The Plowman

 

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An exposition of Matthew 15:21-39. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday evening, August 29, 2010.

Introduction
I hate it.  When I go I make sure I don’t have anything extra on me.  I’m not carrying anything I don’t have to have at that moment.  Because the first thing they make me do is step up on that scale!  I know it is good and it’s necessary – but I don’t have to like it.  Check ups.  They are intended to prevent major disasters.  A regular visit to the doctor is designed to spot potential problems before they are definite problems.  So even though I don’t like them – I go.  I listen.  I sometimes do as I’m told.  Job evaluations are the same way.  No one likes to be told what they are doing wrong.  No one looks forward to having their work scrutinized.  But yet again it is a necessary evil if your goal is to do your best.  For any evaluation there must first be a standard.  For a medical check up the doctor begins with an understanding of what is healthy.  For a job evaluation you must begin with a job description.  You cannot determine if something is being done well if you do not know what’s supposed to be done.

The same is true when we seek to determine how we are doing in ministry.  We are inundated with books, tapes, seminars and conferences on how to “do church.”  One positive trend in the last few years has been a shift from a “church growth” model (which evaluates solely on the basis of numbers and size) to a “church health” model.  Understanding that numerical growth is not as important as spiritual health.  If the church is spiritually healthy – growth will take care of itself.  What has been discovered is that some churches have grown incredibly but are not healthy.  But how do we determine health?  How do we determine what the church is to look like?  How do we determine what the church is to be doing?  What ministries should we have?  How many committees should there be?  How many deacons should we have?  How many staff members?   Should we even have staff members?

I must tell you that this gets to be a complicated issue.  I do not believe there are simple answers to these questions.  I take that back, I think the answer is simple but its application is difficult.  Because the simple answer is – we are here to carry on the ministry of Jesus.  But before we can even begin to address the issue of what form that takes we have to deal with a more fundamental issue.  What was the ministry of Jesus like?  For some answers we turn to Matthew’s Gospel and the 15th chapter.

Text: Matthew 15:21-39
Jesus has just finished a dispute with the leaders from Jerusalem.
He argued with them over what constitutes genuine spirituality.
Jesus made it clear that it is not a mere matter of external conformity.
Rather the issue is an internal transformation that results in external acts.
Following that exchange our Lord once again withdraws for a time of renewal.
Yet again crowds follow.

As we reflect on our Lord’s interaction with the crowds we learn some things about his ministry.  Some things we would do well to consider as we ask ourselves –

1. Is His ministry our ministry?  Is our work marked by what marked His work?
2. The ministry of Jesus responds to the heart of persistent faith.  (15:21-28)
3. The ministry of Jesus meets the needs of the hurting.  (15:29-31)
4. The ministry of Jesus is driven by compassion.  (15:32-39)

Conclusion
This is the work we are called to.
A work that responds to the persistent faith of the desperate.
A work that responds that meets the needs of the hurting.
A work that is driven by compassion.

Is this what we are about?  Is this what we are known for?  By God’s grace may it be so!

 

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An exposition of Ecclesiastes 5:1-20. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday morning, August 29, 2010.

Introduction
Don’t you find the news depressing?  Whether you are talking about television, radio or the paper it just seems there is so much “bad” news.  Shootings, stabbings, abuse, war, financial crisis, terrorism and that’s just the school news!  Don’t eat eggs, don’t drink the water, 100 degree temperatures returning…enough already.  You reach a point where you just don’t want to hear it anymore.  “I’m tired of the bad news - give me some good news for a change.”  So you come to church and your pastor is preaching through Ecclesiastes.  You just can’t catch a break.  But you see Ecclesiastes is good news.  It is the good news that there is real joy and lasting satisfaction and it can be had here and now in this sin-sick, twisted world.  It is God’s gift to His people.  Don’t take my word for it, listen to Solomon:
Behold, what I have seen to be good and fitting is to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of his life that God has given him, for this is his lot. Everyone also to whom God has given wealth and possessions and power to enjoy them, and to accept his lot and rejoice in his toil—this is the gift of God. For he will not much remember the days of his life because God keeps him occupied with joy in his heart.

Did you catch it?  God gifts His people with the ability to enjoy life.  Now, we are talking about joy not happiness.  There is a difference.  Happiness is a feeling of elation when everything is as it should be.  Happiness is that which happens to happen with things happen to happen happily.  But if things happen to happen unhappily - you ain’t happy!  Joy is a deep, abiding sense of satisfaction regardless of the circumstance.  We are not assured of happiness in this world.  In fact we are told to expect heartache and tribulation but we can know joy because it is rooted in the person of the Lord Jesus who is an ever-present help in time of need.  Oh, the book of Ecclesiastes is a book of real, robust and resilient joy.  Our text this morning is found in the fifth chapter.

Text: Ecclesiastes 5:1-20
Solomon is thinking out loud.
He is looking back over a lifetime and seeing what lessons he has learned.
Where does one find real joy?
Is it through knowledge or intellectual pursuit?
Is pleasure the path to satisfaction?
How about wealth, power, influence or achievement?

No, all that amounts to “striving after wind.”
They are vain pursuits - hollow, empty, meaningless.

• Chapter 3 = trust God.
• Chapter 4 = the vanity of life apart from God.
• Chapter 5…

Thesis: Only a clear vision of God and a corresponding response of faith can produce lasting joy.

I want to point out three things as we make our way through this text.

1. Foolish worship distorts your vision of God and disrupts genuine joy.  (5:1-7)
2. Frustration over corruption and a preoccupation with wealth distorts your values and destroys any chance for lasting joy.  (5:8-17)
3. Trust in a good and sovereign God enables a rich, robust and resilient joy.  (5:18-20)

You were made to be in relationship with God.
You will be restless until you find your rest in Him.
Only a clear vision of God and a corresponding response of faith can produce lasting joy.

 

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A Wednesday-evening Bible Study from Genesis 29:1-30. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on August 25, 2010.

 

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An exposition of Ecclesiastes 4:1-16. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday morning, August 22, 2010.

Intro:

Well he was no Joel Olsteen that’s for sure!  In fact I’m certain he wouldn’t have a large church today.  His message is a little hard to listen to.  He just seems so negative.  He seems to be soured on life.  How are you going to build a crowd when your whole message seems to be summed up with, “Life stinks?”  Who would drag themselves out of bed on a Sunday morning to come hear a preacher say, “Life is hollow, meaningless and empty?”  There are sections of his book, when reading it, you have to keep reminding yourself, “All Scripture is breathed of God and is profitable.”  The truth is, Solomon is not as negative as it may seem.  Keep in mind the book of Ecclesiastes was written late in his life.  He is looking back over a lifetime and evaluating the life he has lived.  He is seeking to “make sense” of it all.  He desires to pass on some insight for living.  Where is it a man finds real, lasting joy and satisfaction?  It is not to be found in intellectual pursuit.  It is cannot be had by indulging one’s appetite for pleasure.  Nor is it to be found in career advancement, the acquisition of power or the accumulation of wealth.  Real joy and lasting satisfaction is the gift of God’s grace to His people.

Apart from Him life is meaningless.  Apart from Him there is no real joy, no lasting satisfaction.  There is only temporary pleasure and momentary relief.  Life under the sun is a vain existence.  If you take God out of the equation and then set out on a quest for joy you are on a fool’s errand.  Our text this morning is found in Ecclesiastes the fourth chapter.

Text: Ecclesiastes 4:1-16
In chapter 3 we discovered that joy and satisfaction are the fruit of trusting wholly in God’s person and work.  It is to acknowledge His sovereign rule over all things.  It is to rest in His providential working.  It is to trust in His righteous handling of all things.  That’s good.  If you can do that you are well on your way to a life of joy and real, lasting satisfaction.  In chapter 4 Solomon seems to take a step backwards.

Chapter 4 is a miserable chapter!
Chapter 4 reads like the confession of a soured, jaded, hardened skeptic.
He points out problem after problem but offers no solution.
“It’s striving after the wind.”
“This also is vanity and an unhappy business.”
Until he concludes the chapter with, “…this also is vanity and a striving after wind.”
What happened?
Did he forget what he just said?
You have to read the whole book.

What is the book about?
It is about joy - real, lasting, robust, resilient joy and where to find it.

Ecclesiastes 5:18-20: Behold, what I have seen to be good and fitting is to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of his life that God has given him, for this is his lot.
19 Everyone also to whom God has given wealth and possessions and power to enjoy them, and to accept his lot and rejoice in his toil—this is the gift of God.
20 For he will not much remember the days of his life because God keeps him occupied with joy in his heart.

What is chapter 4 about?

Thesis: The disturbing words of the preacher serve to underscore the futility of life apart from God.

There are 4 things I would like to point out from our text.

1. The cares and troubles of this life are often so overwhelming that death or better yet nonexistence seems preferable.  (4:1-3)
2. Driving ambition and endless pursuit of success and prosperity can lead to a crushing loneliness.  (4:4-8)
3. Selfish ambition and rugged individualism leaves you alone and vulnerable.  (4:9-12)
4. The adoration of the crowd and the popularity of success are sorry substitutes for a genuine friend.  (4:13-16)

Joy, peace and lasting satisfaction are to be found in Christ and in Him alone.

 

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A Wednesday-evening Bible study from Genesis 28:20-22. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on August 18, 2010.

 

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An exposition of Ecclesiastes 3:1-22. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday morning, August 15, 2010.

Introduction
I saw in the paper this week that Tulsa has had 21 homicides since May 1.  During this same period there have been 311 shootings.  There was a time, not so long ago, that we expected such things to be happening in large metropolitan areas such as New York, Chicago or Los Angelus but not here.  Not in the buckle of the “Bible Belt.”  Life here was good.  People were friendly.  Church played a prominent role but times have changed.  Pessimism has replaced optimism, skepticism has replaced hope and life has become meaningless.  This didn’t happen overnight.  It’s been coming for a long time.  I think this quote sums up the majority opinion today, “There is no reason to suppose that a man’s life has any more meaning that the life of the humblest insect that crawls from one annihilation to another.”  Catchy don’t you think?   A nice uplifting thought.  Have we really become that jaded?  What may surprise you is that quote is from an English professor at Columbia University during the 1940s!  What was thought in the halls of academia in 1940 is being lived out on the streets of our city in 2010.

It is the notion that individuals are not unique and therefore not important.  Life is without meaning and if life is without meaning it isn’t worth living.  Let’s all just eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we die.  To quote the ‘preacher,’ “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.”  Empty, hollow, nothingness - what is?  Everything…under the sun.  If you consider life apart from God it is empty, meaningless.  Life apart from God and the things of God is unsatisfying.  Oh there may be a moment of joy but it doesn’t last.  There may be happiness but it is fading.  The party ends.  The money gets spent.  The music stops.  The crowd gets bored and moves on.  You will go down to the grave and be forgotten.  Nothing lasts.  Nothing ultimately satisfies.  Nothing that is under the sun.  Our text this morning is found in the third chapter of Ecclesiastes.

Text: Ecclesiastes 3:1-22
Solomon states his conclusion from the very beginning - 1:2 - “Vanity of vanities all is vanity.”
Life is empty - under the sun.
He sought for meaning through intellect and discovered it wasn’t there.
He sought it through pleasure and came up empty.
Then he tried to find satisfaction through work and the accumulation of stuff and learned it was a fool’s errand.

Where does one find true satisfaction and lasting joy?
It is the gift of God’s grace.
As we explore the 3rd chapter we discover that…

Thesis: Deep, genuine satisfaction is the result of trusting wholly in God’s person and work.
There are three things I want to call to your attention from our text.

1. Lasting joy and genuine satisfaction demands that you gratefully acknowledge Gods’ sovereign rule over all things.  (3:1-8)
2. Lasting joy and genuine satisfaction demands that you rest in God’s providential working.  (3:9-15)
3. Lasting joy and genuine satisfaction demands that you trust in God’s righteous handling of the end of all things.  (3:16-22)

Conclusion
What is it that brings lasting joy and genuine satisfaction?  It is the knowledge of God’s sovereign rule over all things, it is resting in His providential working, and trusting his righteous handling of the end of all things.

Deep, genuine satisfaction is the result of trusting wholly in God’s person and work.

 

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A look at Genesis 15:1-6. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Wednesday evening, August 11, 2010.

 

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An exposition of Matthew 15:1-20. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday evening, August 8, 2010.

Introduction
Do you consider yourself to be a “spiritual” person?  If so, what would you offer as proof?  What is it that makes a person spiritual?  I’m asking because spirituality is a hot topic today.  It is in vogue.  It is trendy to be spiritual.  But what does that mean?  And is that a good thing?  If you were to walk the streets of Tulsa and ask people to define what it means to be “spiritual” you might be shocked by what you hear.  But isn’t it a good thing that people are seeking?  Isn’t it encouraging that they are desiring spiritual things?  Yes and no.  Yes it is encouraging that they sense there must be more to life.  It is a starting point.  But no, in a world that equally values all opinions – it’s not all that encouraging.  I’m afraid that even within the church there is little understanding about true or genuine spirituality.  Webster defines genuine as, “actually produced by or proceeding from the alleged source or author; something that is free from hypocrisy or pretense.”  So if we are talking about genuine spirituality we are talking about that which flows from and is produced by the Spirit of God.  We are talking about true or authentic faith.  “That’s all very interesting Mr. Dictionary – but what does it mean?”  It means that when we seek to define spirituality from a biblical perspective we must use biblical categories.  We must use biblical standards.

“Yeah, so?”  So, the problem is when people define spirituality from a Christian perspective they most often give a list.  It means to attend church.  Read the Bible.  Pray.  Regularly share your faith.  Do good to others.  Don’t go to movies.  Don’t cuss or chew and don’t have nothin’ to do with girls that do!  They define spirituality in terms of what you do or don’t do.  Spirituality is reduced to behavior.  But is that a biblical perspective?  Is genuine spirituality to be measured by what we do or is there something more?  To answer that question let’s turn again to Matthew’s Gospel and consider the opening verses of the 15th chapter.

Text: Matthew 15:1-20
The contrast between Jesus and the religious establishment is becoming more pronounced.  The gap is widening and the division sharper.  As our text opens an “official” delegation arrives from Jerusalem.  We already know they are determined to bring an end to the ministry of this meddlesome troublemaker.

They waste no time in bringing an accusation.
A dispute follows in which we learn something about genuine spirituality.

Form this exchange we learn that:
Thesis:  Genuine spirituality does not consist of conformity to outward acts and ritual but of a fundamental transformation of the character and essence of the individual.

In other words genuine spirituality is not a shallow, simplistic thing!
Spirituality is not merely a matter of a change in your outlook on life.
It is not a simple matter of a change in your routine.

This is why Jesus said, “You must be born again.”
If all it took was to see life differently and to clean up your act – then determination could accomplish it.

If it is just a matter of doing the right thing – all you would need is a list.

But that is not it!
Listen to Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount.
Note the “beatitudes”.
Matthew 5 is not about what you do – it is about who you are!
This same truth is dramatically portrayed in this text.

There are three things I want us to note.

1. Genuine spirituality has little use for “mere” external conformity to rules.  (15:1-9)
2. Genuine spirituality has no tolerance for self-proclaimed experts.  (15:12-14)
3. Genuine spirituality is a matter of character.  (15:10-11; 15-20)

Conclusion
Are you a spiritual person?
Don’t give me your list – tell me who you are.
Tell me about your conversion.
By the way that is why we talk about conversion and not decisions.
You can make a decision without ever being changed – our church roll is proof of that.

 

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From Luke 22:1-6, and John 13. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday morning, August 8, 2010.

Introduction
It was a quiet evening.  They visited, laughed and enjoyed one another’s company.  There was even a bit of a festive mood around the table.  It was a welcome relief from the hectic events of the week.  Little did they know that murder and betrayal were on the menu that night.  Most of them had no idea that in the midst of their love, fellowship and comradery lurked the dark, twisted heart of a betrayer.  In a matter of hours the fruit of this betrayal would lead to the horrifying murder of their leader.  The laughter and noise of the dinner was silenced as their master declared, “One of you will betray me.”

“Betrayal” is there an uglier word?  The very word conjures up images of treachery, seduction and deception.  Betrayal is the ultimate violation of trust.  And is there any greater betrayal than the betrayal of love?  Our text this morning is found in Luke chapter 22.

Text: Luke 22:1-6
As we approach this section of Luke’s Gospel we are entering into the Holy Place.
On Sunday he entered the city in Triumph –
“Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”
On Tuesday he cleansed the temple and established himself as Lord of the Temple.
He met with the people daily in the temple – the temple’s last and greatest glory.
He silenced his critics and walked away from their traps unscathed.

While his critics were silenced they were not finished.
Their hatred and hostility raged.
They continued to meet together determined to see to his demise.
Jesus withdrew from the multitudes and began to prepare his followers for what was to come.

He warned of the judgement to come upon Jerusalem for their rejection of the Messiah.
And he spoke with them about the coming of the kingdom and of his return.

From this point on in Luke’s account we are dealing with our Lord’s final hours.
He is entering in behind the veil to secure our redemption.
These are holy moments.
This has been the focus of history from eternity past.

Now our problem with this text is that we know what’s coming.
We know the story.
We know that Judas betrayed the Lord.
We’ve rehearsed the story year after year at Easter.
But try to set it in its context.
Try to imagine the impact of such a thing on those gathered that night in the upper room.

A careful analysis of the text reveals that:

Thesis: Judas’ betrayal of the Lord Jesus vividly reminds us of the depth of our depravity and the extent of God’s mercy and grace.

There are two things I want us to note in connection with this text.

1. The heart that is hardened by sin utterly despises the Lord Jesus.  (Luke 22:1-6)
   But that is not the end of the story…
2. The Lord Jesus graciously returns kindness and compassion for hostility and hatred.

Conclusion
Judas’ betrayal of the Lord Jesus vividly reminds us of the depth of our depravity and the extent of God’s mercy and grace.

Betrayed by an associate and handed to his enemies yet loving and gracious to the end that is the Gospel.  Christ died for the ungodly, the sinner and His enemies.

This morning we come to gather around this table – our Lord’s Table.  We come to remember and to celebrate what He did on our behalf.  It is a table of mercy and grace.  It is a proclamation of His Gospel.  Before we come to this table – do you know Him?  Have you come to the place of acknowledging your sin, repenting of that sin, turning away from that sin and trusting in Him alone for life?  It’s not about being good enough.  In fact it is just the opposite.  It is recognizing that you are wholly unworthy and throwing yourself on the mercy of God in Christ.  Have you trusted in Him?  Will you trust Him now?

 

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This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Wednesday evening, August 4, 2010