Preek gelewer op Sondag 25 Januarie 2009 te Bospoort gemeente.
Voorsang: Lied 599:1-3 As Hy weer kom
Lied 524:1-2 Ek weet verseker
Lofsang: Lied 212:1-3 Loof die Heer, Hy is goed.
Na wet: Lied 253:1,2 U het die brood gebreek.
Slotsang: Lied 532: O Vader neem ons hande.
Skriflesing: Jakobus 4:1-17
Tema: Gee elke dag aan God!
Die Romeine het ‘n spreekwoord gehad wat lui: “CARPE DIEM!”. Dit beteken pluk die dag! Daarmee het hulle eintlik gesê dat ‘n mens dit wat elke dag vir jou bied ten volle moet geniet, en die beste daaruit haal. Dat die dag eintlik ‘n soort van ‘n vrug is wat jy pluk, en wat jy kan geniet.
Vir party mense in die lewe is dit te veel werk om die vrugte te pluk. Hulle verkies maar om op die grond te sit of te wat dat die vrugte afval, en hulle hoop dat daar darem êrens ‘n vrug sal wees wat nie vrot is nie. Hulle dink dat alles maar net in hulle skoot sal val…
Dit laat my dink aan die verhaal van die lam jakkals... Daar word vertel van ‘n verhaal van ‘n wildbewaarder wat ‘n lam jakkals in die veld teegekom het. Hierdie wildbewaarder het eendag ‘n besondere verskynsel gesien... Hy het gesien hoe daar ‘n lam jakkals in die veld lê, wat eintlik al moes dood gewees het as gevolg van sy gebrek. Maar die jakkals was spekvet!
Die wildbewaarder het toe agter ‘n bos gaan wegkruip, en na ‘n ruk het hy gesien hoe ‘n luiperd vir die jakkals kos bring. Dit is wonderlik! Het die wildbewaarder gedink. As God so goed vir die jakkals sorg, hoe goed sal Hy nie vir my sorg nie. Hy het toe sy werk bedank, en by sy huis gaan sit en wag dat die Here vir hom kos stuur. Maar niks het gebeur nie! Na ‘n paar weke is die wildbewaarder heeltemal uitgeteer, en hy bid toe tot die Here. “Here, hoekom stuur U nie vir my kos nie?” As U so vir die lam jakkals kan sorg, hoekom kan U nie so vir my ook sorg nie. En toe antwoord die Here hom – “Ek wou nie eintlik gehad het jy moet na die lam jakkals kyk nie, maar na die flukse luiperd!”.
Ja liewe vriende, hier waar ons aan die begin van ons week van gebed staan, is dit nodig dat ons ‘n paar misverstande rondom gebed en die doel daarvan met mekaar uitklaar... In die eerste plek moet ons besef dat gebed méér is as om net passief van God ‘n klomp goed te vra.
Gebed beteken dat ons sal opstaan as’t ware die boord bewerk, en die vrugte gaan pluk. Gebed is in ‘n sin harde werk. Vers 7 kom sê vir ons dat gebed beteken om die duiwel tee te staan. Want wanneer ‘n mens bid, is die duiwel baie ongelukkig. Die duiwel wil ons verseker dat ons nie nodig het om te bid nie. Die duiwel wil ons hooghartig maak. Hy was immers eers die engel Lucifer in die hemel, wat geweier het om God te aanbid.
Toe die Here Jesus hom in die woestyn gaan afsonder het om te vas en te bid, wat dit juis die Satan wat hom gaan pla het. Dit was juis die Duiwel wat aan Jesus vertel het dat Hy brood van klippe kon maak, dat Hy van die tempel se dak sou kon afspring sonder om seer te kry, en dat Hy al die koninkryke van die hemel kan besit as Hy vir hom wat Satan is, sou aanbid. Ja, Jesus se beproewing in die woestyn was juis om die Satan te kon teestaan, en van God afhanklik te kon bly...
‘n Tweede belangrike aspek van die “aktiewe deel van gebed”, is dat gebed beteken om tot God te nader. Daar is al hoe meer mense wat vandag klem lê op die feit dat jy God net so goed, en selfs beter kan dien deur by die huis te bly en jouself daar vir die Here af te sonder. Want, sê hulle, in die kerk is daar net ‘n klomp skynheiliges, en as hulle in die kerk saam met sulke persone is, kry hulle dit nie reg om die Here behoorlik te kan aanbid nie...
Maar as ons mooi na Jakobus 4:8 gaan kyk, dan sien ons dat dit baie belangrik is om God te soek, en tot Hom te nader. As ons nie bereid is om ons daaglikse roetine te breek, en moeite maak om saam te gaan soek na die Here se wil en Sy Woord nie, kan ons van die Groot en Almagtige God verwag om aan ons nietige mense se probleme aandag te gee? Nee, liewe broer en suster, ons moet bereid wees om met ‘n nuwe gesindheid tot die Here te nader.
Ons moet ook moeite maak om ons voor te berei vir hierdie tye saam met God. Dit beteken nie noodwendig ons moet mooi aantrek en grimeer nie, maar soos die Israeliete wat hulle hande en voete gewas het, en hulle skoene uitgetrek het voor hulle die tempel binnegegaan het, moet ons ook ons harte was. Ons moet werklik vir die Here vra dat Hy ons sal opgewonde maak oor sy teenwoordigheid in die erediens.
Maar weet julle, liewe vriende, dit kan ook gebeur dat ons so baie aandag gee daaraan om ons vrugteboom te bewerk, en die vrugte te pluk, dat ons vergeet van wie dit alles kom. Jakobus 4:13 vertel van mense wat maklik sê en voorspel wat hulle môre gaan doen. Mense wat grootpraat en alreeds reken hoeveel geld hulle gaan maak... Mense wat nie met God in hulle lewens rekening hou nie.
‘n Egte gebedslewe beteken om altyd ons program en agenda vir die lewe te kan oophou. Ons moet altyd bewus wees daarvan dat die mens sy pad kan beplan, maar dat die Here op die ou end bepaal hoe hy loop... (Prediker 16:9). Al klink dit dikwels outyds, en al kan dit maar net ‘n aangeleerde gewoonte word, moet ons maar weer leer om te sê: “Ek sien jou DV môre (Dit is die afkorting vir die Latynse term Deo Volente, wat beteken “as God wil”.
Om waarlik te kan bid, beteken dat ons altyd besef dat dit God se vrugteboom is. Ja, elke dag wat ons pluk, is deur ons aan God gegee. Ons moet as’t ware na die die vrugteboom van God se tyd toe stap met die verwagting van dit wat God vir ons in hierdie dag wil bied. Ons moet besef dat ons ook in ons gebed altyd moet erken dat elke dag, elke sekond uit Sy hand kom.
‘n Predikant byvoorbeeld, kan so besig wees met die dinge van die Here, dat Hy nie by die Here van die dinge uitkom nie. Iemand het eenkeer gesê: “As dit baie swaar gaan, dat moet ons bid asof roei nie sal help nie, en roei asof bid nie sal help nie.” Dit is ‘n baie mooi stelling, maar is dit regtig waar. Moet ons ooit roei “asof bid nie sal help nie”. Nee liewe vriende, ons moet met al ons energie roei omdat ons weet dat God sal help.
Vir ‘n lewende gebedslewe, liewe vriende, is dit noodsaaklik dat ons dus werklik nederig word voor God. Dit beteken dat ons ons gees heeltemal aan God sal oorgee (vers 5). Dit beteken verder dat ons sal besef dat ons net God se genade kan ontvang as ons waarlik nederig is voor hom (vers 6). Dat ons ons elke dag aan Hom sal onderwerp (vers 7), en ons sonde in nederigheid voor Hom sal erken (vers 8,9). Dat ons laag voor hom sal buig, en sy Koningskap erken (vs 10), en dat ons nie self sal oordeel nie, maar die oordeel aan Hom as regter oorlaat (vers 12). Dat ons sal ophou grootpraat oor wat ons kamtig bereik het en sal bereik (vers 16), maar dat ons werklik gehoorsaam sal wees aan dit wat God ons voorskryf (vers 17).
Maar wat beteken dit om die vrugteboom aan God te gee. Om werklik te besef dat dit God se boom is? Ek wil dit graag verduidelik aan die hand van die pynappel-storie. Die pynappel storie is ‘n ware verhaal wat daar in die Fillipynse eilande afgespeel het. Daar was ‘n sendeling wat maar finansieël swaargekry het, en besluit het om vir hom ‘n paar pynappelbome te plant vir ‘n ekstra inkomste.
Toe die pynappelbome uiteindelik reg is, en pynappels dra, het hy tot ‘n skokkende ontdekking gekom. Die plaaslike bevolking daar het sy pynappels gesteel voordat hy hulle kon pluk en verkoop. Hy het verskriklik met almal geraas en baklei omdat sy pynappels gesteel is. Maar dit het niks gehelp nie. Die volgende jaar was dit weer so.
En toe besluit die sendeling dat hy al die tyd verkeerd was. Dit was nie sy pynappels nie. Hy bid toe tot die Here en gee bely dat dit die Here se pynappels is, en dat dit nie syne is nie. Van toe af het hy ook nie meer baklei as sy pynappels wegraak nie. Na ‘n ruk het die mense begin vra hoekom hy nie meer baklei as sy pynappels wegraak nie. Dit is eenvoudig, het hy dan geantwoord. Dit is nie my pynappels nie, dit is die Here sin. Die mense steel nie van my nie, hulle steel van die Here. Hulle sal eendag voor Hom moet verduidelik hoekom hulle dit gedoen het. En so het dit gebeur dat die sendeling se pynappels nie meer weggeraak het nie, en dat mense ook na sy kerk toe gekom het omdat hulle iets begin verstaan het van wat dit beteken om alles vir die Here te gee.
Kom ons word werklik stil voor die Here vanoggend. Kom ons onderwerp ons in nederigheid aan Hom, en erken dat ons alles net van Hom af kom. Kom ons nader tot Hom met ‘n verwagting dat Hy werklik ook vanoggend vir ons sal antwoord, en ons in sy Heerlikheid en sy Teenwoordigheid sal laat deel.
AMEN.
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Intreepreek in Bospoort gemeente
2 Kor 1:21-2:4
Voorsang:
Lied 200:1-3
U Goedheid Heer, kan ons nie peil nie…
Lied 418:1
Blye more, blyste van die dae!
Lofsang:
Lied 205:1-3
Bring lof aan die Vader…
Lied 547:1-3
Al julle volke klap julle hande…
Na Wet en genadeverkondiging:
Lied 553 2*
Slotsang:
Lied 252:1,3
Here hoe blymoedig, en in dank oorvloedig…
Die word “dominee” wek baie verskillende gevoelens by mense op. Ek onthou hoe ek eenkeer by ‘n vorige gemeente by ‘n werktuigkundige gekom het wat my nie geken het nie. Daar was ‘n persoon van Indiese afkoms wat in die werktuigkundige se kantoor gesit het, wat ek wel mee bekend was. Die werktuigkundige het links en regs gevloek terwyl hy met die Indiër gepraat het. Ek het in die deur bly staan, en selfs die Indiër het ongemaklik begin raak… Toe groet die Indiër my op my naam en sê: “Middag, Dominee Wessels”. Die werktuigkundige het so groot geskrik dat hy op die tafel geklap het en geroep het: “Dominee! Wie, wat waar?”
Ja liewe Vriende, die teenwoordigheid van die dominee maak sekere mense dadelik hoogheilig. Hulle glo ‘n mens moenie voor die Dominee, vloek, lelik praat of skinder nie, asof hy die Here self is. Ander glo dat dominees net te goed is om waar te wees. Hulle probeer om elke hoek en draai om die dominee uit te vang dat hy net ‘n mens is, en skinder dan oor sy foute. Ander weer, sien ‘n dominee as die een wat sy eie idees op mense wil afdruk. Hulle is dikwels gefrustreerd dat hulle maar met elke nuwe dominee se grille en giere opgeskeep moet sit. Ja, liewe vriende, hoe ‘n mens ookal daarna kyk, die nuwe dominee op Bospoort is waarskynlik ‘n gewilde tema om oor te praat in die gemeenskap.
My pa praat dikwels oor die fases wat ‘n mens in die gemeente deurgaan. In die eerste jaar (die wittebroodstyd) sê hy, kan ‘n mens niks verkeerds doen nie. In die tweede jaar kan ‘n mens niks reg doen nie, van die derde jaar af gee niemand meer om wat jy doen nie! Maar weet julle, liewe vriende, hierdie interessante verhouding tussen dominee en gemeente is nie ‘n nuwe ding nie...
Die filosoof Favorinus wat so teen 70 na Christus in Korinthe gebly het, ook agtergekom. Favorinus was so gewild by die Korinthiërs dat hulle selfs ‘n standbeeld van hom opgerig het in die teater. Favorinus is later weg na ‘n volgende stad, en kort voor lank hoor hy dat daar ander filosowe in sy plek gekom het, en dat die Korinthiërs nou so min van hom dink, dat hulle sy standbeeld omgetrek het, en weggesleep het uit die teater uit!
Die apostel Paulus het net so ‘n 20 jaar voor Favorinus in Korinthe sendingwerk gedoen... As ‘n mens na die verhouding tussen Paulus en die gemeente in Korinthiërs kyk, dan sien ‘n mens dat Paulus en hierdie gemeente ook aanvanklik ‘n baie goeie verhouding gehad het. Maar na Paulus se voortgaan na ander gemeentes, het daar ander leiers in die gemeente ingekom wat probeer het om Paulus se gesag af te kraak. Hulle het uiteindelik selfs daarin geslaag om ‘n breuk tussen Paulus en die gemeente te bewerkstellig. En daarom skryf Paulus die brief 2 Korinthiërs (party mense reken selfs dat dit ‘n versameling van tot 3 briewe is) om weer aan die gemeente te verduidelik wat sy ware bedoeling met die gemeente is.
Paulus kom skryf aan die gemeente dat hy nie gekom het om baas te speel, of om met die ander leiers na hom te kompeteer nie... nee, Paulus kom stel dit in vers 24 dat hy nie as ‘n heerser wil voorskryf wat hulle moet glo nie, maar ‘n medewerker wil wees om hulle geluk te bevorder...
Weet julle, liewe vriende, ek het baie waarde aan name. Ek soek graag familiebande op, en kyk waar mense vandaan kom. Maar deur my bediening het ek ook ‘n interessante verbindtenis met plekname gehad. My eerste gemeente se naam was vir my so gepas... dit was Nietverdiend. Dat die Here vir my ‘n pad saam met sulke besondere mense laat loop het was virseker nie iets wat ons verdien het nie, dit was GENADE alleen.
Nadat die Here my Lobatse toe beroep het, het die gemeente van Welverdiend my genader om aansoek te doen vir ‘n beroep. In my hart het ek net gevoel – Van Nietverdiend na Welverdiend – Iewers pas dit nie regtig nie... En die Here het ons op Lobatse in Botswana baie meer gegee as wat ons ooit voor kon bid of gevra het...
En toe ons met die trek hier op Bospoort aanland vanaf Coligny se kant af, het ons amper die bordjie Geluk misgery, tot ons die kerk gesien het, en agtergekom het dat die kerk Bospoort op die pad na Geluk lê. Ja, liewe vriende, ek glo dat ons op Bospoort geluk gevind het. Die gemeente het nie ‘n geluk gevind om my as predikant te kry nie – nee, ons het geluk hier kom kry... Ons weet dat julle ‘n resep het, en ons kan dit tot dusver sien, dat julle ‘n resep hier van geluk in die Here het, en dat julle die Here julle gemeentelewe hier kan ervaar.
Maar watter verskil kan ek maak. Saam met Paulus in vers 24 glo ek dat ek nie gestuur is as heerser om vir julle te vertel wat julle moet glo nie, maar om ‘n medewerker te wees wat julle geluk bevorder. Ja ten spyte daarvan dat julle geluk het, glo ek dat daar vir Bospoort gemeente soveel meer geluk lê en wag... Dat ons nie besef hoe groot God se skatkamers van geluk werklik is nie.
Ek was die afgelope Vrydag by die begrafnis van ‘n vriend, en daar het die pastoor genoem dat ‘n begrafplaas die plek is waar die meeste potensiaal opgesluit lê. Ja, soveel mense gaan deur die lewe en deur die kerk sonder dat ‘n kwart van hulle potensiaal benut word. Sonder dat hulle regtig hulle roeping ten volle kan uitleef, en waarlik gelukkig kan wees.
Maar waarin lê ons geluk? Ek kan vanoggend honderde bybeltekste oor geluk, vreugde en blydskap aanhaal. Maar ek wil graag by geluk soos die Here dit vir ons deur Paulus leer kom stilstaan. Paulus skryf in 2 Kor 2:24 dat almal gelukkig is as hy gelukkig is. Geluk is ‘n wedersydse ding. Switserse wetenskaplikes het onlangs uitgevind dat ‘n glimlag werklik aansteeklik is... Dit is moeilik om vir iemand te frons as hy met ‘n glimlag na jou toe kom. Hulle sê dat dit iets te doen het met ‘n mens se ingebore manier om na te aap. Net soos ‘n kind wat lag vir ‘n grap wat hy nie verstaan nie, of ‘n hond wat grom vir sy ewebeeld in die spieël, so word ons geluk ook beïnvloed deur die gemoedstoestand van mense rondom ons.
Maar wat HET Paulus gelukkig gemaak? Paulus skryf in Fillpense 2:14-18 "Doen alles sonder kla of teëpraat. 15 Sorg dat julle bo alle verdenking staan en opreg bly, onberispelike kinders van God te midde van ontaarde en korrupte mense. Tree onder hulle op as ligdraers in die wêreld 16 deur die woord van die lewe uit te dra. Dan sal ek op die dag van Christus se koms rede hê om trots te wees, omdat dit sal blyk dat ek my nie verniet ingespan het nie en nie verniet geswoeg het nie. 17 Julle geloof is ‘n offer in diens van God. Selfs al word my bloed daarby as drankoffer uitgegiet, is ek daaroor bly, ja, is ek saam met julle almal bly. 18 Om dieselfde rede moet julle ook bly wees, ja, saam met my bly wees."
Wat kan ons doen om mekaar se geluk hier in Bospoort gemeente te bevorder? Ons kan leer om alles te doen sonder kla of teëpraat. Dit gebeur so maklik dat ons alles op onsself neem, omdat ons glo dat net ons dit die beste kan doen. Later kla ons dan dat ons alles alleen moet doen. As ons ons geluk in Bospoort gemeente wil bevorder, dan beteken dit dat ons waarlik as slawe van mekaar ons deel in die gemeente moet doen. Slawe wat diensbaar aan mekaar is om soveel as moontlik mense vir Christus te wen (1 Kor. 9:19), maar ook slawe wat vir mense wil tevrede stel nie, maar net God as meester het (Gal. 10). Slawe wat soos Jesus beveel in Lukas 17:10 sê: ” Ons is slawe wat niks verdien nie. Ons het gedoen wat ons verplig was om te doen.”
Ware geluk lê daarin dat ons soos Fillipense 2:15 sê bo verdenking staan en opreg bly te midde van ontaarde en korrupte mense. As gelowiges moet ons nooit deel word van die bedrog van die wêreld nie. Ons moet deursigtig en openlik die Here dien, en nooit agteraf besig wees met dinge wat nie by ‘n kind van God pas nie.
Die laaste, maar nie die minste saak wat Paulus se geluk bevorder, is dat die gemeente ligdraers sal wees wat woord van die lewe in Jesus Christus in die wêreld uitdra. Toe tannie Tersia my die eerste keer gebel het, het ek vir haar gevra waar ek ‘n advertensie van die pos hier op Bospoort kan kry. Wat my getref het van die advertensie is dat Bospoort ‘n omgee-gemeente is. Ek glo dat dit een van die sleutels is van die huidige gelukkige gees en atmosfeer in die gemeente. Maar ek glo ook dat hierdie aspek van die gemeente se geluk ook kan groei, dat ons nog ‘n beter nessie van omgee en aanvaarding van die randeiers in die samelewing kan word, maar dat ons met meer effektiwiteit ook ligdraers kan wees vir almal om ons heen...
‘n Tweede saak in die advertensie wat my getref het, was dat hierdie gemeente die ruimte bied vir ‘n predikant om sy eie roeping uit te leef... En dit is iets waaroor ons almal dalk moet herbesin... Friedriech Buchner het gesê dat die vevulling van ons Roeping plaasvind waar ons gawes in ontmoeting met die wêreld se nood kom. Ek glo ook dat my roeping en my taak in Bospoort gemeente meer moet wees as ‘n persoonlike, private stokperdjie, maar dat ons almal medewerkers moet wees om werklik ook te vra hoe God ons almal se gawes in kontak wil bring met Bospoort, Noordwes, Suid Afrika, Afrika, en die planeet aarde se nood... Ek sien hier in die kantoor hang ‘n sertifikaat dat Bospoort se span op ‘n stadium toutrekkampioene was... Vir ons elkeen om gelukkig te wees in Bospoort, beteken dat ons as God se span met dieselfde ritme in dieselfde rigting sal trek.
Ek wil afsluit vanoggend met ‘n aanhaling van Stuart Evans: "The way we are with ourselves and the way we are with other people depends on the way we are with God..." Bospoort se geluk en ons verhouding met onsself en met ander om ons gaan uiteindelik afhang van ons verhouding met die Here. Dit gaan uiteindelik afhang van hoe sterk ons op Christus as fondament gevestig is (2 Kor 1:21). Kom ons vat hande, en ons stap hierdie pad in afhanklikheid van God drie-Enig, met die wete dat ons dan waarlik sal groei in geluk!
AMEN.
Voorsang:
Lied 200:1-3
U Goedheid Heer, kan ons nie peil nie…
Lied 418:1
Blye more, blyste van die dae!
Lofsang:
Lied 205:1-3
Bring lof aan die Vader…
Lied 547:1-3
Al julle volke klap julle hande…
Na Wet en genadeverkondiging:
Lied 553 2*
Slotsang:
Lied 252:1,3
Here hoe blymoedig, en in dank oorvloedig…
Die word “dominee” wek baie verskillende gevoelens by mense op. Ek onthou hoe ek eenkeer by ‘n vorige gemeente by ‘n werktuigkundige gekom het wat my nie geken het nie. Daar was ‘n persoon van Indiese afkoms wat in die werktuigkundige se kantoor gesit het, wat ek wel mee bekend was. Die werktuigkundige het links en regs gevloek terwyl hy met die Indiër gepraat het. Ek het in die deur bly staan, en selfs die Indiër het ongemaklik begin raak… Toe groet die Indiër my op my naam en sê: “Middag, Dominee Wessels”. Die werktuigkundige het so groot geskrik dat hy op die tafel geklap het en geroep het: “Dominee! Wie, wat waar?”
Ja liewe Vriende, die teenwoordigheid van die dominee maak sekere mense dadelik hoogheilig. Hulle glo ‘n mens moenie voor die Dominee, vloek, lelik praat of skinder nie, asof hy die Here self is. Ander glo dat dominees net te goed is om waar te wees. Hulle probeer om elke hoek en draai om die dominee uit te vang dat hy net ‘n mens is, en skinder dan oor sy foute. Ander weer, sien ‘n dominee as die een wat sy eie idees op mense wil afdruk. Hulle is dikwels gefrustreerd dat hulle maar met elke nuwe dominee se grille en giere opgeskeep moet sit. Ja, liewe vriende, hoe ‘n mens ookal daarna kyk, die nuwe dominee op Bospoort is waarskynlik ‘n gewilde tema om oor te praat in die gemeenskap.
My pa praat dikwels oor die fases wat ‘n mens in die gemeente deurgaan. In die eerste jaar (die wittebroodstyd) sê hy, kan ‘n mens niks verkeerds doen nie. In die tweede jaar kan ‘n mens niks reg doen nie, van die derde jaar af gee niemand meer om wat jy doen nie! Maar weet julle, liewe vriende, hierdie interessante verhouding tussen dominee en gemeente is nie ‘n nuwe ding nie...
Die filosoof Favorinus wat so teen 70 na Christus in Korinthe gebly het, ook agtergekom. Favorinus was so gewild by die Korinthiërs dat hulle selfs ‘n standbeeld van hom opgerig het in die teater. Favorinus is later weg na ‘n volgende stad, en kort voor lank hoor hy dat daar ander filosowe in sy plek gekom het, en dat die Korinthiërs nou so min van hom dink, dat hulle sy standbeeld omgetrek het, en weggesleep het uit die teater uit!
Die apostel Paulus het net so ‘n 20 jaar voor Favorinus in Korinthe sendingwerk gedoen... As ‘n mens na die verhouding tussen Paulus en die gemeente in Korinthiërs kyk, dan sien ‘n mens dat Paulus en hierdie gemeente ook aanvanklik ‘n baie goeie verhouding gehad het. Maar na Paulus se voortgaan na ander gemeentes, het daar ander leiers in die gemeente ingekom wat probeer het om Paulus se gesag af te kraak. Hulle het uiteindelik selfs daarin geslaag om ‘n breuk tussen Paulus en die gemeente te bewerkstellig. En daarom skryf Paulus die brief 2 Korinthiërs (party mense reken selfs dat dit ‘n versameling van tot 3 briewe is) om weer aan die gemeente te verduidelik wat sy ware bedoeling met die gemeente is.
Paulus kom skryf aan die gemeente dat hy nie gekom het om baas te speel, of om met die ander leiers na hom te kompeteer nie... nee, Paulus kom stel dit in vers 24 dat hy nie as ‘n heerser wil voorskryf wat hulle moet glo nie, maar ‘n medewerker wil wees om hulle geluk te bevorder...
Weet julle, liewe vriende, ek het baie waarde aan name. Ek soek graag familiebande op, en kyk waar mense vandaan kom. Maar deur my bediening het ek ook ‘n interessante verbindtenis met plekname gehad. My eerste gemeente se naam was vir my so gepas... dit was Nietverdiend. Dat die Here vir my ‘n pad saam met sulke besondere mense laat loop het was virseker nie iets wat ons verdien het nie, dit was GENADE alleen.
Nadat die Here my Lobatse toe beroep het, het die gemeente van Welverdiend my genader om aansoek te doen vir ‘n beroep. In my hart het ek net gevoel – Van Nietverdiend na Welverdiend – Iewers pas dit nie regtig nie... En die Here het ons op Lobatse in Botswana baie meer gegee as wat ons ooit voor kon bid of gevra het...
En toe ons met die trek hier op Bospoort aanland vanaf Coligny se kant af, het ons amper die bordjie Geluk misgery, tot ons die kerk gesien het, en agtergekom het dat die kerk Bospoort op die pad na Geluk lê. Ja, liewe vriende, ek glo dat ons op Bospoort geluk gevind het. Die gemeente het nie ‘n geluk gevind om my as predikant te kry nie – nee, ons het geluk hier kom kry... Ons weet dat julle ‘n resep het, en ons kan dit tot dusver sien, dat julle ‘n resep hier van geluk in die Here het, en dat julle die Here julle gemeentelewe hier kan ervaar.
Maar watter verskil kan ek maak. Saam met Paulus in vers 24 glo ek dat ek nie gestuur is as heerser om vir julle te vertel wat julle moet glo nie, maar om ‘n medewerker te wees wat julle geluk bevorder. Ja ten spyte daarvan dat julle geluk het, glo ek dat daar vir Bospoort gemeente soveel meer geluk lê en wag... Dat ons nie besef hoe groot God se skatkamers van geluk werklik is nie.
Ek was die afgelope Vrydag by die begrafnis van ‘n vriend, en daar het die pastoor genoem dat ‘n begrafplaas die plek is waar die meeste potensiaal opgesluit lê. Ja, soveel mense gaan deur die lewe en deur die kerk sonder dat ‘n kwart van hulle potensiaal benut word. Sonder dat hulle regtig hulle roeping ten volle kan uitleef, en waarlik gelukkig kan wees.
Maar waarin lê ons geluk? Ek kan vanoggend honderde bybeltekste oor geluk, vreugde en blydskap aanhaal. Maar ek wil graag by geluk soos die Here dit vir ons deur Paulus leer kom stilstaan. Paulus skryf in 2 Kor 2:24 dat almal gelukkig is as hy gelukkig is. Geluk is ‘n wedersydse ding. Switserse wetenskaplikes het onlangs uitgevind dat ‘n glimlag werklik aansteeklik is... Dit is moeilik om vir iemand te frons as hy met ‘n glimlag na jou toe kom. Hulle sê dat dit iets te doen het met ‘n mens se ingebore manier om na te aap. Net soos ‘n kind wat lag vir ‘n grap wat hy nie verstaan nie, of ‘n hond wat grom vir sy ewebeeld in die spieël, so word ons geluk ook beïnvloed deur die gemoedstoestand van mense rondom ons.
Maar wat HET Paulus gelukkig gemaak? Paulus skryf in Fillpense 2:14-18 "Doen alles sonder kla of teëpraat. 15 Sorg dat julle bo alle verdenking staan en opreg bly, onberispelike kinders van God te midde van ontaarde en korrupte mense. Tree onder hulle op as ligdraers in die wêreld 16 deur die woord van die lewe uit te dra. Dan sal ek op die dag van Christus se koms rede hê om trots te wees, omdat dit sal blyk dat ek my nie verniet ingespan het nie en nie verniet geswoeg het nie. 17 Julle geloof is ‘n offer in diens van God. Selfs al word my bloed daarby as drankoffer uitgegiet, is ek daaroor bly, ja, is ek saam met julle almal bly. 18 Om dieselfde rede moet julle ook bly wees, ja, saam met my bly wees."
Wat kan ons doen om mekaar se geluk hier in Bospoort gemeente te bevorder? Ons kan leer om alles te doen sonder kla of teëpraat. Dit gebeur so maklik dat ons alles op onsself neem, omdat ons glo dat net ons dit die beste kan doen. Later kla ons dan dat ons alles alleen moet doen. As ons ons geluk in Bospoort gemeente wil bevorder, dan beteken dit dat ons waarlik as slawe van mekaar ons deel in die gemeente moet doen. Slawe wat diensbaar aan mekaar is om soveel as moontlik mense vir Christus te wen (1 Kor. 9:19), maar ook slawe wat vir mense wil tevrede stel nie, maar net God as meester het (Gal. 10). Slawe wat soos Jesus beveel in Lukas 17:10 sê: ” Ons is slawe wat niks verdien nie. Ons het gedoen wat ons verplig was om te doen.”
Ware geluk lê daarin dat ons soos Fillipense 2:15 sê bo verdenking staan en opreg bly te midde van ontaarde en korrupte mense. As gelowiges moet ons nooit deel word van die bedrog van die wêreld nie. Ons moet deursigtig en openlik die Here dien, en nooit agteraf besig wees met dinge wat nie by ‘n kind van God pas nie.
Die laaste, maar nie die minste saak wat Paulus se geluk bevorder, is dat die gemeente ligdraers sal wees wat woord van die lewe in Jesus Christus in die wêreld uitdra. Toe tannie Tersia my die eerste keer gebel het, het ek vir haar gevra waar ek ‘n advertensie van die pos hier op Bospoort kan kry. Wat my getref het van die advertensie is dat Bospoort ‘n omgee-gemeente is. Ek glo dat dit een van die sleutels is van die huidige gelukkige gees en atmosfeer in die gemeente. Maar ek glo ook dat hierdie aspek van die gemeente se geluk ook kan groei, dat ons nog ‘n beter nessie van omgee en aanvaarding van die randeiers in die samelewing kan word, maar dat ons met meer effektiwiteit ook ligdraers kan wees vir almal om ons heen...
‘n Tweede saak in die advertensie wat my getref het, was dat hierdie gemeente die ruimte bied vir ‘n predikant om sy eie roeping uit te leef... En dit is iets waaroor ons almal dalk moet herbesin... Friedriech Buchner het gesê dat die vevulling van ons Roeping plaasvind waar ons gawes in ontmoeting met die wêreld se nood kom. Ek glo ook dat my roeping en my taak in Bospoort gemeente meer moet wees as ‘n persoonlike, private stokperdjie, maar dat ons almal medewerkers moet wees om werklik ook te vra hoe God ons almal se gawes in kontak wil bring met Bospoort, Noordwes, Suid Afrika, Afrika, en die planeet aarde se nood... Ek sien hier in die kantoor hang ‘n sertifikaat dat Bospoort se span op ‘n stadium toutrekkampioene was... Vir ons elkeen om gelukkig te wees in Bospoort, beteken dat ons as God se span met dieselfde ritme in dieselfde rigting sal trek.
Ek wil afsluit vanoggend met ‘n aanhaling van Stuart Evans: "The way we are with ourselves and the way we are with other people depends on the way we are with God..." Bospoort se geluk en ons verhouding met onsself en met ander om ons gaan uiteindelik afhang van ons verhouding met die Here. Dit gaan uiteindelik afhang van hoe sterk ons op Christus as fondament gevestig is (2 Kor 1:21). Kom ons vat hande, en ons stap hierdie pad in afhanklikheid van God drie-Enig, met die wete dat ons dan waarlik sal groei in geluk!
AMEN.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Class notes session 5
21-26
21. Definition and presuppositions for the theology of the Old Testament
22-26. History of OT Theology (1-5)
Unit 21
Definition and presuppositions for the theology of the Old Testament
History of salvation
Redemption history
Kaiser – Canonical theological center of OT.
- Acorn to oak tree
- Unfolding of road map
Reluctance to adopt a center.
- Steering between the Charibdis of a chronological and the Scylla of a topical scheme.
- Wright & Von Rad & Hasel – no center to the OT.
Kaiser Chapter 16
Old and New Testament – epangelia – promise
Receiving a word of promise VS climatic fulfilment
New Testament writers builds on OT
Marcion’s view on OT
DL Baker 3 solutions to OT-NT problem:
OT Solution (Von Ruler, Miskotte) in which OT was the real Bible, and NT its sequel or glossary.
NT Solution (Bultmann, Baumgartel) Church essential Bible and OT was regarded as non-Christian Presupposition.
Biblical solutions: Vischer – Christological, typological approach, and salvation-historical approach (Vriezen, Rowley, Dodd, Bright, Childs.
THE BETTER COVENANT
Exo 25:9, Heb. 9:23.
- Paul and Gentile believers, grafted into the tree.
Vos.
Theology as the science concerning GOD.
We need disclosure from God.
4 departments, being,
Exegetical Theology
Historical Theology
Systematic Theology
Practical Theology.
Exegetical Theology: Study of the content of the Holy Scripture
Inquiry into the origin of Biblical Writings.
Putting the question of how these writings came into being
The study of the self-disclosures of God in time and space, being Biblical Theology
Biblical Theology:
Divine self-revelation
committal to writing of the revelation-product
Gathering of several writings thus produced into the unity of a collection
The production and guidance of the study of the content of Biblical writings.
Definition of Biblical Theology:
The historic progressiveness of the revelation process.
The actual embodiment of revelation in history
The organic nature of the historic process observable in Revelation
Practical adaptability of revelation.
History:
Gabler – historical principle of treatment.
Difference between past beliefs, and what was provable by reason.
Guiding principles:
The recognition of the infallible character of revelation.
Biblical Theology must recognise the objectivity of the groundwork on Revelation
Biblical Theology is deeply concerned with the question of Revelation.
3 OBJECTIONS TOWARDS BIBLICAL THEOLOGY:
1. Far too wide
2. Represents only a certain method employed?
3. Ill-adjusted to the rest of the theological nomenclature.
Relations to:
Sacred history
Biblical introduction
Systematic Theology.
KRUGER.
Definition:
The study that focuses on the Old Testament as a whole and traces patterns, lines and trends in this collection of books.
Scope and order of Old Testament Books
Nature of the Old Testament
Divine revelation
Human Reflection
Testimony of God’s Revelation.
Testimony of God’s revelation
Relationship to New Testament
No Connection
No Difference
Old and New
HISTORY OF OT THEOLOGY
Overview of History:
Jewish tradition
Early Christian Church
Middle ages
Reformation
RATIONALISM
Aufklarung
Theological-historical School – Bultman, Vischer, Barth.
EICHRODT
Works with the covenant.
Von Rad
Prisoner in World war.
Works with no specific scheme
Deuteronomy as base – Revelation history
BRUEGGEMANN
Authority of the Bible important
Works with rhetorical genre
6 Facets of Biblical interpretation:
Inherency
Interpretation
Ideology
Inspiration
Imagination
Urgency
21. Definition and presuppositions for the theology of the Old Testament
22-26. History of OT Theology (1-5)
Unit 21
Definition and presuppositions for the theology of the Old Testament
History of salvation
Redemption history
Kaiser – Canonical theological center of OT.
- Acorn to oak tree
- Unfolding of road map
Reluctance to adopt a center.
- Steering between the Charibdis of a chronological and the Scylla of a topical scheme.
- Wright & Von Rad & Hasel – no center to the OT.
Kaiser Chapter 16
Old and New Testament – epangelia – promise
Receiving a word of promise VS climatic fulfilment
New Testament writers builds on OT
Marcion’s view on OT
DL Baker 3 solutions to OT-NT problem:
OT Solution (Von Ruler, Miskotte) in which OT was the real Bible, and NT its sequel or glossary.
NT Solution (Bultmann, Baumgartel) Church essential Bible and OT was regarded as non-Christian Presupposition.
Biblical solutions: Vischer – Christological, typological approach, and salvation-historical approach (Vriezen, Rowley, Dodd, Bright, Childs.
THE BETTER COVENANT
Exo 25:9, Heb. 9:23.
- Paul and Gentile believers, grafted into the tree.
Vos.
Theology as the science concerning GOD.
We need disclosure from God.
4 departments, being,
Exegetical Theology
Historical Theology
Systematic Theology
Practical Theology.
Exegetical Theology: Study of the content of the Holy Scripture
Inquiry into the origin of Biblical Writings.
Putting the question of how these writings came into being
The study of the self-disclosures of God in time and space, being Biblical Theology
Biblical Theology:
Divine self-revelation
committal to writing of the revelation-product
Gathering of several writings thus produced into the unity of a collection
The production and guidance of the study of the content of Biblical writings.
Definition of Biblical Theology:
The historic progressiveness of the revelation process.
The actual embodiment of revelation in history
The organic nature of the historic process observable in Revelation
Practical adaptability of revelation.
History:
Gabler – historical principle of treatment.
Difference between past beliefs, and what was provable by reason.
Guiding principles:
The recognition of the infallible character of revelation.
Biblical Theology must recognise the objectivity of the groundwork on Revelation
Biblical Theology is deeply concerned with the question of Revelation.
3 OBJECTIONS TOWARDS BIBLICAL THEOLOGY:
1. Far too wide
2. Represents only a certain method employed?
3. Ill-adjusted to the rest of the theological nomenclature.
Relations to:
Sacred history
Biblical introduction
Systematic Theology.
KRUGER.
Definition:
The study that focuses on the Old Testament as a whole and traces patterns, lines and trends in this collection of books.
Scope and order of Old Testament Books
Nature of the Old Testament
Divine revelation
Human Reflection
Testimony of God’s Revelation.
Testimony of God’s revelation
Relationship to New Testament
No Connection
No Difference
Old and New
HISTORY OF OT THEOLOGY
Overview of History:
Jewish tradition
Early Christian Church
Middle ages
Reformation
RATIONALISM
Aufklarung
Theological-historical School – Bultman, Vischer, Barth.
EICHRODT
Works with the covenant.
Von Rad
Prisoner in World war.
Works with no specific scheme
Deuteronomy as base – Revelation history
BRUEGGEMANN
Authority of the Bible important
Works with rhetorical genre
6 Facets of Biblical interpretation:
Inherency
Interpretation
Ideology
Inspiration
Imagination
Urgency
Class notes for session 6
Class notes for 12 November 2008.
Study unit 27 – METHODS
The Method of OT Theology: Kaiser.
Four types of theologies:
1. Structural type (takes themes from dogmatics, such as covenant)
2. Diachronic type (takes periods in time as departure point)
3. Lexographic type (takes certain figures, like Elohist in focus)
4. Biblical themes type (Takes themes like Kingdom of God, etc. as departure.)
Distinguish between systematic methods vs. History-of-religion.
p. 11 Rather than selecting theological data that will satisfy our needs the text will already have set up priorities and preferences of its own.
Introduction: The nature of Biblical Theology: VOS
Principle of periodicity – Covenant makings.
Criteria for discovering nodal points of OT.
1. Critical placement of interpretive statements in textual sequence,
2. The frequency of repetition of ideas
3. The recurrence of phrases of terms that began to take on a technical status
4. The resumption of a theme where a forerunner has stopped.
5. The use of categories of assertions previously used,
6. The organising standard by which people, places, and ideas were marked for approval, contrast, inclusion, and future and present significance.
VIEWS PROMISE AND BLESSING AS CENTRAL THEME OF OT.
6 Practical uses of Biblical theology:
1. It exhibits the organic growth of the truths of special revelation
2. It supplies us with a useful antidote against the teachings of rationalistic criticism
3. It imparts new life and freshness to the truth by showing it to us in its original setting
4. It can counteract the anti-doctrinal tendency in the present time
5. It relieves the unfortunate situation that even the fundamental doctrines of the faith should seem to depend mainly on the testimony of isolated proof-texts
6. It gives us new insights on the Glory and might of the Lord.
7 METHODS BY HASEL P. 66-67 IN STUDY GUIDE.
Study Unit 28 – The search for a central theme.
KAISER – Problems with a central theme.
HELBERG – Kingdom of God
WALTON - Covenant
Other themes:
GOD, Jesus Christ, Kingdom of God, Covenant, Promise and fulfilment, Salvation/redemption, Human existence, Fellowship/communion, Law and justice, Cult, God’s plan, Theophany
STUDY UNIT 29+30 RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN OT AND NT
Kruger:
1. No connection
2. No difference
3. Old and new
a. Historical,
b. Covenantal
c. Typological
Greidanus
Chapter 2 The necessity of Preaching Christ from the OT
A. The lack of Preaching Christ from the OT
B. The unique character of the OT
C. The relation of the OT to the New.
D. THE OLD TESTAMENT’S WHITNESS TO CHRIST
E. BENEFITS FROM PREACHING CHRIST FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT
CHAPTER 5
NEW TESTAMENT PRINCIPLES FOR PREACHING CHRIST FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT
1. Christ centered preaching is to be God-centered
2. Interpret the OT from the reality of Christ
3. Many roads lead from the OT to Christ
KAISER – The Old Testament and the New Testament
1. The Old Testament catchword for the New Testament
2. The Unity of the Old and New Testaments3. The Better Covenant.
Study unit 27 – METHODS
The Method of OT Theology: Kaiser.
Four types of theologies:
1. Structural type (takes themes from dogmatics, such as covenant)
2. Diachronic type (takes periods in time as departure point)
3. Lexographic type (takes certain figures, like Elohist in focus)
4. Biblical themes type (Takes themes like Kingdom of God, etc. as departure.)
Distinguish between systematic methods vs. History-of-religion.
p. 11 Rather than selecting theological data that will satisfy our needs the text will already have set up priorities and preferences of its own.
Introduction: The nature of Biblical Theology: VOS
Principle of periodicity – Covenant makings.
Criteria for discovering nodal points of OT.
1. Critical placement of interpretive statements in textual sequence,
2. The frequency of repetition of ideas
3. The recurrence of phrases of terms that began to take on a technical status
4. The resumption of a theme where a forerunner has stopped.
5. The use of categories of assertions previously used,
6. The organising standard by which people, places, and ideas were marked for approval, contrast, inclusion, and future and present significance.
VIEWS PROMISE AND BLESSING AS CENTRAL THEME OF OT.
6 Practical uses of Biblical theology:
1. It exhibits the organic growth of the truths of special revelation
2. It supplies us with a useful antidote against the teachings of rationalistic criticism
3. It imparts new life and freshness to the truth by showing it to us in its original setting
4. It can counteract the anti-doctrinal tendency in the present time
5. It relieves the unfortunate situation that even the fundamental doctrines of the faith should seem to depend mainly on the testimony of isolated proof-texts
6. It gives us new insights on the Glory and might of the Lord.
7 METHODS BY HASEL P. 66-67 IN STUDY GUIDE.
Study Unit 28 – The search for a central theme.
KAISER – Problems with a central theme.
HELBERG – Kingdom of God
WALTON - Covenant
Other themes:
GOD, Jesus Christ, Kingdom of God, Covenant, Promise and fulfilment, Salvation/redemption, Human existence, Fellowship/communion, Law and justice, Cult, God’s plan, Theophany
STUDY UNIT 29+30 RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN OT AND NT
Kruger:
1. No connection
2. No difference
3. Old and new
a. Historical,
b. Covenantal
c. Typological
Greidanus
Chapter 2 The necessity of Preaching Christ from the OT
A. The lack of Preaching Christ from the OT
B. The unique character of the OT
C. The relation of the OT to the New.
D. THE OLD TESTAMENT’S WHITNESS TO CHRIST
E. BENEFITS FROM PREACHING CHRIST FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT
CHAPTER 5
NEW TESTAMENT PRINCIPLES FOR PREACHING CHRIST FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT
1. Christ centered preaching is to be God-centered
2. Interpret the OT from the reality of Christ
3. Many roads lead from the OT to Christ
KAISER – The Old Testament and the New Testament
1. The Old Testament catchword for the New Testament
2. The Unity of the Old and New Testaments3. The Better Covenant.
Class notes on session 4
Class notes for session 4.
Study Unit 16: Israelite prophets and prophecy
Prophetic Identity and prophetic literature.
4 dividing principles, namely Precomposition, Composition, Transmission, Application.
1. Precomposition.
a. Who were the prophets, and where did they fit in?
b. With whom do the prophets compare from their own time Period and Geographical region? – Old Babilonian & neo – Assyrian texts, Aramaic Balaam document.
c. With whom do the Prophets compare from More recent times and More geographically distant regions? – Socio scientific, comparative anthropology.
d. Where do they fit in their historical and Geographical Time and place? Look into Archaeological evidence, JDEP sources.
2. Composition.
a. How did the prophets speak? Aristotle, structural criticism.
b. What kinds of messages did the prophets gave? – Form Critisism
3. Transmission.
a. How did the prophets use scripture, and what were the subsequent use of the Prophet’s original messages? Redaction criticism.
4. Application.
a. What use are the prophets to us today? – Liberation theology, feminism.
Study unit 17: Wisdom literature
1. Definition of Wisdom Literature: - a-historical character, distinctive inspiration, observation and reflection.
2. Proverbs
a. Origin and background
b. International background – The teaching of Amenope
c. Linguistic evidence
d. Setting – Royal setting, folk setting (preliterate society), law, home-school.
e. Poetics and structure
i. Denial of structure
ii. Proverb-Performance Context
f. Theology – “fear of the Lord”.
3. Ecclesiastes
a. Author and date.
Qohelet or “gatherer of people”, Solomon, royal fictional autobiography.
b. Unity
c. Teaching
4. Job
a. Textual and philological research
b. Study of past interpretations
c. Literary approaches to the book Job.
i. Prose frame and poetic core
ii. Narrative and poetic modes
iii. Literary genre
iv. Irony, satire, parody
Study Unit 18 – Recent trends in Psalms study
- Psalms being read as a whole – Literary approach.
1. Past overviews
a. Historical Critical
b. Gunkel – Sitze im Leben
c. Mowinckel – cultic background to the Psalms
d. Holistic analysis of the whole Psalter (canonical – Hymn book?)
2. Composition and message
a. Storyline in the Psalter – Macroµstructure, narrative critisism
b. Five “books” within Psalms
i. 1-41, 42-72, 73-89, 90-106, 107-145 crescendo of praise psalms
c. Message of the Psalms
i. Mitchell – Eschatology, Davidic Kingship.
ii. Millard – Tora
iii. deClaisse-Walford
1. Source book for ceremonies
2. Repository of Israel’s story.
3. Hebrew Poetry
a. Linguistic Approaches
b. Literary Approaches – Systems for reading poetry
c. Structural approaches
4. Hermeneutics
a. Reader-oriented approaches
b. Sociological & Liberationist approaches
c. Rhetorical criticism
d. Postcolonial readings
5. Form Critisism
a. Sitz im Leben
b. Prayer, Kinship, Identity in Psalms.
6. Psalms in the Context of Near East
a. Mesopotamic hymns
b. Ugaritic Psalms
7. Conclusion
a. Paradigm shift in interpretation of Psalms
b. Paradigm shift in reading Hebrew Poetry
c. Exponential growth in types of approaches.
Study unit 19 Religion in Ancient Israel
1. Trends and methodologies of the Past Three decades
a. Koch, Redtorff, Westermann, Vriezen, Ringgren, Fohrer, Schmidt
b. Cross – influence Canaanite, Mark Smith - Ugaritic religion Gods
c. Religious development divided into time frames
2. Development on central issues:
a. Origins of Yahwism – looking at the surrounding religions
b. History of Israelite Monotheism – henotheism, monolatry.
i. Petersen – evolution, revolution, devolution.
c. Kuntillet, Ajrud and Khirbet el-Qom Inscriptions
i. Time of different inscriptions may differ
ii. Dealing with Graffiti
iii. Junction of Caravan routes
iv. Other more important evidence ignored
d. Cult of the dead
i. Ancestral worship.
3. Topics and suggestions for the future
a. The Canaanite Continuum
b. Attention to the Near-East sources
c. Clarification of the relationship to Old Testament Theology
i. History of Old testament religion vs. Old Testament Theology.
Study Unit 20 Applying the social sciences to the Old Testament
Opening Windows onto Biblical Worlds
Applying the social sciences to Hebrew Scripture
1. Emergence of the Social Sciences
a. Conflict model
b. Structural-functional approach
c. Materialist perspective vs Idealist orientation
2. Sociology and the Hebrew Bible: A Brief Overview
a. Max Weber – Ancient Judaism.
Household, family, tribe.
3. Towards a sociology of Biblical Israel
a. The origins of Israel and the development of Monarchy
b. Prophecy and the prophetic tradition
c. Gender and Cult in Culture
d. Exile and Identity
e. Economic Perspectives: Subsistence Strategies and Mode of Production
4. Evangelical Scholarship and Social Science Critisism
a. Evangelical scholars have brushed aside social science commentaries due to the following:
i. Theological commitment to the uniqueness of Israel, coupled with a desire to avoid cultural and religious relativism
ii. Hesitation to apply cross-cultural parallels to the biblical world, and an attempt to avoid reading modern worldviews onto ancient Israel;
iii. A concern that social science criticism will take away from the more legitimate aspects of biblical interpretation.
5. The future of Social Science Criticism
a. Discontinuity of primitive societies
b. Four elements to form a cultural overlay
i. Physical grid
ii. Cultural grid
iii. Organizational/political grid
iv. Religious grid
Study Unit 16: Israelite prophets and prophecy
Prophetic Identity and prophetic literature.
4 dividing principles, namely Precomposition, Composition, Transmission, Application.
1. Precomposition.
a. Who were the prophets, and where did they fit in?
b. With whom do the prophets compare from their own time Period and Geographical region? – Old Babilonian & neo – Assyrian texts, Aramaic Balaam document.
c. With whom do the Prophets compare from More recent times and More geographically distant regions? – Socio scientific, comparative anthropology.
d. Where do they fit in their historical and Geographical Time and place? Look into Archaeological evidence, JDEP sources.
2. Composition.
a. How did the prophets speak? Aristotle, structural criticism.
b. What kinds of messages did the prophets gave? – Form Critisism
3. Transmission.
a. How did the prophets use scripture, and what were the subsequent use of the Prophet’s original messages? Redaction criticism.
4. Application.
a. What use are the prophets to us today? – Liberation theology, feminism.
Study unit 17: Wisdom literature
1. Definition of Wisdom Literature: - a-historical character, distinctive inspiration, observation and reflection.
2. Proverbs
a. Origin and background
b. International background – The teaching of Amenope
c. Linguistic evidence
d. Setting – Royal setting, folk setting (preliterate society), law, home-school.
e. Poetics and structure
i. Denial of structure
ii. Proverb-Performance Context
f. Theology – “fear of the Lord”.
3. Ecclesiastes
a. Author and date.
Qohelet or “gatherer of people”, Solomon, royal fictional autobiography.
b. Unity
c. Teaching
4. Job
a. Textual and philological research
b. Study of past interpretations
c. Literary approaches to the book Job.
i. Prose frame and poetic core
ii. Narrative and poetic modes
iii. Literary genre
iv. Irony, satire, parody
Study Unit 18 – Recent trends in Psalms study
- Psalms being read as a whole – Literary approach.
1. Past overviews
a. Historical Critical
b. Gunkel – Sitze im Leben
c. Mowinckel – cultic background to the Psalms
d. Holistic analysis of the whole Psalter (canonical – Hymn book?)
2. Composition and message
a. Storyline in the Psalter – Macroµstructure, narrative critisism
b. Five “books” within Psalms
i. 1-41, 42-72, 73-89, 90-106, 107-145 crescendo of praise psalms
c. Message of the Psalms
i. Mitchell – Eschatology, Davidic Kingship.
ii. Millard – Tora
iii. deClaisse-Walford
1. Source book for ceremonies
2. Repository of Israel’s story.
3. Hebrew Poetry
a. Linguistic Approaches
b. Literary Approaches – Systems for reading poetry
c. Structural approaches
4. Hermeneutics
a. Reader-oriented approaches
b. Sociological & Liberationist approaches
c. Rhetorical criticism
d. Postcolonial readings
5. Form Critisism
a. Sitz im Leben
b. Prayer, Kinship, Identity in Psalms.
6. Psalms in the Context of Near East
a. Mesopotamic hymns
b. Ugaritic Psalms
7. Conclusion
a. Paradigm shift in interpretation of Psalms
b. Paradigm shift in reading Hebrew Poetry
c. Exponential growth in types of approaches.
Study unit 19 Religion in Ancient Israel
1. Trends and methodologies of the Past Three decades
a. Koch, Redtorff, Westermann, Vriezen, Ringgren, Fohrer, Schmidt
b. Cross – influence Canaanite, Mark Smith - Ugaritic religion Gods
c. Religious development divided into time frames
2. Development on central issues:
a. Origins of Yahwism – looking at the surrounding religions
b. History of Israelite Monotheism – henotheism, monolatry.
i. Petersen – evolution, revolution, devolution.
c. Kuntillet, Ajrud and Khirbet el-Qom Inscriptions
i. Time of different inscriptions may differ
ii. Dealing with Graffiti
iii. Junction of Caravan routes
iv. Other more important evidence ignored
d. Cult of the dead
i. Ancestral worship.
3. Topics and suggestions for the future
a. The Canaanite Continuum
b. Attention to the Near-East sources
c. Clarification of the relationship to Old Testament Theology
i. History of Old testament religion vs. Old Testament Theology.
Study Unit 20 Applying the social sciences to the Old Testament
Opening Windows onto Biblical Worlds
Applying the social sciences to Hebrew Scripture
1. Emergence of the Social Sciences
a. Conflict model
b. Structural-functional approach
c. Materialist perspective vs Idealist orientation
2. Sociology and the Hebrew Bible: A Brief Overview
a. Max Weber – Ancient Judaism.
Household, family, tribe.
3. Towards a sociology of Biblical Israel
a. The origins of Israel and the development of Monarchy
b. Prophecy and the prophetic tradition
c. Gender and Cult in Culture
d. Exile and Identity
e. Economic Perspectives: Subsistence Strategies and Mode of Production
4. Evangelical Scholarship and Social Science Critisism
a. Evangelical scholars have brushed aside social science commentaries due to the following:
i. Theological commitment to the uniqueness of Israel, coupled with a desire to avoid cultural and religious relativism
ii. Hesitation to apply cross-cultural parallels to the biblical world, and an attempt to avoid reading modern worldviews onto ancient Israel;
iii. A concern that social science criticism will take away from the more legitimate aspects of biblical interpretation.
5. The future of Social Science Criticism
a. Discontinuity of primitive societies
b. Four elements to form a cultural overlay
i. Physical grid
ii. Cultural grid
iii. Organizational/political grid
iv. Religious grid
Class notes on session 3
Class notes for Session 3 – Study unit 11-15.
The Text to the Old Testament
Literary approaches to Old Testament Study
Pondering the Pentateuch: The search for a new Paradigm
The historiography of the Old Testament
Early Israel in recent Biblical Scholarship
Study Unit 11: The text to the Old Testament: Wolters.
Major manuscripts:
Septuagint
Targums
Peshitta
Vulgate
The dead sea Scrolls:
Oldest manuscripts
LXX
Samaritan Pentateuch
Proto-Masoretic Text NNB!
Different theories:
1. Albright – Local text
a. LXX – Egypt
b. Samaritan Pentateuch – Palestine
c. Masoretic text – Babylon.
2. Talmon – Textual diversity
a. LXX – Christian
b. Samaritan Pentateuch – Samaritans
c. Masoretic Text – Rabinnical Judaism
3. Tov – Ads Qumran orthography, and unaligned with those above.
4. Ulrich – not textual groups – Different stages in canon development of texts.
Ancient versions and Samaritan Pentateuch:
1. LXX – Greater conformity with MT
2. Minor Greek versions – Theodotion Symmachus, Aquila
3. Targums
4. Peshitta
5. Vulgate
6. Samaritan Pentateuch.
Priviledged status of Proto-Masoretic text.
AIMS OF OLD TESTAMENT CRITISISM:
1. Restore the original composition
2. Restore the final text
3. Restore the earliest attested text
4. Restore accepted texts
5. Reconstruct final texts (plural).
3 LARGE SCALE PROJECTS:
Hebrew University Bible Project
Preliminary and Interim report on the Hebrew and Old Testament Text project
UBS – New edition of BH
Theological issues:
- Barthelemy and inspiration.
Study unit 12: Literary approaches to Old Testament Study. LONGMAN III
Rebirth of Literary approach:
- Alter study: Art of Biblical Narrative.
- Focus on text created a joint platform for discussion
Ancient Precusors
- Stephen Prickett, James Kugel.
- Goes back to accusing Jerome, Enlightenment for derailing scholarship.
Conceptual map of Literary approaches:
1. Structuralism and Semiotics – Barr, De Saussure
2. Reader Response approach
3. Deconstruction – David and Goliath - Derrida
4. Contemporary post-structuralist approaches
New Historisism
New Literary Critisism and intertextuality
Bach’s Sotah Female portrayal/betrayal in Gen 12:1-3
Into the future:
1. Scholars continuing to “bracket” historical data.
2. 3 approaches to narrative:
a. Narrative as convergence of textual tradition
b. Narrative as being “undecidable”,- deconstruction
c. Narrative criticism – recover ancient literary conventions.
Session 3 Pondering the Pentateuch – WENHAM
1. Introduction
a. Wellhausen JDEP
b. Alt – Going back to Patriarchal times
c. Von Rad, Noth - Grundlage
d. Albright – parallels with second Millenium laws – dates Pentateuch very early
e. Wybray p 130– Genesis 37-50 as a unit – METHODS STAYED THE SAME, understand repetition differently.
f. Von Seters – Older dating of Patriarchal narratives.
g. Rentorff – Back to form – critical approach – away from JDEP
h. Berge
i. Boorer
j. Knohl
k. Mconville
l. Rendsburg.
Unit 14 Historiography of the Old Testament.
MAJOR DEVELOPMENTS IN HISTORIOGRAPHY:
1. An increase in religious liberalism that was “less dogmatic in its theological orientation, more progressive in its relationship to contemporary culture and thought, and more humanistic in its perspectives than previous generations”;
2. advances in “general historiography,” including the development of “a positivistic approach to history, which not only attempted but also believed it was possible to reconstruct past history ‘as it had actually happened”;
3. the decipherment of the languages of Israel’s ancient Near Eastern neighbors in Egypt and Mesopotamia;
4. a new level of activity and competence in the historical geography of the Near East; and
5. the gradual rise to dominance of the Pentateuchal documentary hypothesis, along with the belief that the “character, content, and date of the individual documents were . . . of great significance in understanding the religious development of Israelite and Judaean life and in evaluating the historical reliability of the documentary materials.”
Each of these nineteenth-century developments has made itself felt in twentieth-century biblical scholarship, but none has escaped challenge or failed to precipitate new debate:
1. nineteenth-century-style liberalism has been challenged by neoorthodoxy and neoevangelicalism: these movements, while not wishing to ignore the concerns of contemporary culture, have stressed the primacy of a theocentric over a merely humanistic perspective on life’s ultimate issues;
2. positivistic history has come under considerable strain through advances in general hermeneutics and a greater awareness of the distinction between “brute facts” of the past, which are of course no longer subject to observation, and “historical facts” as they are perceived in the present by means of probability judgments based on the available evidence;
3. the decipherment of, for example, Egyptian hieroglyphics and Akkadian cuneiform has opened up a whole new world of comparative literary studies and with this advance has raised significant questions as to the proper uses and potential abuses of comparative material in the study of the Bible;
4. the greatly increased archaeological and geographical exploration of the “lands of the Bible” has raised as many questions as it has answered, not least as regards the inten-elatioriship of textual and artifactual evidence in the reconstruction of Israel’s history; and finally,
5. the documentary hypothesis, promoted most effectively in the nineteenth century by J. Wellhausen, has been rigorously challenged in the twentieth, as have other literary theories and, indeed, the whole general approach of Wellhausen and his followers).
Unit 15 Early Israel in Recent Biblical Scholarship.
Summary of the models:
A. Conquest from outside
1. Conquest model – Joshua straightforward campaign, blitzkrieg.
2. Peaceful infiltration model – Israel as nomads, tension with farmers.
B. Conquest from inside
1. Revolt models – Peasant revolt from inside – Mendendall, Gottwald.
2. Other theories of Israel as indigenous.
a. Dever – Proto-Israelites, highlands and lowlands.
b. Finkelstein – Pastoral nomadic model – houses, silos, compounds, ascribes everything to socio-economic change.
c. Lemche – Complete a-historical approach – no such place as “Canaan”.
d. Thompson – Period of drought responsible for nomadic activity.
e. Davies – historic Israel, biblical Israel and ancient Israel.
Factors that influenced the models.
A. Philosophy of history.
B. Archaeology
a. Rural studies
b. Ethnicity
C. Extra-Biblical texts.
a. Merenptah Stela
b. Amarna tablets
D. Tribal organisation
a. Definition of household, tribe.
E. Role of the book Joshua. (p. 201)
a. Joshua and Judges does not correspond in terms of historical accuracy.
1. Based on surface reading of Joshua
2. Based on “strong or hard” objectivism in archaeology.
Suggestions for a more comprehensive model.
1. Recognise the complexity of the picture that Joshua paints.
2. Recognise the complexity of the picture that Archaeology paints.
3. Use comparative literary analysis of Synchronic types to uncover the ways in which the ancient Near Eastern Peoples wrote their accounts.
Cannot ignore Biblical, extra Biblical or Archaeology in interpretation.
The Text to the Old Testament
Literary approaches to Old Testament Study
Pondering the Pentateuch: The search for a new Paradigm
The historiography of the Old Testament
Early Israel in recent Biblical Scholarship
Study Unit 11: The text to the Old Testament: Wolters.
Major manuscripts:
Septuagint
Targums
Peshitta
Vulgate
The dead sea Scrolls:
Oldest manuscripts
LXX
Samaritan Pentateuch
Proto-Masoretic Text NNB!
Different theories:
1. Albright – Local text
a. LXX – Egypt
b. Samaritan Pentateuch – Palestine
c. Masoretic text – Babylon.
2. Talmon – Textual diversity
a. LXX – Christian
b. Samaritan Pentateuch – Samaritans
c. Masoretic Text – Rabinnical Judaism
3. Tov – Ads Qumran orthography, and unaligned with those above.
4. Ulrich – not textual groups – Different stages in canon development of texts.
Ancient versions and Samaritan Pentateuch:
1. LXX – Greater conformity with MT
2. Minor Greek versions – Theodotion Symmachus, Aquila
3. Targums
4. Peshitta
5. Vulgate
6. Samaritan Pentateuch.
Priviledged status of Proto-Masoretic text.
AIMS OF OLD TESTAMENT CRITISISM:
1. Restore the original composition
2. Restore the final text
3. Restore the earliest attested text
4. Restore accepted texts
5. Reconstruct final texts (plural).
3 LARGE SCALE PROJECTS:
Hebrew University Bible Project
Preliminary and Interim report on the Hebrew and Old Testament Text project
UBS – New edition of BH
Theological issues:
- Barthelemy and inspiration.
Study unit 12: Literary approaches to Old Testament Study. LONGMAN III
Rebirth of Literary approach:
- Alter study: Art of Biblical Narrative.
- Focus on text created a joint platform for discussion
Ancient Precusors
- Stephen Prickett, James Kugel.
- Goes back to accusing Jerome, Enlightenment for derailing scholarship.
Conceptual map of Literary approaches:
1. Structuralism and Semiotics – Barr, De Saussure
2. Reader Response approach
3. Deconstruction – David and Goliath - Derrida
4. Contemporary post-structuralist approaches
New Historisism
New Literary Critisism and intertextuality
Bach’s Sotah Female portrayal/betrayal in Gen 12:1-3
Into the future:
1. Scholars continuing to “bracket” historical data.
2. 3 approaches to narrative:
a. Narrative as convergence of textual tradition
b. Narrative as being “undecidable”,- deconstruction
c. Narrative criticism – recover ancient literary conventions.
Session 3 Pondering the Pentateuch – WENHAM
1. Introduction
a. Wellhausen JDEP
b. Alt – Going back to Patriarchal times
c. Von Rad, Noth - Grundlage
d. Albright – parallels with second Millenium laws – dates Pentateuch very early
e. Wybray p 130– Genesis 37-50 as a unit – METHODS STAYED THE SAME, understand repetition differently.
f. Von Seters – Older dating of Patriarchal narratives.
g. Rentorff – Back to form – critical approach – away from JDEP
h. Berge
i. Boorer
j. Knohl
k. Mconville
l. Rendsburg.
Unit 14 Historiography of the Old Testament.
MAJOR DEVELOPMENTS IN HISTORIOGRAPHY:
1. An increase in religious liberalism that was “less dogmatic in its theological orientation, more progressive in its relationship to contemporary culture and thought, and more humanistic in its perspectives than previous generations”;
2. advances in “general historiography,” including the development of “a positivistic approach to history, which not only attempted but also believed it was possible to reconstruct past history ‘as it had actually happened”;
3. the decipherment of the languages of Israel’s ancient Near Eastern neighbors in Egypt and Mesopotamia;
4. a new level of activity and competence in the historical geography of the Near East; and
5. the gradual rise to dominance of the Pentateuchal documentary hypothesis, along with the belief that the “character, content, and date of the individual documents were . . . of great significance in understanding the religious development of Israelite and Judaean life and in evaluating the historical reliability of the documentary materials.”
Each of these nineteenth-century developments has made itself felt in twentieth-century biblical scholarship, but none has escaped challenge or failed to precipitate new debate:
1. nineteenth-century-style liberalism has been challenged by neoorthodoxy and neoevangelicalism: these movements, while not wishing to ignore the concerns of contemporary culture, have stressed the primacy of a theocentric over a merely humanistic perspective on life’s ultimate issues;
2. positivistic history has come under considerable strain through advances in general hermeneutics and a greater awareness of the distinction between “brute facts” of the past, which are of course no longer subject to observation, and “historical facts” as they are perceived in the present by means of probability judgments based on the available evidence;
3. the decipherment of, for example, Egyptian hieroglyphics and Akkadian cuneiform has opened up a whole new world of comparative literary studies and with this advance has raised significant questions as to the proper uses and potential abuses of comparative material in the study of the Bible;
4. the greatly increased archaeological and geographical exploration of the “lands of the Bible” has raised as many questions as it has answered, not least as regards the inten-elatioriship of textual and artifactual evidence in the reconstruction of Israel’s history; and finally,
5. the documentary hypothesis, promoted most effectively in the nineteenth century by J. Wellhausen, has been rigorously challenged in the twentieth, as have other literary theories and, indeed, the whole general approach of Wellhausen and his followers).
Unit 15 Early Israel in Recent Biblical Scholarship.
Summary of the models:
A. Conquest from outside
1. Conquest model – Joshua straightforward campaign, blitzkrieg.
2. Peaceful infiltration model – Israel as nomads, tension with farmers.
B. Conquest from inside
1. Revolt models – Peasant revolt from inside – Mendendall, Gottwald.
2. Other theories of Israel as indigenous.
a. Dever – Proto-Israelites, highlands and lowlands.
b. Finkelstein – Pastoral nomadic model – houses, silos, compounds, ascribes everything to socio-economic change.
c. Lemche – Complete a-historical approach – no such place as “Canaan”.
d. Thompson – Period of drought responsible for nomadic activity.
e. Davies – historic Israel, biblical Israel and ancient Israel.
Factors that influenced the models.
A. Philosophy of history.
B. Archaeology
a. Rural studies
b. Ethnicity
C. Extra-Biblical texts.
a. Merenptah Stela
b. Amarna tablets
D. Tribal organisation
a. Definition of household, tribe.
E. Role of the book Joshua. (p. 201)
a. Joshua and Judges does not correspond in terms of historical accuracy.
1. Based on surface reading of Joshua
2. Based on “strong or hard” objectivism in archaeology.
Suggestions for a more comprehensive model.
1. Recognise the complexity of the picture that Joshua paints.
2. Recognise the complexity of the picture that Archaeology paints.
3. Use comparative literary analysis of Synchronic types to uncover the ways in which the ancient Near Eastern Peoples wrote their accounts.
Cannot ignore Biblical, extra Biblical or Archaeology in interpretation.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
More worth than sparrows!
Sermon on Luke 12:1-7 - Delivered on 10 August 2008 at DRCB Lobatse congregation
One of the new tricks that professional thieves invented, is called identity theft. They get hold of your ID number, or Passport number, and then use your particulars to get access to your bank account, and they steal all your money.
But I want to talk about another type of identity theft. Do you know, dear friends, that Satan is trying to steal our identity everyday? Sometimes things are stolen from you, because you do not take stock often enough. Because you do not realise what you have in life, you often do not realise when it is stolen! Let us recoup a little:
Who are you?
Your are the crown on God’s creation. Somebody once said: I know I am somebody, because God made no junk. Ps. 8:5.
You are quite unique. I the whole of creation there is nobody who are made exactly like you. Even Identical twins differ in their lifestyle, the clothes they wear, the food they like, the memories they have, etc. Psalm 139:15
You are chosen. When God chose you, it was not like somebody walking through a grocery store, selecting groceries. No, dear friends, he chose you like somebody choosing a car. He handpicked you for a purpose in this world around us. He is very fuzzy about whom he uses to work in his Kingdom. Isa 44:2
You are forgiven. If you have accepted Jesus Christ, you are forgiven, and Your sins are washed away. 1 John 1:9.
Your are adopted. If we belong to the family of God, we are not orphans or slaves anymore, but God calls us his children! Rom 8:17.
How does the Satan manage to steal our joy, and our convictions?
He tells us that we are worthless. That society will even be better of without us. And that is why some many people commit suicide.
He tells us that we are just a number, and that nobody will miss us!
He tells us that we are ordinary, and that we have no purpose in the congregation. That other people can do everyting better than us!
He constantly reminds us of our sins. He tells us that we are unable to do anything good for the Lord, and that we are disasters in God’s eyes.
He tells us that nobody cares about us, that we are orphans in this world, and just slaves of the church and religion.
But please brother and sister, do not listen to him! Remember what God told us today in Luke 12:7: “Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.”
Yes dear friends, the Satan’s battle in our lives is not primarily a physical battle, but it is a spiritual battle. Do not be afraid of what Satan can do with your body, but be aware of what he is doing in your mind! If you allow him to take over your thoughts with negativity, you can be sure that he will succeed eventually to draw you with him into hell!
Have you thought about what is the loss when somebody goes to hell?
Someone in 1985 has worked out exactly what you are worth…
A human body is worth about P 15-00 in 1985 money…
You are made up of:
65% Oxygen, 18% Carbon, 10% Hydrogen, 3% Nitrogen, 1.5% Calcium, 1% Phosphorous, 0.35% Potassium, 0.25% Sulphur, 0.15% Sodium, 0.15% Chlorine, 0.05% Magnesium, 0.0004% Iron, 0.00004% Iodine ,(with trace quantities of silicon, fluorine, manganese, zinc, copper, arsenic and aluminum (It depends on where you live and what you eat – some of us may be more valuable than others)
Later somebody else came and made another calculation… He said that if your could harness all the atoms in somebodys body, it would be sufficient to produce 11.4 million kilowatts of energy worth more than 570 billion Pula!
And that is only our physical body, not even including our souls, our faith and our knowledge!
For how much are you prepared to sell yourself? For how much are you giving your life away to Satan? For how much are you prepared to just let a brother, a mother, or a neighbour, or any other human being for that matter just go to hell?
I want to conclude by reminding you of the well known story of the ugly duckling. It is about a swan that was born under a duck, and that was seen as big and ugly until he grew up, and found his fellow swans in the pond, and realised how beautiful he is. If we keep on living as part of the world, under the power of Satan and all his assistants, we will only have negative views about ourselves. It is only when we become part of God’s family when things really change!
Do we really realise what it means when Luke says that we are worth more than many sparrows? Dear friends, let us come to the Lord anew. Let us know that he cannot just forget us. In Isaiah 49:15 the Lord reminds us that he loves us more than a mother’s love for her baby. That he cannot forget us! Let us think again of the words in 2 Corinthians 5:17: Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! Let us develop our potential. Let us allow God to change our lives!
I want you to repeat the following after me, and also believe it from today onwards:
I AM A SAINT, I AM BLESSED, I AM CHOSEN, I AM HOLY, I AM BLAMELESS, I AM LOVED, I AM PREDESTINED, I AM ADOPTED, I AM REDEEMED, I AM FORGIVEN, I AM UNWORTHY, BUT I AM NOT WORTHLESS.
Amen.
Sources:
CRAIG, A. 2008. People matter: Luke 12:6-7 Available online at http://www.cforu.net/resources_sermons.php
STRODER, D. 2008. Identity theft. Sermon delivered on Luke 12:6-7 at the First Baptist Church in Salinas. Available online at: www.1stbaptist.net/fbcsermons.kt
One of the new tricks that professional thieves invented, is called identity theft. They get hold of your ID number, or Passport number, and then use your particulars to get access to your bank account, and they steal all your money.
But I want to talk about another type of identity theft. Do you know, dear friends, that Satan is trying to steal our identity everyday? Sometimes things are stolen from you, because you do not take stock often enough. Because you do not realise what you have in life, you often do not realise when it is stolen! Let us recoup a little:
Who are you?
Your are the crown on God’s creation. Somebody once said: I know I am somebody, because God made no junk. Ps. 8:5.
You are quite unique. I the whole of creation there is nobody who are made exactly like you. Even Identical twins differ in their lifestyle, the clothes they wear, the food they like, the memories they have, etc. Psalm 139:15
You are chosen. When God chose you, it was not like somebody walking through a grocery store, selecting groceries. No, dear friends, he chose you like somebody choosing a car. He handpicked you for a purpose in this world around us. He is very fuzzy about whom he uses to work in his Kingdom. Isa 44:2
You are forgiven. If you have accepted Jesus Christ, you are forgiven, and Your sins are washed away. 1 John 1:9.
Your are adopted. If we belong to the family of God, we are not orphans or slaves anymore, but God calls us his children! Rom 8:17.
How does the Satan manage to steal our joy, and our convictions?
He tells us that we are worthless. That society will even be better of without us. And that is why some many people commit suicide.
He tells us that we are just a number, and that nobody will miss us!
He tells us that we are ordinary, and that we have no purpose in the congregation. That other people can do everyting better than us!
He constantly reminds us of our sins. He tells us that we are unable to do anything good for the Lord, and that we are disasters in God’s eyes.
He tells us that nobody cares about us, that we are orphans in this world, and just slaves of the church and religion.
But please brother and sister, do not listen to him! Remember what God told us today in Luke 12:7: “Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.”
Yes dear friends, the Satan’s battle in our lives is not primarily a physical battle, but it is a spiritual battle. Do not be afraid of what Satan can do with your body, but be aware of what he is doing in your mind! If you allow him to take over your thoughts with negativity, you can be sure that he will succeed eventually to draw you with him into hell!
Have you thought about what is the loss when somebody goes to hell?
Someone in 1985 has worked out exactly what you are worth…
A human body is worth about P 15-00 in 1985 money…
You are made up of:
65% Oxygen, 18% Carbon, 10% Hydrogen, 3% Nitrogen, 1.5% Calcium, 1% Phosphorous, 0.35% Potassium, 0.25% Sulphur, 0.15% Sodium, 0.15% Chlorine, 0.05% Magnesium, 0.0004% Iron, 0.00004% Iodine ,(with trace quantities of silicon, fluorine, manganese, zinc, copper, arsenic and aluminum (It depends on where you live and what you eat – some of us may be more valuable than others)
Later somebody else came and made another calculation… He said that if your could harness all the atoms in somebodys body, it would be sufficient to produce 11.4 million kilowatts of energy worth more than 570 billion Pula!
And that is only our physical body, not even including our souls, our faith and our knowledge!
For how much are you prepared to sell yourself? For how much are you giving your life away to Satan? For how much are you prepared to just let a brother, a mother, or a neighbour, or any other human being for that matter just go to hell?
I want to conclude by reminding you of the well known story of the ugly duckling. It is about a swan that was born under a duck, and that was seen as big and ugly until he grew up, and found his fellow swans in the pond, and realised how beautiful he is. If we keep on living as part of the world, under the power of Satan and all his assistants, we will only have negative views about ourselves. It is only when we become part of God’s family when things really change!
Do we really realise what it means when Luke says that we are worth more than many sparrows? Dear friends, let us come to the Lord anew. Let us know that he cannot just forget us. In Isaiah 49:15 the Lord reminds us that he loves us more than a mother’s love for her baby. That he cannot forget us! Let us think again of the words in 2 Corinthians 5:17: Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! Let us develop our potential. Let us allow God to change our lives!
I want you to repeat the following after me, and also believe it from today onwards:
I AM A SAINT, I AM BLESSED, I AM CHOSEN, I AM HOLY, I AM BLAMELESS, I AM LOVED, I AM PREDESTINED, I AM ADOPTED, I AM REDEEMED, I AM FORGIVEN, I AM UNWORTHY, BUT I AM NOT WORTHLESS.
Amen.
Sources:
CRAIG, A. 2008. People matter: Luke 12:6-7 Available online at http://www.cforu.net/resources_sermons.php
STRODER, D. 2008. Identity theft. Sermon delivered on Luke 12:6-7 at the First Baptist Church in Salinas. Available online at: www.1stbaptist.net/fbcsermons.kt
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