world of their own. We are in dialogue with a personal, divine Spirit who wants to shape us as much as he wants to hear us.
Most of us isolate prayer from the rest of what God is doing in our lives, but God doesn’t work that way.
Parenting and Prayer
Prayer is not discussed enough in the context of Christian parenting.
We believe that if we have the right biblical principles and apply them consistently, our kids will turn out right. But this doesn’t always happen.
Until we become convinced we can’t change our child’s heart on our own, we will not take prayer seriously.
Our goal is not to shape the child in our likeness and conform his/her will to our own. Our goal is to shape the child in Christ’s likeness and bend their will to God’s. This can’t happen without personal repentance and prayer.
In prayer for our own children’s self-willed behavior, we will more readily see our own selfishness.
In coming up against our child’s self-will, we are tempted to be controlling/domineering or to be passive. Both extremes are wrong.
Despair:
I don’t have the power.Out of control.
Good Asking:
God has the power.God in control.
Demanding:
I have the power.In control
Focus:
How the other person can’t change.
 
Focus:
On God, I live in his presence with my disappointment. I begin with my own need to change.
Focus:
How the other person needs to change.
 
Role of Prayer:
None. I’ve given up.
 
Role of Prayer:
Central. I pray to a personal God, so I am simultaneously asking and surrendering.
Role of Prayer:
Another weapon in my battle.
 
Field Hockey and Faith
One word should dominate our prayers for our children and for other people: Faith.
Our desire should be for our child or other person to be living their lives abiding in God, drawing daily energy and meaning from Him and not from circumstances, people, or things.
We shouldn’t pray for all obstacles and struggles to be immediately removed if our ultimate desire is for our children to learn faith.
Are our goals for our children tied to accomplishments or to their growth in faith?
Keeping our prayers anchored to the larger story of what God is doing in our lives and the people around us will make our prayers better and will make our hearts better.

“Hail from Heaven” (Exodus 9:13–35)

“Hail from Heaven” (Exodus 9:13–35)
Pastor Cameron Jungels
Eastside Baptist Church
Sunday PM, September 17, 2017
 
Exodus 9:13–35 (NIV)
13 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning, confront Pharaoh and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me, 14 or this time I will send the full force of my plagues against you and against your officials and your people, so you may know that there is no one like me in all the earth. 15 For by now I could have stretched out my hand and struck you and your people with a plague that would have wiped you off the earth. 16 But I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I might show you my power and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth. 17 You still set yourself against my people and will not let them go. 18 Therefore, at this time tomorrow I will send the worst hailstorm that has ever fallen on Egypt, from the day it was founded till now. 19 Give an order now to bring your livestock and everything you have in the field to a place of shelter, because the hail will fall on every person and animal that has not been brought in and is still out in the field, and they will die.’ ”
20 Those officials of Pharaoh who feared the word of the Lord hurried to bring their slaves and their livestock inside. 21 But those who ignored the word of the Lord left their slaves and livestock in the field.
22 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward the sky so that hail will fall all over Egypt—on people and animals and on everything growing in the fields of Egypt.” 23 When Moses stretched out his staff toward the sky, the Lord sent thunder and hail, and lightning flashed down to the ground. So the Lord rained hail on the land of Egypt; 24 hail fell and lightning flashed back and forth. It was the worst storm in all the land of Egypt since it had become a nation. 25 Throughout Egypt hail struck everything in the fields—both people and animals; it beat down everything growing in the fields and stripped every tree. 26 The only place it did not hail was the land of Goshen, where the Israelites were.
27 Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron. “This time I have sinned,” he said to them. “The Lord is in the right, and I and my people are in the wrong. 28 Pray to the Lord, for we have had enough thunder and hail. I will let you go; you don’t have to stay any longer.”
29 Moses replied, “When I have gone out of the city, I will spread out my hands in prayer to the Lord. The thunder will stop and there will be no more hail, so you may know that the earth is the Lord’s. 30 But I know that you and your officials still do not fear the Lord God.”
31 (The flax and barley were destroyed, since the barley had headed and the flax was in bloom. 32 The wheat and spelt, however, were not destroyed, because they ripen later.)
33 Then Moses left Pharaoh and went out of the city. He spread out his hands toward the Lord; the thunder and hail stopped, and the rain no longer poured down on the land. 34 When Pharaoh saw that the rain and hail and thunder had stopped, he sinned again: He and his officials hardened their hearts. 35 So Pharaoh’s heart was hard and he would not let the Israelites go, just as the Lord had said through Moses.
 
As unbelievers become more and more obstinate to the truth, God intensifies their judgment (13–14, 18).
God’s ultimate purpose is to make himself known and to spread his glory throughout the earth (14, 16).
God can use anything or anyone to accomplish his purposes and glorify himself (15–17).
Even in judgment, God extends mercy and the opportunity for deliverance (19–21).
The Lord judges the rebellious and hard-hearted, but he delivers his people (22–26).
Even sincere indications of remorse may not be genuine repentance; perseverance in faith and repentance is the sign of genuineness (27–35).
The typical responses to the word of the LORD are outright rejection, humble faith, or imitation, surface-level faith and repentance that do not last (19–21, 27–35).

“Death through Adam, Life through Christ” (Romans 5:12–21), Part 1

“Death through Adam, Life through Christ” (Romans 5:12–21), Part 1
Pastor Cameron Jungels
Eastside Baptist Church
Sunday AM, September 17, 2017
 
Romans 5:12–21 (NIV)
12 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned—
13 To be sure, sin was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not charged against anyone’s account where there is no law. 14 Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who is a pattern of the one to come.
15 But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! 16 Nor can the gift of God be compared with the result of one man’s sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. 17 For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!
18 Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people. 19 For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.
20 The law was brought in so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, 21 so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Adam, the first human being, sinned and brought sin into the world (12).
Sin brings the consequence of death into the world (12).
Every person is under the curse of death and is guilty of sin, because Adam was the representative of the whole human race (12–14).
Every human being sinned in Adam, because he was our representative.
Before the Mosaic Law was given, sin was in the world.
But sin is not taken into account when there is no law.
Nevertheless, death reigned from Adam to Moses – even over those who did not sin by breaking a specific, explicit command as Adam did.
Therefore, we are sinners in Adam.
Therefore, we are guilty in Adam.
Therefore, we all incur the consequence of death in Adam.
Adam was the representative head of the whole human race in sin and death.
The trespass of one man brought death or condemnation to all men (5 times in 15–19).
The analogy between Adam and Christ is broken if Adam is not our representative. If Adam cannot represent us as our covenant head in death, then neither can Christ in life.

"A Praying Life" (chapters 16-18)

A Praying Life: Connecting with God in a Distracting World
By Paul E. Miller
What We Don’t Ask For: “Our Daily Bread” - Chapter 16
Most prayer requests are limited to sickness, joblessness, kids in crisis, and the occasional missionary.
Jesus’ prayer for daily bread was an invitation to bring all our needs to him.
Daily bread = “the bread I need for today; what is necessary for my existence today”
We don’t ask because we feel self-confident in providing our needs.
Often our need for daily bread opens doors to deeper heart needs for real food.
Jesus used the miracle of feeding the 5,000 to teach them about the bread from heaven.
What kinds of daily bread do we fail to ask God for?
What kinds of heavenly bread do we miss because we don’t ask for our daily physical bread?
Material Things
We think they are too mundane – too physical, not spiritual, not important
We think they are too selfish.
Perhaps they are, but praying about them:
Invites God into our lives.
Involves God in our decisions.
Opens us up to our spiritual needs.
Causes us to abide – including God in every aspect of our lives.
We think it makes us too vulnerable.
Praying about our physical needs invites God to rule our lives.
We are like the crowd who was fed the fish and bread: we want breakfast but we don’t want the soul food.
Left to ourselves, we want God to be a genie not a person.
The heart is one of God’s biggest mission fields.
Prayer to God about our physical things is not meant to isolate us from the counsel of other Christians.
If you isolate praying from the rule of Jesus by not involving other Christians, you’ll end up doing your own will.
It is possible to use prayer as a cover for “doing your own thing.”
We can mask our desires from even ourselves.
Wisdom: Too Unexpected
When we need advice, we find a wise person, ask him or her a question, and listen to the answer. It seldom occurs to us to do this with God.
It is easy to fall into the enlightenment mindset that the infinite God is not personally involved in our lives.
The Scriptures teach us that God grants wisdom to those who ask.
We often speak of guidance, but wisdom is richer and more personal.
I don’t just need help with my plans (guidance); I need help with the right questions to ask and the direction of my heart (wisdom).
God speaks wisdom to us through his Word and his Spirit.
Seeking wisdom from God is not just seeking his advice; advice leaves me in control to take or leave the advice. Seeking God’s wisdom is bowing before God and abiding in him.
Seeking God’s wisdom is seeking to be in harmony with our Creator.
 
What We Don’t Ask For: “Your Kingdom Come” - Chapter 17
“Your Kingdom Come” has lost much of its significance because we have confused its meaning.
The Kingdom of God is not limited to just religious or spiritual things.
The Kingdom of God is not limited to religious institutions.
The Kingdom of God is much more all-inclusive than any of these limited definitions.
Praying “Your Kingdom Come” type prayers involves at least these kinds of prayers:
Change in Others
Change in Me
Change in Culture
Change in Others
Too Controlling?
We do not pray regularly enough for God to change the hearts and behaviors of those around us.
Is this kind of a prayer seeking for control over another person?
No, it is entirely the opposite. The point of this kind of prayer is to shift control from us to God
Too Hopeless?
We do not pray for God to change others because we have become cynical about the possibility of change.
Often, prayers for others end up changing us too. It causes us to reevaluate our own hearts.
Once we’ve learned that God loves us, we then need to learn to extend his love to others.
Character Change in Me
Too Scary?
We know that if we pray for God to change us, he will. That is why we don’t pray for God to change us.
We are scared of what the process of change might be.
We also don’t want to admit that we need change.
Modern psychology tells us to affirm our feelings and emotions instead of seeking change.
Change in Culture
Too Impossible?
We complain about things in our culture or the direction our culture is heading, but do we pray for specific changes in our culture?
Have we become too cynical about the possibility of change in wider areas of our culture?
 
What We Don’t Ask For: “Your Will Be Done” - Chapter 18
Until we see how strong our own will is, we can’t understand the second petition of the Lord’s prayer— “Your will be done.”
Sin is complicated. We are never a passive observer, dispensing wisdom and justice. We are part of the mess.
This is why Jesus said, “Without me you can do nothing.”
Accepting the place that God has given me (content in all situations), then a door is opened between my soul and God.
The more we are in touch with the depth of our own self-will, the more we will see the need of prayer and abiding in Christ.
The great struggle of my life is not trying to discern God’s will; it is trying to discern and then disown my own.
Our Self-Will
Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) reveals much about the depth of our self-will.
Jesus’ sermon deals with areas of our selfish desires: money, sex, power, fame, etc.
Jesus closes all the doors to power and glory and selfish desire.
Jesus then opens the door to prayer and tells you how he gets things done.
When our self-will determines how we want others to be and act, we can even allow prayer to be another weapon in our arsenal of control.
Self-will and prayer are both ways of getting things done.
At the center of self-will is me, carving a world in my image, but at the center of prayer is God, carving me in his Son’s image.
When we pray “Your will be done” it can be scary, but in reality we are leaving the shaky foundation of our own self-will and entering the stability of God.
Instead of trying to create our own story, we become content with God writing our story.
Prayer becomes effective when we see our own self-will for what it is. It then opens the door to doing things through God.

“Blight and Boils” (Exodus 9:1–12)

“Blight and Boils” (Exodus 9:1–12)
Pastor Cameron Jungels
Eastside Baptist Church
Sunday PM, September 10, 2017
 
Exodus 9:1–12 (NIV)
9 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: “Let my people go, so that they may worship me.” 2 If you refuse to let them go and continue to hold them back, 3 the hand of the Lord will bring a terrible plague on your livestock in the field—on your horses, donkeys and camels and on your cattle, sheep and goats. 4 But the Lord will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and that of Egypt, so that no animal belonging to the Israelites will die.’”
5 The Lord set a time and said, “Tomorrow the Lord will do this in the land.” 6 And the next day the Lord did it: All the livestock of the Egyptians died, but not one animal belonging to the Israelites died. 7 Pharaoh investigated and found that not even one of the animals of the Israelites had died. Yet his heart was unyielding and he would not let the people go.
8 Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Take handfuls of soot from a furnace and have Moses toss it into the air in the presence of Pharaoh. 9 It will become fine dust over the whole land of Egypt, and festering boils will break out on people and animals throughout the land.”
10 So they took soot from a furnace and stood before Pharaoh. Moses tossed it into the air, and festering boils broke out on people and animals. 11 The magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils that were on them and on all the Egyptians. 12 But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart and he would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had said to Moses.
 
Persistent Rebellion against God not only affects you but it affects everything around you.
 
Persistent Rebellion against God’s warnings will result in swift judgment that will then come without warning.
 
Persistent Rebellion against God results in the intensification of his judgments.
 
Persistent Rebellion against God will bring God’s merciful patience to an end, resulting in divine hardening and “giving one over” to their own depravity.
 
Persistent Rebellion against God is futile and will only result in complete defeat before his might and sovereignty.
 
Main Idea: God protects his people, but he crushes those who are persistent in their rebellion against Him.

“God’s Love on Display” (Romans 5:6–11)

“God’s Love on Display” (Romans 5:6–11)
Pastor Cameron Jungels
Eastside Baptist Church
Sunday AM, September 10, 2017
 
Romans 5:6–11, NIV
6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.  7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die.  8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.  9 Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him!  10 For if, while we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!  11 Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
 
God’s Love Came at the Right Time: When We Were Weak and Powerless and in Desperate Need of It (6).
 
4 But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. (Gal. 4:4–5, NIV)
 
God’s Love Is Not Like Human Love (6–7).
 
God’s Love Is Given to the Most Unlovable (8).
 
God’s Love Not Only Gives Us Grace in the Present; It Will Also Give Us Grace in the Future (9–10).
 
God’s Love Is Worthy of Our Ultimate Praise and Becomes the Source of Our Life’s Joy (11).

"A Praying Life" (chapter 15)

A Praying Life: Connecting with God in a Distracting World
By Paul E. Miller
 
“What Do We Do with Jesus’ Extravagant Promises About Prayer?” – Chapter 15
 
The gospels are filled with promises from Jesus to his disciples about asking in prayer and receiving:
“If you ask anything in my name, I will do it.” (John 14:13-14)
“If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” (John 15:17).
What do we do with these extravagant promises?
 
Scholars to the Rescue
Some try to limit these promises of Jesus to only ‘ministry’ related requests.
“Ask me to do anything in the area of my work and I will do it.”
Jesus does not specifically limit his statements to witnessing or gospel work.
There is a better solution to understanding these promises.
 
James to the Rescue
James describes two dangers in asking in prayer:
Not Asking
Asking Selfishly
Those who err on the not asking side surrender to God before they are real with him. The result is distance from God. The real you doesn’t encounter the real God.
Those who err on the asking selfishly side, are distant from God in that they are thinking only of themselves and not God’s will or his mission.
Jesus’ prayer in Gethsemane shows us that we can ask what our heart feels while also being submissive to the will of God. We can be real and reverent.
Our prayers need this balance.
 
Back to Jesus
“Ask whatever you wish.” Why didn’t Jesus bring balance to this statement if that is what he meant?
The answer is that we are the ones who are imbalanced.
Instinctively, we are either confident in ourselves or despairing in ourselves.
In both cases we are paralyzed, not moving toward God.
In giving his disciples these promises, he was intending to open them up to the extravagant love of God.
Jesus wants us to tap into the generous heart of his Father. He wants us to lose all confidence in ourselves because “apart from [Jesus] you can do nothing”; he wants us to have complete confidence in him.
All of Jesus’ teaching on prayer in the Gospels can be summarized with one word: ask.
His greatest concern is that our failure or reluctance to ask keeps us distant from God.
But he also tells us to ask because our heavenly Father wants to give good gifts. He loves to give.
From the lesser to the greater: the unjust judge and the friend at midnight.
 
Praying in Jesus’ Name
Deep down, we just don’t believe God is as generous as he keeps saying he is.
That’s why Jesus added: “ask in my name.”
The name of Jesus is not a magic formula for success, but the name of Jesus does give my prayers access to the throne of God. They get through.
My prayers come before the throne of God as the prayers of Jesus.
Asking in Jesus’ name isn’t another thing I have to get right so my prayers are perfect. It is one more gift of God because my prayers are so imperfect.
Jesus’ seal not only guarantees that my prayers get through, but it also transforms my prayers.
The Holy Spirit intercedes for us in conformity to the will of God (Rom 8:26).
 
Answered Prayers
The point of prayer is not to analyze the percentage of prayers answered to unanswered or to analyze how many of the things would have happened anyway according to the law of averages.
If we try to figure out the mystery of prayer, then we lose God.
One thing is true: the closer our prayers are to the heart of God, the more powerfully and quickly they seem to be answered.
“If we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. (1 John 5:14)
When you are on the inside of your prayers, you can clearly see the weaving of God, but it is often difficult to explain to an outsider.
 
Learning to Abide
The praying life is the abiding life.
How do we abide?
One of the best ways to learn how to abide is to start asking. Jesus’ primary concern was to get us into the game. Start asking.
If you are going to take seriously Jesus’ offer to ask anything, then you have to ask.
In order to ask, you have to reflect on what you want to ask.
It takes reflection to answer the question, “What do I want?”
Most people fail to ask. They fail to take Jesus’ words seriously.

"Peace and Hope" (Romans 5:1-5)

“Peace and Hope” (Romans 5:1–5)Pastor Cameron JungelsEastside Baptist ChurchSunday AM, September 3, 2017
Romans 5:1–5 (NIV)
5 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
1.    Believers in Christ have peace with God (1–2a).
       a.    Peace with God means we have entered into a relationship of love and friendship.               i.    The atoning work of Christ made this relationship of peace with God possible. 10 For if, while we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!  11 Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.  (Romans 5:10-11, NIV)17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!  18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:  19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. (2 Co. 5:17-19, NIV)21 Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior.  22 But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation-- (Colossians 1:21-22, NIV)              ii.    We enter into this state of peace with God through faith.        b.    Peace with God means we have access (a way of approaching) before the throne of God.               i.    Christ is our mediator.               ii.    This blessing of access to God is a state of grace.
2.    Believers in Christ have hope for their future salvation (2b–5).
       a.    Our future hope causes us to rejoice/boast in God and his glory.       b.    Our future hope enables us to rejoice/boast even in the midst of suffering:               i.    Because we know that suffering is molding our character to be like that of Christ.              ii.    Because we know that suffering in this world is the path to future glory (as it was for Christ himself).       c.    Our future hope is based on God’s love for us.       d.    Our future hope is revealed and made certain to us in our experience through the gift of the regenerating Holy Spirit.
 

"A Praying Life" (chapters 13-14)

A Praying Life: Connecting with God in a Distracting World
By Paul E. Miller
 
“Why We Can Ask” - Chapter 13
 
In contradiction with the prevailing thought of western culture, prayer is not just private and personal. Prayer is both private and public.
Power in prayer comes from being in touch with one’s weakness.
The persistent widow and the friend at midnight get access, not because they are strong but because they are desperate.
Learned desperation is at the heart of a praying life.
 
An Infinite-Personal God
Western culture conceives of God as infinite, but not personal (Deism).
Non-western cultures conceive of God as personal but not infinite (Polytheism, one of many).
Scripture teaches us that the one true God is both infinite and personal.
An infinite God is personally involved in the details of our lives.
Majesty and humility are an odd fit, and this is why we struggle in prayer. We don’t think God could be concerned with the puny details of our lives.
Truthfully, more often than not we are more comfortable with a God who is distant than intimate.
We are afraid of a God who is too close, especially a God we can’t control.
A praying life opens itself to an infinite, searching God.
We can’t do that without releasing control, without constantly surrendering our will to God.
“Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” can be a scary prayer, because we have no control over the outcome.
A praying life opens itself to an infinite, searching God.
We can’t do that without releasing control, without constantly surrendering our will to God.
“Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” can be a scary prayer, because we have no control over the outcome.
 
“How Personal Is God?” - Chapter 14
 
Complete Dependence
A life that is completely dependent on God and his grace does not think of any matter as being too small to bring to God in prayer.
Making distinctions in our minds about what is or isn’t big enough to bring to God implies that we can handle the small things and God can handle the big things. But aren’t we dependent on God for all things?
 
Disconnected from Real Life
Prayer is not a zero-sum game. Praying that a fire truck isn’t headed to your house doesn’t mean that you are wishing it upon someone else.
We need to submit to our infinite-personal God, but we still have the freedom to voice our desires to God.
Jesus prayed, “take this cup from me” as well as “not my will, but yours be done.”
It is possible for prayer to become “overspiritualized” when it becomes detached from the real world.
There is no neat division between the physical/mundane and the spiritual.
If we separate our mundane needs (doing) from God’s best gift, his loving presence (being), then we have overspiritualized prayer.
The world has been shaped by the Enlightenment to think that the spiritual isn’t important.
But the church has been influenced by Neoplatonism to think that the physical isn’t important.
Jesus was the God-man, spiritual and physical. Jesus had real feelings and desires, and he was completely in tune with God his Father.
Desire and surrender are the perfect balance to praying.
 
A Moment of Incarnation
The wonder of the infinite-personal God is displayed, more than anywhere else, in the Incarnation.
Prayer is a moment of incarnation—God with us—God involved in the details of my life.
Sometimes we don’t pray with specificity and transparency, because we don’t want to risk our prayer not being answered.
Our dislike of asking is rooted in our desire for independence.
What do I lose when I have a praying life? Control, independence
What do I gain? Friendship with God, a quiet heart, the living work of God in the lives of those I love.
Essentially, in a praying life, I lose my kingdom and get his.
 
The Mystery of Prayer
The way prayer works is something of a mystery, but if we try to figure out the mystery it will elude us.
You can’t experience something and observe it at the same time.
Prayer is not something to be observed or measured or tested, it is something to be lived in relationship with God.
The closer something is to the character of God, the more it reflects him and the less it can be measured.
The most precious things in life can’t be proven or observed directly.
As soon as you take a specific answer to prayer and try to figure out what caused it, you lose God.
We simply cannot see the causal connections between our prayers and what happens.
Love is like prayer in that it can’t be measured or fully understood. It doesn’t make sense, analytically, for someone to give sacrificially to another without any hope of return.
Love, like prayer, makes perfect sense when you realize it is a reflection of the divine image.
The inability to see the connection between cause and effect is intrinsic to the nature of prayer because it is the direct activity of God.
Sometimes the answer to our prayer began before we even prayed.
The only way to know how prayer works is to have complete knowledge and control of the past, present, and future.
If you are going to enter this divine dance we call prayer, you have to surrender your desire to be in control, to figure out how prayer works. You have to trust God.
 

“Small Pests, Big Problems” (Exodus 8:16–32)

“Small Pests, Big Problems” (Exodus 8:16–32)
Pastor Cameron Jungels
Eastside Baptist Church
Sunday PM, August 27, 2017
 
Exodus 8:16–32 (NIV)
The Plague of Gnats
16 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the ground,’ and throughout the land of Egypt the dust will become gnats.” 17 They did this, and when Aaron stretched out his hand with the staff and struck the dust of the ground, gnats came on people and animals. All the dust throughout the land of Egypt became gnats. 18 But when the magicians tried to produce gnats by their secret arts, they could not.
Since the gnats were on people and animals everywhere, 19 the magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God.” But Pharaoh’s heart was hard and he would not listen, just as the Lord had said.
The Plague of Flies
20 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning and confront Pharaoh as he goes to the river and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me. 21 If you do not let my people go, I will send swarms of flies on you and your officials, on your people and into your houses. The houses of the Egyptians will be full of flies; even the ground will be covered with them.
22 “‘But on that day I will deal differently with the land of Goshen, where my people live; no swarms of flies will be there, so that you will know that I, the Lord, am in this land. 23 I will make a distinction between my people and your people. This sign will occur tomorrow.’”
24 And the Lord did this. Dense swarms of flies poured into Pharaoh’s palace and into the houses of his officials; throughout Egypt the land was ruined by the flies.
25 Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Go, sacrifice to your God here in the land.”
26 But Moses said, “That would not be right. The sacrifices we offer the Lord our God would be detestable to the Egyptians. And if we offer sacrifices that are detestable in their eyes, will they not stone us? 27 We must take a three-day journey into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the Lord our God, as he commands us.”
28 Pharaoh said, “I will let you go to offer sacrifices to the Lord your God in the wilderness, but you must not go very far. Now pray for me.”
29 Moses answered, “As soon as I leave you, I will pray to the Lord, and tomorrow the flies will leave Pharaoh and his officials and his people. Only let Pharaoh be sure that he does not act deceitfully again by not letting the people go to offer sacrifices to the Lord.”
30 Then Moses left Pharaoh and prayed to the Lord, 31 and the Lord did what Moses asked. The flies left Pharaoh and his officials and his people; not a fly remained. 32 But this time also Pharaoh hardened his heart and would not let the people go.
 
The LORD demonstrates his mighty power by bringing life from the dust of the ground with only his ‘finger.’ (16–19).
 
The Lord makes a distinction between his people and the world. He graciously protects and saves his people, but he justly condemns the unbelieving and hard-hearted (20–32).
 

"A Sacred Opportunity of Grace" (1 Corinthians 11:17-34)

"A Sacred Opportunity of Grace"
A Communion Service
Hymn: “Holy, Holy, Holy"Message: “A Sacred Opportunity of Grace”
1 Corinthians 11:17–34 (NIV)
17 In the following directives I have no praise for you, for your meetings do more harm than good. 18 In the first place, I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you, and to some extent I believe it. 19 No doubt there have to be differences among you to show which of you have God’s approval. 20 So then, when you come together, it is not the Lord’s Supper you eat, 21 for when you are eating, some of you go ahead with your own private suppers. As a result, one person remains hungry and another gets drunk. 22 Don’t you have homes to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God by humiliating those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you? Certainly not in this matter!
23 For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
27 So then, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. 28 Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup. 29 For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves. 30 That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. 31 But if we were more discerning with regard to ourselves, we would not come under such judgment. 32 Nevertheless, when we are judged in this way by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be finally condemned with the world.
33 So then, my brothers and sisters, when you gather to eat, you should all eat together. 34 Anyone who is hungry should eat something at home, so that when you meet together it may not result in judgment.
And when I come I will give further directions.
1.    The Lord’s Table is an opportunity to renew our unity as the Church, the one Body of Christ (vv. 17–22, 33­–34).
Romans 12:3–8 (NIV)
3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. 4 For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5 so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. 6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; 7 if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; 8 if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.
Hymn: “Our God Has Made Us One”2.    The Lord’s Table is an opportunity to reflect on our union with Jesus Christ, our Crucified and Risen Lord (vv. 23–26).
Isaiah 52:13–53:12 (NIV)
13 See, my servant will act wisely;
he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted.
14 Just as there were many who were appalled at him—
his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any human being
and his form marred beyond human likeness—
15 so he will sprinkle many nations,
and kings will shut their mouths because of him.
For what they were not told, they will see,
and what they have not heard, they will understand.
53 Who has believed our message
and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot,
and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
3 He was despised and rejected by mankind,
a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.
Like one from whom people hide their faces
he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.
4 Surely he took up our pain
and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God,
stricken by him, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed and afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away.
Yet who of his generation protested?
For he was cut off from the land of the living;
for the transgression of my people he was punished.
9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
and with the rich in his death,
though he had done no violence,
nor was any deceit in his mouth.
10 Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.
11 After he has suffered,
he will see the light of life and be satisfied;
by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many,
and he will bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, 
and he will divide the spoils with the strong,
because he poured out his life unto death,
and was numbered with the transgressors.
For he bore the sin of many,
and made intercession for the transgressors.
Hymn: “Alas! And Did My Savior Bleed”
3.    The Lord’s Table is an opportunity to repent and judge ourselves now so that we will not be disciplined by the Lord or face judgment on the last day of Christ (vv. 27–32, 34).
Psalm 51:1–19 (NIV)
1 Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash away all my iniquity
and cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is always before me.
4 Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight;
so you are right in your verdict
and justified when you judge.
5 Surely I was sinful at birth,
sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
6 Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb;
you taught me wisdom in that secret place.
7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
9 Hide your face from my sins
and blot out all my iniquity.
10 Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me from your presence
or take your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
so that sinners will turn back to you.
14 Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God,
you who are God my Savior,
and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.
15 Open my lips, Lord,
and my mouth will declare your praise.
16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;
you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
17 My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart
you, God, will not despise.
18 May it please you to prosper Zion,
to build up the walls of Jerusalem.
19 Then you will delight in the sacrifices of the righteous,
in burnt offerings offered whole;
then bulls will be offered on your altar.
Hymn: “I Lay My Sins on Jesus”Remembrance of the Lord’s SupperHymn: “In Christ Alone”
Benediction:
Hebrews 13:20–21 (NIV)
20 Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, 21 equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

"A Praying Life" (chapter 12)

A Praying Life: Connecting with God in a Distracting World
By Paul E. Miller
 
Part 3: Learning to Ask Your Father
 
“Why Asking Is So Hard” - Chapter 12
 
Secularism
Western culture is the most publicly atheistic culture that has ever existed.
Western culture over the last 2 centuries is an anomaly from the rest of human history.
The 18th century Enlightenment is the birth of today’s secularism.
Division of feelings and fact – prayer and religion are regarded as feelings.
Popular culture has brought the secularism of the university classroom to the masses.
Now prayer and religion are deemed by our culture to be better kept private; there is no place for religion in public or civic life.
 
The Power of the Enlightenment
Before the enlightenment, prayer and science were not viewed as belonging in two separate spheres.
The Christian worldview that God made a separate and orderly world gave birth to science.
Secularism claims to have given us the gift of science, but in reality it was Christianity that gave us science.
Almost all the Ivy League colleges and American universities began as Christian institutions. But the power of enlightenment secularism has driven Christianity from them.
Orthodox Judaism survived the Babylonian Captivity and the Holocaust, but Enlightenment secularism has almost destroyed it.
The Enlightenment mindset marginalizes prayer because it doesn’t permit God to connect with this world.
You are allowed a personal, local deity as long as you keep him out of your science notes and don’t take him seriously.
 
The Modern Roots of Cynicism
The Enlightenment doesn’t say that religion is not real. It defines it as not real. It is not even open for debate.
Prayer is defined as phony, and then it begins to feel phony.
When our young people encounter the secular world’s philosophy it is easy to say that God-talk is phony because it has been relegated to the not-real world by our culture.
It is instinctive in our culture to keep faith and ‘reality’ separate, as if they are incompatible.
Secularism is a cynical view of reality.
Because it can’t adequately account for things like love and faith or measure them, it disregards them and separates them from the realm of ‘fact.’
 
A Child Prays in a Secular World
Childlike faith has no problem joining prayer to the ‘real’ world.
If a stream is the result of accidental natural forces, then it is just water, rocks, and dirt.
If the stream=god, then you worship the stream god.
But if God created the stream, then wonder and curiosity naturally flow into study (science).
The secret to seeing God behind all things is to become like a little child again.
Because it is my Father’s world, we can kneel by a stream and pray while doing a science experiment. It is a complete unity of thinking and feeling, physical and spiritual, public and personal.
 

“One More Night with the Frogs” (Exodus 7:25–8:15)

“One More Night with the Frogs” (Exodus 7:25–8:15)
Pastor Cameron Jungels
Eastside Baptist Church
Sunday PM, August 20, 2017
 
Exodus 7:25–8:15 (NIV)
25 Seven days passed after the Lord struck the Nile.
8  Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me. 2 If you refuse to let them go, I will send a plague of frogs on your whole country. 3 The Nile will teem with frogs. They will come up into your palace and your bedroom and onto your bed, into the houses of your officials and on your people, and into your ovens and kneading troughs. 4 The frogs will come up on you and your people and all your officials.’”
5 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Stretch out your hand with your staff over the streams and canals and ponds, and make frogs come up on the land of Egypt.’”
6 So Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the frogs came up and covered the land. 7 But the magicians did the same things by their secret arts; they also made frogs come up on the land of Egypt.
8 Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Pray to the Lord to take the frogs away from me and my people, and I will let your people go to offer sacrifices to the Lord.”
9 Moses said to Pharaoh, “I leave to you the honor of setting the time for me to pray for you and your officials and your people that you and your houses may be rid of the frogs, except for those that remain in the Nile.”
10 “Tomorrow,” Pharaoh said.
Moses replied, “It will be as you say, so that you may know there is no one like the Lord our God. 11 The frogs will leave you and your houses, your officials and your people; they will remain only in the Nile.”
12 After Moses and Aaron left Pharaoh, Moses cried out to the Lord about the frogs he had brought on Pharaoh. 13 And the Lord did what Moses asked. The frogs died in the houses, in the courtyards and in the fields. 14 They were piled into heaps, and the land reeked of them. 15 But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he hardened his heart and would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had said.
 
Negative Lessons from Pharaoh
Stubborn and Hard-Hearted
Double-Minded and Unstable
Deceptive and Fake
Positive Lessons from Moses and Aaron
Faithful and Obedient
Humble and Patient
Praying and Interceding
Awe-Inspiring Revelations of God’s Character
The One and Only God
The God of All Power
The God Who Is Merciful even in Judgment
The God Who Is Patient

“Abraham, Our Father in the Faith” (Romans 4:17–25)

“Abraham, Our Father in the Faith” (Romans 4:17–25)
Pastor Cameron Jungels
Eastside Baptist Church
Sunday AM, August 20, 2017
 
Romans 4:17–25 (NIV)
17 As it is written: "I have made you a father of many nations." He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed-- the God who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not.  18 Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, "So shall your offspring be."  19 Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead-- since he was about a hundred years old-- and that Sarah's womb was also dead.  20 Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God,  21 being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.  22 This is why "it was credited to him as righteousness."  23 The words "it was credited to him" were written not for him alone,  24 but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness-- for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.  25 He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.
 
Abraham serves as a model of faith for all who believe in Jesus Christ and receive God’s gracious gift of justification.
So, what does Abraham’s example teach us about the nature of faith?
 
Abraham’s faith was in God (17).
Abraham’s faith meant acknowledging man’s helplessness (18–19).
Abraham’s faith meant trusting that God would keep his promises (20–22).
Abraham’s faith becomes a model for all Christians (23–25).
The Christian’s faith is in God’s promise that justification is based on Jesus’ atoning death and resurrection.
The object of the Christian’s faith: The God of the impossible, who raised Jesus from the dead.
The source of the Christian’s faith: The promise of God that Jesus’ death and resurrection atone for our sins (25).
The result of the Christian’s faith: Justification apart from human works to the glory of God (23-24a, 25b).

"A Praying Life" (chapters 10-11)

A Praying Life: Connecting with God in a Distracting World
By Paul E. Miller
 
“Following Jesus Out of Cynicism” - Chapters 10-11
 
Be Warm but Wary
We cannot be naively optimistic or cynical. We must be trusting and yet discerning.
As Jesus put it, we must be “shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves.”
Avoiding cynicism does not mean abandoning discernment.
But, being aware of evil does not mean that we distance ourselves with an ironic, critical stance.
We are to combine a robust trust in the Good Shepherd with a vigilance about the presence of evil in our own hearts and in the hearts of others.
The feel of a praying life is cautious optimism—caution because of the Fall, optimism because of redemption.
 
Learn to Hope Again
Cynicism kills hope. Prayer feels pointless, as if we are talking to the wind.
Jesus brings hope, not cynicism.
Hope begins with the heart of God. As you grasp what the Father’s heart is like, how he loves to give, then prayer will begin to feel completely natural to you.
“Behold, I make all things new.”
 
Cultivate a Childlike Spirit
Cynicism arises in a heart of self-reliance. Hope grows in a heart of dependent trust.
We must cry out for grace like a hungry child.
When we ask for help, we’ve become dependent like a little child again. This brings us out of cynicism.
“Those who will never be fooled can never be delighted…”
 
Cultivate a Thankful Spirit
Begin each day by thanking God for his grace given the previous day.
Nothing undercuts cynicism more than a spirit of thankfulness.
We realize that our whole life is a gift.
Thanking God restores the natural order of our dependence on God. It enables us to see life as it really is.
Thanksgiving rejoices in God’s care, replacing a bitter spirit with a generous one.
 
Cultivating Repentance
Cynics imagine they are objective observers on a quest for authenticity.
They feel deeply superior because they think they see through everything.
“Seeing through everything” eventually results in seeing nothing.
While claiming to “see through” other’s facades, cynics lack purity of heart.
A significant source of cynicism is the fracture between my heart and my behavior.
I continue to perform and say Christian things, but there is a disconnect between what I present and who I am.
My empty religious performance leads me to think that everyone is phony.
Adding judgment to hypocrisy breeds cynicism.
All sin involves a splitting of the personality—“double-minded.”
We present one thing but in reality are something else.
Repentance brings the split personality together—becoming single-minded. The real self and the public self are the same, no facades.
Cynicism focuses on the other person’s split personality and their need to repent. It lacks the humility of removing the speck from our eye.
A cynical perspective causes us to see ourselves and others through blurry spectacles. We don’t see ourselves or others accurately.
While attempting to unmask evil, cynicism can create evil.
By cultivating a lifestyle of repentance, the pure in heart develop integrity, and their own fractures are healed.
By beginning with their own impurity, they avoid critical cynicism.
 
Developing an Eye for Jesus
Cynicism looks in the wrong direction. It looks for the cracks in Christianity instead of looking for the presence of Jesus.
The cynic looks for the hypocrisy and evil in others.
The childlike, dependent spirit looks for the evidence of Jesus’ work in others.
We need to ask, “Where did I see Jesus today?”
Instead of looking for faults, we look for evidence of Jesus’ grace—we hunt for the difference between what others would normally be like and what they had become through the presence of Jesus.
When we look for the evidence of Jesus in others, we find it in the mundane encounters in life.
Instead of focusing on other people’s lack of integrity, on their split personalities, we need to focus on how Jesus is reshaping the church to be more like himself. We need to view the body of Christ with grace.