#5 They gave out of uncertainty

series: Cultivate the Romance

title: They gave our of uncertainty

teacher: Jacob Bender

date: January 31, 2016

scriptures: Luke 24:13-32, Nehemiah 10:35, Acts 20, James 4:17, Romans 11:16, Numbers 15:17-20, 1 Kings 17, Deuteronomy 26:1-11, Leviticus 23:11, 1 Corinthians 15:20-21, John 12:32, Luke 23:46, Psalm 31:5, Matthew 27:28, 

The Root

Paul says, “if the root is holy, so are the branches.”

The principle of the first fruit originated with the Hebrew wordBikkurim. When you read in Nehemiah when he says “we obligate ourselves to bring the first fruit…”  or anywhere in the old testament when it says “bring the first fruit,” the word is bikkirum.

Bring the bikkirum.

The bikkurim is the part of the harvest that ripened and came forth before the rest of the harvest did.

The part that ripened and came forth first… God said, that part is mine! and this is an absolutely fascinating fact about Jewish history.

What they would do in those days, is the farmer would notice that a branch would have the bikkurim on it, and he already knew the principle of the first fruit, he already knew “this part is for God” so what would happen is he would take a little scarlet ribbon and he would walk up to the branch that had the fruit on it, and he would tie this scarlet ribbon on the branch as to say “THIS IS FOR THE LORD.”

He was marking it. He was setting it apart. He was saying, “God we give you the first.” He was asking the Lord to bless it. That is why we gave you the little red ribbons this week when you walked in… You can keep it as a token to remember, or you can take it and wrap your offering or offering envelope in it if you are giving a physical offering.

But the bikkirum was the first. It wasn’t just any piece of fruit… a good batch or a bad batch. It was was came first.

it had to be the first! It was the part that came before the harvest…

The farmer didn’t know whether the harvest was going to be large or if much of the fruit would not survive. All he knew for sure was that he the bikkurim. The only certainty was the bikkurim.

He didn’t give out of poverty or out of lack, he gave out of not knowing what it would be,

he gave it out of uncertainty. 

He gave the only thing that was certain, out of uncertainty. 

#3 Women of the Narrative

series: the narrative of grace

title: women of the narrative

teacher: Jacob Bender

date: November 29, 2015

scripture: Matthew 1:3, Hebrews 11:31, James 1:27, Hosea 4:14, Romans 12:19, Genesis 38, 

A lot of people talk about Justice. It is something that is very close to the heart of God, but I think that a lot of people talk about it, without even knowing what it is that they are talking about.

I have, in recent months answered questions about what I believe the church should be, and what I believe is important, by talking about Justice. And often when I start talking about that, people get a bit uncomfortable. They are not quite sure how to respond to me, because they don’t understand what I am talking about. They think I mean vengeance.

It is very easy to confuse the two. Vengeance, in Hebrew is the word “naqam” which essentially just means vengeance, – Holmans Bible Dictionary tells it slightly differently when it defines it as “to avenge” or “to be punished”

The idea is to get back at someone… to make them hurt more than you hurt because what they did to you hurt.

It is an anti-gospel that many of us at times have adopted when we allow our emotions or our politics to shape our convictions rather than the truth found in the word of God.

But if you were to ask me, “What is important to you?” and I were to answer “Vengeance” – run. Any pastor who would say that, get as far away from them as you can.

Vengeance is a poison.

The bible says we must never, ever take vengeance. It says vengeance is the Lords (Romans 12:19) but it says that we must seek and defend Justice. Isaiah 1:17 says “Learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause.”

The word Justice in Hebrew is the word tsadaq

it literally means “to have a just cause, OR to be in the right, or WHAT IS RIGHT…”

Justice is the right thing to do.

Thats the definition. The right thing to do.

Now,

My entire life growing up was always about abstaining. What am I not doing? Am I pure? Do I lust? Do I sin? and there is absolutely no justifying sin, there is no justifying what Tamar did, or what Rahab did, or what David and the wife of Uriah did… There is no justifying sex in any context outside of a marriage, there is no justifying doing any of those things, but I have found, for me,  in all my efforts to not do things, I didn’t do much of anything for other people, at all. 

In my little “mission” of staying away from the sinful things I got so caught up in that, that I didn’t notice people who were hurting.

I always noticed people when they were sinning.

I was really good at that. I always knew when people were doing what they weren’t supposed to be doing.

But I didn’t notice the stranger.

I didn’t think about the stranger. I thought about my friends. I didn’t entertain angels. I entertained my friends! I entertained people who knew me and had something to offer me, and who made me feel comfortable.

and though those things are all great, if your life is limited to only that, then that is not the right thing.

You know, the bible is full of stories of people who did the wrong thing. Paul talked about it constantly. He said he always did what he didn’t want to do…

King David and the wife of Uriah, they did the wrong thing. And an affair lead to a cover-up, and then lead to murder. But even King David’s mess of a life culminated at grace. It culminated at God looking at him and saying “That is a man after my own heart…. a man who does ALL that I say”

Every instance of people doing the wrong thing all throughout the bible is met with grace.

Because the entire gospel of Jesus Christ is that:

We are people who do the wrong thing.

Yet the bible speaks over and over of a God who is extremely gracious to people who do the wrong thing.

But it seems that He is far less gracious toward the people who do NOT do the right thing (JUSTICE).

The people who ignore justice, when it is right in front of them. The harshest judgments are set aside for them. James 4:17 puts it mildly when it says that “for him who knows what he ought to do, to not do it is a sin.” And Matthew 25 speaks of the harshest judgments going to the ones who ignore injustice.

Yet we focus on the sin part.

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