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Cedar Park Sunday Sermons Cedar Park http://www.cedarpark.org Cedar Park Sunday Sermons Cedar Park Sunday Sermons Cedar Park Sunday Sermons en-us © Copyright PHP/5.1.4 Cedar Park it@cedarpark.org Cedar Park http://www.cedarpark.org/style/images/cedarpark.jpg http://www.cedarpark.org/ no 20090104 Blessing of the Businesses http://www.cedarpark.org Pastor Joe Fuiten There are certain epic periods in biblical history which seem to touch everything else.  The life of Moses and the Exodus, Joshua and the conquest, Elijah and Elisha as prophets, and the Babylonian captivity would be among those in the Old Testament.  Today's passage comes out of the Babylonian captivity and features Jeremiah.  Among the other prophets who worked during this period we have Ezekiel, Daniel, and probably Obediah.  On the other end of the captivity we have Ezra and Nehemiah.  All the Bible, but particularly this period of history, has significance for believers today.  I want to draw the comparison between how God treated Israel 2500 years ago and how I think he is treating Americans generally, and Christians particularly in 2009.            The prophet Jeremiah prophesied that the captivity would last for seventy years and its end would be accompanied by God's favor.  It is an often quoted and much loved passage.  (Jeremiah 29:10-14)  This is what the LORD says: "When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my gracious promise to bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you," declares the LORD, "and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you," declares the LORD, "and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile."             For today's purposes, I want to focus on a prophecy by Jeremiah that painted a more contrasting picture.  He really offered opposing paths for people in light of the captivity.  I believe we have similar opposing paths we can take today, particularly in light of the economic situation which I liken to the Babylonian captivity. The prophecy is in Jeremiah 24.            After Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim king of Judah and the officials, the craftsmen and the artisans of Judah were carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the LORD showed me two baskets of figs placed in front of the temple of the LORD. 2 One basket had very good figs, like those that ripen early; the other basket had very poor figs, so bad they could not be eaten.  3 Then the LORD asked me, "What do you see, Jeremiah?" "Figs," I answered. "The good ones are very good, but the poor ones are so bad they cannot be eaten." 4 Then the word of the LORD came to me: 5 "This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'Like these good figs, I regard as good the exiles from Judah, whom I sent away from this place to the land of the Babylonians.   6 My eyes will watch over them for their good, and I will bring them back to this land. I will build them up and not tear them down; I will plant them and not uproot them. 7 I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the LORD. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me with all their heart. 8 "'But like the poor figs, which are so bad they cannot be eaten,' says the LORD, 'so will I deal with Zedekiah<a name="_ftnref1" href="http://www.cedarpark.org/admin/podcast/podcast_add.php#_ftn1" title="_ftnref1">[1]</a> king of Judah, his officials and the survivors from Jerusalem, whether they remain in this land or live in Egypt. 9 I will make them abhorrent and an offense to all the kingdoms of the earth, a reproach and a byword, an object of ridicule and cursing, wherever I banish them. 10 I will send the sword, famine and plague against them until they are destroyed from the land I gave to them and their fathers.'" The Biblical narrative promises nothing but loss and devastation to those who learn nothing from the losses sustained by the nation.  They were experiencing the correction of the Lord but they were not willing to change.  They continued to sin and failed to seek the Lord.  The problem with the group that would be destroyed was that they were looking to a worldly solution to their problem rather than to God.  In the end, the whole remaining group went to Egypt.  Going to Egypt was like going back to the place before God delivered Israel. He had brought them out of that land in a great Exodus.  It was the worst possible idea and the one most symbolic of their final demise.It reminds us that we are new people now.  We belong to God.  In another day we might have gone to Egypt with all its ways and submitted ourselves again to the Pharaoh of our souls.  But now, (2 Cor 5:17) "if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" God wanted to use the captivity to bring the people back to himself.  He wanted them to seek him and to put their hope and trust in him.  Admittedly, this is the tough love approach.   If it takes tough love to bring them around, it is still love.On the other hand, when confronted by captivity, things we might call setbacks or disasters, it is possible to go the wrong way.  One way is a way of blessing, the other the way of cursing.  We should do as earlier Americans did during the Civil War when they first began putting "In God We Trust" on their coins. <a name="_ftnref2" href="http://www.cedarpark.org/admin/podcast/podcast_add.php#_ftn2" title="_ftnref2">[2]</a>The first group taken captive included a lot of the skilled people such as carpenters, blacksmiths and the like<a name="_ftnref3" href="http://www.cedarpark.org/admin/podcast/podcast_add.php#_ftn3" title="_ftnref3">[3]</a>  but God watched over them.  The second group remained but God judged them.  The idea is that difficult times can be either an opportunity for God's blessing or his judgment upon us.  It depends on what we do with the adversity.  When it comes, it is not time to make an alliance with Egypt to overcome Babylon.  Pacts with the Devil don't evade God's plans.  Rather, we should humble ourselves and serve God.Mickey Brusco has related God's provision for his company through his efforts.  His story is one that I believe God can and will repeat for all those who will turn to him and not to the ways of the Egyptians.(Have each person hand a few of their business cards to people around them so they can pray.) "Lift up the cards before the Lord and pray along with me."Heavenly Father, we come to pray for your blessing our businesses, employment, and resources.  We know you are the giver and sustainer of all life, including our work and entrepreneurial pursuits.  May our corporations, partnerships, sole proprietorships, home based businesses, and daily employment, bring honor and glory to you.We pray this prayer in recognition that our trust is in you.  We do not trust in the things of this world or the ways of this world.  In God we trust.  Help us, in this time of national recession to continue to trust in you even as we face its challenges.We lift up the businesses of this church and community and pray for your blessing upon them. May each one of them do well this year, not only for themselves, but also for the greater good.We pray that each person who is looking for work will find it; that each worker will rise in their employment; and each business represented here will flourish.We pray for business leaders to make good decisions, hearing only the accurate advice. Close their ears to people that might lead them down the wrong path. Open their hearts to the wisdom of God in the many competing decisions that must be made.We pray for business leaders to live by the golden rule. Give them good ideas that will bless and help others, the kind of ideas that will also earn for them and their employees a good living. Use the resources that they generate to bless your work, both here and in missions.For those businesses that are struggling, we pray for wisdom and understanding to turn them around. Help them to see what is happening and to make the necessary changes. Give them clear focus.            We pray for people trying to sell their home during this slower period.  Give them the right connections and ideas to help that home sell.Bless this country with good leaders who will not hinder, but help things to go well. Bless each enterprise; whether academic, social, governmental, sales, services or manufacturing, that in each pursuit your blessing will flow and you will be glorified.In Jesus' Name we ask these blessings and give you praise. Amen. <hr /><a name="_ftn1" href="http://www.cedarpark.org/admin/podcast/podcast_add.php#_ftnref1" title="_ftn1">[1]</a> ZEDEKIAH-  righteousness of Jehovah. (1.) The last king of Judah. He was the third son of Josiah, and his mother's name was Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah, and hence he was the brother of Jehoahaz (2 Kings 23:31; 24:17,18). His original name was Mattaniah; but when Nebuchadnezzar placed him on the throne as the successor to Jehoiachin he changed his name to Zedekiah. The prophet Jeremiah was his counsellor, yet "he did evil in the sight of the Lord" (2 Kings 24:19,20; Jer 52:2,3). He ascended the throne at the age of twenty-one years. The kingdom was at that time tributary to Nebuchadnezzar; but, despite the strong remonstrances of Jeremiah and others, as well as the example of Jehoiachin, he threw off the yoke of Babylon, and entered into an alliance with Hophra, king of Egypt. This brought up Nebuchadnezzar, "with all his host" (2 Kings 25:1), against Jerusalem. During this siege, which lasted about eighteen months, "every worst woe befell the devoted city, which drank the cup of God's fury to the dregs" (2 Kings 25:3; Lam 4:4,5,10). The city was plundered and laid in ruins. Zedekiah and his followers, attempting to escape, were made captive and taken to Riblah. There, after seeing his own children put to death, his own eyes were put out, and, being loaded with chains, he was carried captive (588 BC) to Babylon (2 Kings 25:1-7; 2 Chron 36:12; Jer 32:4,5; 34:2,3; 39:1-7; 52:4-11; Ezek 12:12), where he remained a prisoner, how long is unknown, to the day of his death.  (from Easton's Bible Dictionary, PC Study Bible formatted electronic database Copyright © 2003 Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)<a name="_ftn2" href="http://www.cedarpark.org/admin/podcast/podcast_add.php#_ftnref2" title="_ftn2">[2]</a> In response to the crisis of the Civil War, The Congress passed the Act of April 22, 1864. This legislation changed the composition of the one-cent coin and authorized the minting of the two-cent coin. The Mint Director was directed to develop the designs for these coins for final approval of the Secretary. IN GOD WE TRUST first appeared on the 1864 two-cent coin.<a name="_ftn3" href="http://www.cedarpark.org/admin/podcast/podcast_add.php#_ftnref3" title="_ftn3">[3]</a> 2 Kings 24:12-14  "Then Jehoiachin king of Judah, his mother, his servants, his princes, and his officers went out to the king of Babylon; and the king of Babylon, in the eighth year of his reign, took him prisoner. And he carried out from there all the treasures of the house of the LORD and the treasures of the king's house, and he cut in pieces all the articles of gold which Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple of the LORD, as the LORD had said. Also he carried into captivity all Jerusalem: all the captains and all the mighty men of valor, ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and smiths. None remained except the poorest people of the land." Sun, 04 Jan 2009 00:00:00 -0800 0:00 20081228 Stand Up and Lift Your Heads! http://www.cedarpark.org Pastor Joe Fuiten Yet again, war is flaring in the Middle East.  Hamas has fired more than 200 rockets in the last few days into Southern Israel.  It is an intensifying pattern ever since the cease-fire officially ended between Hamas and Israel last week.  On December 27, Israel struck back with bombs that destroyed every Hamas command center in Gaza.  Many are predicting that Israeli troops will follow.  Once the dogs of war are unleashed, it is hard to know where this will all end.  An eye for an eye and soon the whole world is blind.            Whenever these kinds of things happen, I always turn to my Bible to see if it fits any prophetic patterns.  In this two-part message I want to look at our attitude in the midst of the prelude to the Lord's return and then to assess how close we are to his coming.Scripture Reading Luke 21:20-36  "When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, you will know that its desolation is near. 21 Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those in the city get out, and let those in the country not enter the city. 22 For this is the time of punishment in fulfillment of all that has been written. 23 How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! There will be great distress in the land and wrath against this people. 24 They will fall by the sword and will be taken as prisoners to all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.<a name="_ftnref1" href="http://www.cedarpark.org/admin/podcast/podcast_add.php#_ftn1" title="_ftnref1">[1]</a> 25 "There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. 26 Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. 27 At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near." 29 He told them this parable: "Look at the fig tree and all the trees. 30 When they sprout leaves, you can see for yourselves and know that summer is near. 31 Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near.  32 "I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. 33 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. 34 "Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap. 35 For it will come upon all those who live on the face of the whole earth. 36 Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man."                Simeon saw the consolation of Israel as he held the baby Jesus in his arms.<a name="_ftnref2" href="http://www.cedarpark.org/admin/podcast/podcast_add.php#_ftn2" title="_ftnref2">[2]</a>  Jesus was and is the hope of Israel.  He is their long awaited Messiah and will himself come to their aid.In the passage before us, Jesus predicted the destruction of the temple and of Israel itself.  That initial destruction took place in 70 AD under Titus.  The first picture shows some of the stones from the destroyed all of Jerusalem.  The second pictures shows the impact on the street below as the walls were thrown down.  The third picture is from the Arch of Titus in Rome commemorating his victory.  Notice the menorah.  I had our menorah copied from that arch.  Some see this passage as dealing exclusively with that destruction. In world history, that was a significant marker.  However, I think it also turns out to be a picture of what the future will be as well.Certainly the surrounding of Jerusalem by armies would apply to 70 AD and many times since.  The horrors of war are summarized in verses 21-24 ending with the spreading of Jews to the world.  Verse 24 concludes with "Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled."  The coin shows Roman Emperor Theodosius trampling on a captive.  I think the word that Jesus uses of Jerusalem indicates that it will be under the power of Gentiles until the Messiah returns, at least to some extent.  Even though Israel claims Jerusalem as its capital, the fact remains that much of it remains under Gentiles, particularly East Jerusalem as this photo of Silwan would indicate.  Since the time of Titus it has been under Gentile domination except for the very brief years starting in 613 when the Jews allied with the Persians under Khusru II and got Jerusalem as their reward.When this passage is fit in with the other parallel passages in the other Gospels, I think it can be applied to the present day.            We know that the end of the age ends with a great battle.  If you think we will see peace in the Middle East depending on what policies or what personalities are in charge, I have some land in Florida to sell you.  Are we living in the last days?  With Gaza and southern Israel ablaze with rockets and bombs, two hot wars nearby,  a financial meltdown and credit crunch underway, and a genocidal leader getting his hands on a nuclear bomb one is inclined to think something is going on.  I don't see any prophetic significance to India and Pakistan moving troops to their respective borders, but it does add a bit of interest to the rumors of wars.            Jesus seems to think how we respond to these circumstances should relate to our relationship with him.  In verse 26 the general public will faint from terror.  The word indicates they will literally fall down.  I don't know whether it references suicidal tendencies or just fear the immobilizes but in their case it is traumatic.            The believer, on the other hand, will see what is happening and be very glad about it.            One of my neighbors was out digging their car out of the snow yesterday.  I said we spend all our time wishing for a "white Christmas" and then complain incessantly when we get one.  We have a hard time enjoying where we are.  When it is cold we long for summer.  When it is hot we long for winter.  When it is Christmas, we want snow until we actually get it then we want something else.  Here's a thought that I think is a biblical thought.  Enjoy it!            Jesus points to all the wild stuff going on in the world.  Rather than becoming anxious and afraid or negative and discouraged, Jesus suggests something else.            Families will fragment to the point of great division.  That's no time to lay down and quit.  It's a time to stand up.            Anti-Christ elements will use the courts and the law to try to silence your voice.  Should our head hang down because we are not liked anymore?  Lift up your head.            When wars rage we don't grow discouraged, we stand up and look up.            When the stock market reduces your retirement plans from snow-birding in Palm Springs to permanent resident in Burien what should you say?   My future is looking up.            Why?  Because your redemption is drawing near.  You are going to be bought back. <hr /><a name="_ftn1" href="http://www.cedarpark.org/admin/podcast/podcast_add.php#_ftnref1" title="_ftn1">[1]</a> Theodosius I "Treading on Captive" Theodosius I AD 379-395.  Illustrates being "trampled on."<a name="_ftn2" href="http://www.cedarpark.org/admin/podcast/podcast_add.php#_ftnref2" title="_ftn2">[2]</a> Luke 2:25-26 Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord's Christ. NIV Sun, 28 Dec 2008 00:00:00 -0800 0:00 20081221 The Good Shepherd and the Temple Sheep Herders http://www.cedarpark.org Pastor Joe Fuiten Matthew 2 has King Herod asking where the Christ would be born.  His scholars answered "In Bethlehem in Judea," they replied, "for this is what the prophet has written: 'But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.'"<a name="_ftnref1" href="http://www.cedarpark.org/admin/podcast/podcast_add.php#_ftn1" title="_ftnref1">[1]</a>Further on in that same prophetic book of Micah (5:4-5) we have this Messianic figure who will secure a final peace for Israel. In that passage, he is called a shepherd:  " He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God. And they will live securely, for then his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth.  5 And he will be their peace."             Jesus would be the shepherd of Israel and our shepherd.  Is it only a coincidence that other shepherds play such a significant role in the Christmas story?  In previous messages this season we noted that political leaders rejected Jesus and religious leaders didn't care to follow up. These shepherds are the polar opposite.  The moment they hear the news they go to Bethlehem. They eagerly respond.  Not only that, they become the story tellers of what happened.  Here's how the Bible tells it.Luke 2:8-208 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." 13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying  14 "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests." 15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about." 16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.Does the Shepherd's presence in the field tell us anything about the time of year of Jesus' birth?  Some have said the birth of Jesus could not have been December 25th because shepherds would not be in the fields due to inclement weather.  We do know from the Mishnah they would have been in the field in February preparing lambs for Passover within 30 days of that event.  They get an average precipitation of 129 mm in December, 140mm in January, and 111 mm in February.<a name="_ftnref2" href="http://www.cedarpark.org/admin/podcast/podcast_add.php#_ftn2" title="_ftnref2">[2]</a>  The weather is as bad or worse in February as in December, and we know they were in the fields in February.  So the date of December is not harmed in the least by the comment that these particular shepherds were in the fields.  There might be other reasons, such as the fulfillment of the Feast of Tabernacles, but this passage does not aid that cause.What were the shepherds doing in the field?"We know that on the night in which our Savior was born, the angel's message came to those who probably alone of all ... near Bethlehem, were "keeping watch."  For, close by Bethlehem, on the road to Jerusalem, was a tower, known as Migdal Eder, the 'watch-tower of the flock.'  For here was the station where shepherds watched their flocks destined for sacrifices in the Temple.  So well known was this, that if animals were found as far from Jerusalem as Migdal Eder<a name="_ftnref3" href="http://www.cedarpark.org/admin/podcast/podcast_add.php#_ftn3" title="_ftnref3">[3]</a> and within that circuit on every side, the males were offered as burnt-offerings, the females as peace offerings.  Rabbi Jehudah adds: 'If suited for Paschal sacrifices, then they are Paschal sacrifices, provided it be not more than thirty days before the feast' (Shekal. vii 4; compare also Jer. Kid. ii. 9).  It seems of deepest significance, almost like the fulfillment of type, that those shepherds who first heard tidings of the Savior's birth, who first listened to angel's praises, were watching flocks destined to be offered as sacrifices in the temple." Alfred Edersheim.  Sketches of Jewish Social Life. Peabody, Massachusetts:  Hendrickson Publishers, 1994.  pages 76-77.            Apparently, these shepherds prepared sheep to be sacrificed in the temple.  Is this the connection that God wanted us to draw?  Did he want them to see the lamb who would be sacrificed for all?Certainly they would be in a position to share the message with devout Jews who would come looking for lambs for sacrifice.  The shepherds shared some key values with Jesus.  They had an interest in keeping their sheep safe because an injured lamb would be rejected for use in the temple.  Jesus has an interest in presenting us faultless before the heavenly father. Jude 24-25 says it like this:  To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy- to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.             There must have been some reason for all the angels appearing to these shepherds.  If not, it was a serious waste of spiritual firepower.Verse 11 would seem to indicate the main message.  "Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord."  It really was quite simple.  A Savior has been born who is the messiah.  This truly is the message of Christmas.  A Savior is born.            Beyond that, they were simply messengers.  Luke 2:17  "When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about the child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them."  KJV --"...they made known abroad..."  Maybe the first goal was to get the faithful fired up.  Simeon and Anna may have heard about it and been aroused to pray, for the Holy Spirit told Simeon he would see the child himself, before he died.  Just few days later, when Jesus was presented in the Temple, Simeon did see Jesus.<hr /><a name="_ftn1" href="http://www.cedarpark.org/admin/podcast/podcast_add.php#_ftnref1" title="_ftn1">[1]</a> Micah 5:2 "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times." <a name="_ftn2" href="http://www.cedarpark.org/admin/podcast/podcast_add.php#_ftnref2" title="_ftn2">[2]</a> http://www.eurometeo.com/english/climate/city_LLJR/id_GP/meteo_jerusalem%20israel.<a name="_ftn3" href="http://www.cedarpark.org/admin/podcast/podcast_add.php#_ftnref3" title="_ftn3">[3]</a> Gen 35:21 Israel moved on again and pitched his tent beyond Migdal Eder.  In Micah 4:8 the word "Edar" is rendered "tower of the flock" (marg., "Edar"), and is used as a designation of Bethlehem, which figuratively represents the royal line of David as sprung from Bethlehem.  From Easton's Bible Dictionary. Sun, 21 Dec 2008 00:00:00 -0800 0:00 20081214 Informed but Indifferent http://www.cedarpark.org Pastor Joe Fuiten It's Christmas!  We are working on getting it right.  I admit it is hard to do but it is a goal toward which we are working.If you had been living in Persia in the days of the wise men, would you have been one that was reading the writings of the Jews and thinking about what it meant?  Would you have been interested enough to study the stars and consider their meanings?If you had felt that the unusual star was saying something about the birth of the King of the Jews would you have bothered to look further and find out where he was, especially if it meant traveling hundreds of miles by camel?Would you have been eager enough to put together high value gifts?There are people who know all the facts but none of the meaning.  They can discuss in detail each and every topic about which they actually know nothing.  All their knowledge is in the head but none in the heart.  At Christmas such people can spend all kinds of money and effort to celebrate a holiday about which they actually know nothing.Today's text gives us the prototype of such a person.Scripture Reading:  Matthew 2:1-8After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod , Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and asked, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him." 3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 When he had called together all the people's chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ was to be born. 5 "In Bethlehem in Judea," they replied, "for this is what the prophet has written: 6 "'But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.'" 7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him." NIV            The arrival in Jerusalem of these "wise men" from Persia set the whole city into a frenzy of discussion.  Everybody was talking about it.  It was unusual enough that such people from Persia would show up.  It was even more unusual that they would describe a star that led them to come in search of the King of the Jews.  Herod was interested for his own sick reasons, but everybody found it a riveting discussion.In some ways, the relationship of a new King to a special star would have fit how they thought about things in those days.  For a hundred years or better there had been a growing sense that something would be revealed by the stars.  I happen to collect the images of the star and moon on ancient coins.  What you see is this unusual fascination with stars among rulers in that period.  I will show you five coins from my collection to illustrate the point.  The first is by the Jewish leader Alexander Jannaeus who ruled from 103 to 76 BC.  Note the star on his coin.  The second is a coin from Byzantium also from the first century BC.  The third is a Denarius minted in Rome in 42 BC.  It has five stars.  Seven stars came to symbolize eternal life.  The fourth coin was issued in 6 BC.  A guy named Michael Molnar has been on the science shows making the connection between the issuance of this coin and the star which appeared in Bethlehem as this additional picture of the "Bethlehem star" coin illustrates.  Finally, this coin of Hadrian is one of many I could show illustrating how many subsequent emperors and kings used this image to bolster their standing as having the blessing of heaven upon their reign.  The point is, many were expecting some connection between a star and a king.  So much so that when the wise men saw the unusual star they immediately made the connection and followed the leading of that star to arrive in Jerusalem.            Given the momentous nature of his guests and their stated mission, Herod called the top scholars and religious leaders to get their opinion.  All the talk shows were carrying the discussion and the evening news was filled with talking heads offering their opinions.            The groups that he called together for special discussion were, in verse 4, called the "people's chief priests and teachers of the law."  Their very title made it clear enough who the chief priests were.  They were the big guys in terms of religion. The teachers of the law were also called Scribes or lawyers.  In an earlier day they had the duty of creating copies of the law and teaching the same to others.<a name="_ftnref1" href="http://www.cedarpark.org/admin/podcast/podcast_add.php#_ftn1" title="_ftnref1">[1]</a>  In the era of Jesus they were the main public teachers of the law.  Their style was to modify the law through the traditions of the Pharisees while the Sadducees just didn't believe it anymore.  If we were applying some of today's titles we would say the chief priests and teachers of the law were the liberals who changed the law, calling it a dynamic document, while the Sadducees were the secularists who ignored the law substituting their own knowledge.            Last week we saw something of the selfish and brutish behavior of King Herod.  The religious folks of today's sermon were highly informed but without spiritual hunger or life.            When Herod wanted to know where this newborn baby was born they immediately gave the answer.  The impression left by "Where that baby be born" of last year's dramatic fame notwithstanding, they immediately knew all about it from their reading and teaching of the Scriptures.               An amazing part of this story is the reaction of these religious folks.  They knew that a Messiah would be born in Bethlehem according to the prophesies of Scripture.  They had the testimony of these wise men from the East.  They could see that Herod believed the statements presented to him by his own scholars.  Yet, they were not willing to travel seven miles to Bethlehem to see for themselves.  They knew, or should have known, but they were unwilling to interrupt their businesses or personal lives enough to be bothered with a baby that was being born King of the Jews.            Apparently they were insufficiently moved by the signs they saw around them.  Somehow it registered in their heads but not their hearts.  The signs were there to point them to Jesus but they had their minds in other places.              The apparent indifference to what was happening around them is being repeated today.              We have all kinds of signs that point to the coming of Jesus.  Does it seem like there are a lot of wars going on today?  Does it seem like the weather is acting funny.  They keep telling us global warming is going to get us. Jesus said that wars and weather would be a sign of his coming:  Matthew 24:6-8 "You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of birth pains."            Does it seem like atheism is suddenly rising and that anti-Christian rhetoric is intensifying?  Matthew 24:9-14  "...you will be hated by all nations because of me. 10 At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, 11 and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. 12 Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, 13 but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come."            How could they have missed the star, the sign of the coming of Jesus?  How can we miss everything going on around us, the signs of the second coming of Jesus?            How could they have been so blind to the prophesies about his coming?  Well, how are we so blind amidst the economic realities of today?  Doesn't Revelation describe a day when wealth suddenly turns sour?  What does Revelation 18:9-17 say?9 "When the kings of the earth who committed adultery with her and shared her luxury see the smoke of her burning, they will weep and mourn over her. 10 Terrified at her torment, they will stand far off and cry:  "'Woe! Woe, O great city, O Babylon, city of power! In one hour your doom has come!'  11 "The merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her because no one buys their cargoes any more- 12 cargoes of gold, silver, precious stones and pearls; fine linen, purple, silk and scarlet cloth; every sort of citron wood, and articles of every kind made of ivory, costly wood, bronze, iron and marble; 13 cargoes of cinnamon and spice, of incense, myrrh and frankincense, of wine and olive oil, of fine flour and wheat; cattle and sheep; horses and carriages; and bodies and souls of men.  14 "They will say, 'The fruit you longed for is gone from you. All your riches and splendor have vanished, never to be recovered.' 15 The merchants who sold these things and gained their wealth from her will stand far off, terrified at her torment. They will weep and mourn 16 and cry out:  "'Woe! Woe, O great city, dressed in fine linen, purple and scarlet, and glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls! 17 In one hour such great wealth has been brought to ruin!'              What will characterize the day of the Lord's coming?  Business will suddenly fail.  Great wealth will disappear in one hour.  Can anyone make sense of the current economy?  It has to be more than oversold real estate loans.  Its more than overvalued stocks.              There are signs everywhere of the coming of the Lord but who is paying attention?  People go on like everything will be fine.  Maybe in the short run it will.  But I guarantee every word in the Bible will come true just as it is written.  This whole earth will pass away but not one word of God will fail.            There is an irony in the Christmas story.  The religious people who should have known, were too occupied with themselves.  The wise men, who were not Jewish and not of that religion, had a better sense for the times.  I sometimes think non-religious people have a better instinct that something is amiss that only God can solve.  If they do, they are the ones who will be saved.            Today's economic crisis should make us think more about Jesus and his coming.  We are being stirred by signs not really that much different from the star in the sky over Bethlehem.  It is possible to ignore the star's appearance and go on with business as usual in spite of the signs.  That is what the scribes did.  There is no evidence that they went in search of the King of the Jews.  They accepted Herod, their poor substitute.  They knew he wasn't the one.   When spiritual leaders accept unacceptable alternatives the whole society is the loser.There are at least three possible responses.  You can join those who are hostile to Jesus.  They have always been there and they will always be around.  Second, you can be indifferent to it all.  Just go on with your life as though everything was fine.  Or, you can be like the wise men.  There will always be a few who bow their knee to worship Jesus, the one this season is really about.<hr /><a name="_ftn1" href="http://www.cedarpark.org/admin/podcast/podcast_add.php#_ftnref1" title="_ftn1">[1]</a> Ezra 7:6,10-12; Neh 8:1,4,9,13. Sun, 14 Dec 2008 00:00:00 -0800 0:00 20081207 The Other King of the Jews http://www.cedarpark.org Pastor Joe Fuiten We are working on getting Christmas right this year.  We have started examining the first Christmas using the Bible and its characters to talk to us about our own lives.            Last week we looked at the righteousness of Joseph and how his righteousness was applied to his own family.  We discussed how righteousness must first of all be applied by the family and in the family.If you are going to get Christmas right, it will challenge your kingdom, your power and your rule.  That is what Herod found out.  He had been in charge most of his life.  His father was Antipater the Idumean and his mother was Cypros an Arab princess from Petra.<a name="_ftnref1" href="http://www.cedarpark.org/admin/podcast/podcast_add.php#_ftn1" title="_ftnref1">[1]</a>  He had used his father's position of power to marry a Hasmonean princess and thereby marrying into the ruling family of Israel. In 47 BC, when he was only 25 years old, the Romans named him the Governor of Galilee hoping he would bring the Jews under control.  He did so well that in 40 BC the Roman Senate named him "King of the Jews."  Well, he wasn't actually a Jew by birth.  The Idumeans had been forced into the Jewish religion so nobody was happy about that.  In the Bible, the Idumeans are called Moabites.  Today we call them Jordanians.Just because the Jews weren't happy with Herod didn't change anything.  They might not have respected him but they did fear him.  He was ruthless and crafty and consequently governed for a very long time.  Over the years he had fought off any number of attempts to unseat or undermine him.  He kept a wary eye out for contenders to the throne.  He built his whole life around survival for himself.Just south of Bethlehem he built Herodion where he was ultimately buried.  You can see it from the Mount of Olives.  Herodion was quite a fortress castle.  (show four pictures with about 10 seconds for each one.)  It was literally a man made mountain the remains of which are still visible today.  He cut off the top of the mountain and built his fortress.  The second picture shows the pool area at the foot of the mountain.  The third picture is an aerial view what it looks like today.  You can see the outline of the walls.  The fourth picture shows what it might have looked like in that day.  The fortress was one way of protecting himself and securing his power.  As the map shows, it was the first in a line of escape fortresses protecting him back home to Moab if that should become necessary.  This is a bit of the background as we come to today's Scripture Reading:  Matthew 2:1-8After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod , Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and asked, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him." 3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 When he had called together all the people's chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ was to be born. 5 "In Bethlehem in Judea," they replied, "for this is what the prophet has written: 6 "'But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.'" 7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him." NIVIn today text, the indication is that Herod was "troubled."  That would be a euphemism.  When Herod got his Christmas greeting card he was really upset.  He went into a heightened state of paranoia.  No doubt about that.  He was more upset than the ACLU with a manger scene in the King County Courthouse.            For his response, Herod gets to be our biblical illustration for how not to get Christmas right.The news that he was hearing from the Magi fit an idea that was widely circulated in that part of the world during that time period.  The general public would not have been surprised at the arrival of an unusual king in Israel.  They believed that some great person would soon make his appearance to deliver Israel from their enemies and establish some universal empire.  The Jewish Scriptures were part of this foundation but it had spread well beyond the Jews.Roman historians Suetonius and Tacitus made mention of this in their histories.  Suetonius said "An ancient and settled persuasion prevailed throughout the east, that the fates had decreed some to proceed from Judea, who should attain universal empire. This persuasion, which the event proved to respect the Roman emperor, the Jews applied to themselves, and therefore rebelled."<a name="_ftnref2" href="http://www.cedarpark.org/admin/podcast/podcast_add.php#_ftn2" title="_ftnref2">[2]</a> <a name="_ftnref3" href="http://www.cedarpark.org/admin/podcast/podcast_add.php#_ftn3" title="_ftnref3">[3]</a> Given this general mindset, we are not surprised that Herod would be impacted by the Magi's statement.  He must have thought this was the prophesied event.  He correctly interpreted the event.  What was not correct was his response to it. Herod's reaction fit his general abuse of power and position.  Everything was always all about him. A great part of his life had been devoted to political survival.  Consider his other mountain fortress complete with massive storerooms for all kinds of food and a high tech palace. Check out this video from our recent trip.  (show video of Masada)Herod's reaction to Christmas:  "Listen, baby king of the Jews.  You are not in charge of me. I am in charge of me.  This is my country, my money, my power, my rule.  Nobody messes with my escape plans.   I decide what I want to do and where I want to go.  If I want your money, I will take it from you. You can keep your laws out of my bedroom and out of my marital status.  I am for marriage.  I have done it ten times.  As for divorce, "Her-Odious."  You can keep your Ten Commandments out of here.  They don't work anyway.  They are all broken, at least by me.  Nobody is going to tell me anything.  In fact, the people that keep me in power advised me to have a sign put up in the capitol building saying we don't believe in you.  You are not real."Herod was not completely worthless.  He does an excellent job as a bad example.  I use him to highlight the very modern problem.  We don't want Jesus to be the King.  We say we are all excited about Christmas.  We even decorate the house and put up a tree.  Don't forget, Herod told the Wise Men to find Jesus so he could worship him too!  It was all for show.  It was not from the heart.We know the King has the right of taxation, but we are against tithing.We know the King has the right to draft us into his service, but we want to be in charge of our career and do what we want.We know the King can pass laws, but we are too busy to get involved with others even though his second law is love your neighbor as yourself.We know the King is deserving of honor and worship, but we have a lot to do at the designated hour of worship.  Getting Christmas right this year means making Jesus King, not just of the Jews but of me. <hr /><a name="_ftn1" href="http://www.cedarpark.org/admin/podcast/podcast_add.php#_ftnref1" title="_ftn1">[1]</a> Herod the Great used his father's governing position to marry the Hasmonean princess <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mariamne_(second_wife_of_Herod)" title="Mariamne (second wife of Herod)">Mariamne</a>, endear himself to Rome, and usurp the Judean throne, to become king of Judea under Roman influence.  <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antipater_the_Idumaean" title="Antipater the Idumaean">Antipater the Idumaean</a> had married <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cypros" title="Cypros">Cypros</a>, the Arab princess from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petra,_Jordan" title="Petra, Jordan">Petra, Jordan</a> in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nabatea" title="Nabatea">Nabatea</a>.<a name="_ftn2" href="http://www.cedarpark.org/admin/podcast/podcast_add.php#_ftnref2" title="_ftn2">[2]</a> Percrebuerat Oriente toto, vetus et constans opinio, esse in fatis, ut eo tempore Judaea profecti rerum potirentur. Id de imperatore Romano, quantum erentu postea predictum patuit, Judaei ad se trahentes, rebellarunt. SUETONIUS VESP. The words of Tacitus are nearly similar: "Many were persuaded, that it was contained in the ancient books of their priests, that at that very time the east should prevail: and that some should proceed from Judea and possess the dominion. It was Vespasian and Titus that these ambiguous prophecies predictedPluribus persuasio inerat, antiquis sacerdotum literis contineri, eo ipso tempore fore, ut valesceret Oriens, profectique Judaea rerum potirentur. Quae ambages Vespasianum ac Titum praedixerant.  Histor. 5 Adam Clarke's Commentary, Electronic Database. Copyright © 1996, 2003 by Biblesoft, Inc. Sun, 07 Dec 2008 00:00:00 -0800 0:00 20081130 Getting Christmas Right http://www.cedarpark.org Pastor Joe Fuiten Christmas takes place within a context, both the first Christmas and the present celebration.  There are outside events and players, unrelated to the celebration, which bear on Christmas and impact it.  Christmas cannot be celebrated in a vacuum. From the birth of Jesus until now it has been like that.Pretty much everybody gets to participate in Christmas. There are those who are against it and wish to see it suppressed. There are those who don't believe in it but participate grudgingly. There are those who know the Name but not the Person.  Thankfully, there are also those who know what it is, and celebrate it with understanding.            In these next weeks leading up to Christmas and culminating in the Christmas Eve service I want to talk to you about getting Christmas right.            I think most can agree that there are wrong ways to celebrate Christmas even if we might not all agree on exactly the right way.            For one, we all know something is wrong with breaking down the door at WalMart and trampling to death the attendant in the rush for good deals.  You don't need a highly refined spiritual sense to realize that something is amiss there.  "Tis the Season to be Jolly" and that is decidedly un-jolly.            One of the nice things about the Christmas story is that it is fairly detailed and there is quite a cast of characters.  There is plenty of material to work with from the Bible. I am also, increasingly, of the opinion that not much has changed in 2000 years.  Everything old is new again.  In this series I want to accomplish three things.  I want to look at the Bible because it starts there.  I want to look at the people of the Bible because they are a lot like us.  And I want to apply the values of our faith to our observance of this important event.  What does it mean to be a family?Scripture Reading:  Matthew 1:18-25  18 This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. 19 Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. 20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"-- which means, "God with us." 24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25 But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.  (NIV)            That is the story of how Christmas came about in a nutshell.  You notice immediately several things.  First of all, the birth of Jesus was related to his family.  Not profound unless you live in 2008 in America.  Second, Joseph, the husband of Mary, was a righteous man.  It is nice to have righteousness set in the context of the family.  A man of God is defined, not just by spiritual exploits of healing the sick, raising the dead, or preaching to thousands, but by his conduct in the family.I do believe that the requirements of the righteous life find different expressions in different eras of time.  Great activities in helping the poor come to mind.  When there are difficulties in economic life, it is especially needed.  I believe it can also be expressed in the life of a warrior, as David demonstrated, and many since then. Righteousness is first expressed in the family.  It is expressed as kids grow up in honor and obeying their parents.  It is expressed in applying oneself to school and the opportunities to become all you can be.  It is expressed in the dating relationships and friendships.  It is expressed as we become a new family in the standards we set for raising our own children and in the honor we express to our spouse.             In verse 19 of our text we see a picture of Joseph's style:  Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. His first thoughts were about Mary.  Even though he knew that he had been wronged, his personal righteousness translated into concern for Mary.  He did not want to see her publicly disgraced.  He knew what he had to do, but he intended to do it quietly for her sake.  Divorce could be public or it could be in the presence of two witnesses.  He chose the latter route for her sake, not for his own.              I am sure he wrestled with what to do.  Those kinds of decisions are painful and not easily made.            He was, after all, a descendent of King David and Solomon.  There was royal blood in his veins.  Even if there was dirt under his fingernails at the moment, there was something of royalty in him and he deserved to be treated better than this.  If he is going to treated this way then he wasn't going to let her get away with it.  She would pay.  But that was not his attitude.            When a family member makes a mistake, you deal with it so as to help them recover in the least traumatic way.  I sometimes hear about people who made some mistake in their family life and the others never let them live it down.  No matter how long they live, they continue to make the mistakes the defining moment of their family life. In this dysfunctional age, there will be many who mess up their lives and it always touches someone's family and there are always innocent people who get hurt in the family.  Righteousness is expressed in living right.  It is also expressed in what you do when others make mistakes that hurt you.            Righteousness is here expressed quietly.  This is what Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount.  Your righteous acts of almsgiving, prayer, and fasting are to be done quietly without fanfare and notice because God sees it and righteousness is before God.In the case of Joseph, God gave him a dream that let him know what to do.  In response, he obeyed.  Verse 24 says When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. Being righteous does not mean you won't make misjudgments from time to time.  You can be righteous and still make mistakes.  Joseph was on his way to making one when the angel intervened.When the angel corrected him he was willing to change his ideas about the family.  It marked him as a righteous man.  God has the right to say what a family is.  He says what a marriage is.  The unrighteous will insist upon their well-thought and rationally justified opinion.  The righteous listen when God speaks on any topic, but certainly on the family.There were other kinds of family examples being held up in his day.  There was always Herod.  Herod's murder of his wife Marianne apparently haunted him. This was compounded when his two sons from that marriage, Alexander and Aristobulus, realized that their father was responsible for their mother's death. By 7 B. C., Herod had both of these sons put to death. Of Herod it was said, "It is better to be Herod's hog than to be his son."Herod became increasingly troubled.  With 10 marriages and 15 children, little wonder the family was a mess. One son, Antipater, poisoned Herod's mind against two other eligible sons, Archelaus and Philip.  As a result, Herod chose a younger son, Antipas, as sole successor. However, he later changed his will and made Archelaus king. Antipas and Philip received lesser positions as Tetrarchs over small territories.  Herod not only killed family members physically, he destroyed relationships.We live in that kind of a day.  The family is a disaster today.  We are to be a city on a hill whose light is seen.  When we selected this piece of property I told the realtor I wanted property on the freeway with great visibility.  I wanted this church to be visible.  We got what we wanted.  But the truth is, we have far greater visibility in the lives of our members than we do in our physical facility.  There is no place where we are more visibly representing God than in our families.  Our purpose should be to conduct ourselves in an exemplary fashion all our lives.  It is our most basic testimony to Jesus and the holy family that set the standard for us. Sun, 30 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0800 0:00 20081123 One Day to Feed the World http://www.cedarpark.org Pastor Craig Gorc As you saw from the video, today is our "One Day to Feed the World" emphasis. Why do we do this service on this day closest to Thanksgiving? Because gratitude is connected to giving. Our gratitude is connected to an act or acts of someone else which we are acknowledging thankfulness for.The media focus is to make us feel discontent and possibly leads to fear and fearfulness leads to hoarding and self-centeredness. We counter that by today focusing on how we can make a difference with 1/365th of what we have. An offering today equivalent to one days wage can contribute to meeting the daily needs of the poor of the world.<ul><li>25% of the world's population earns $1 or less a day.</li><li>Every year more than 6 million children die of hunger.</li><li>In the USA, one in every four people in a soup kitchen line is a child.</li><li>More than 5 million seniors in the USA live at or below the poverty line.</li><li>The number of undernourished people globally increases by 16,500 per day.</li><li>The primary cause of hunger is lack of money to buy food.</li><li>1.1 billion women live in abject poverty.</li></ul>In this room we are some of the richest in the world. I navigated to a website the other day <a href="http://www.globalrichlist.com/">http://www.globalrichlist.com/</a> and there you can find that out of the billions of people in the world where you fit. For example if your annual income is $40,000 you'd be in the top 3% of the income producers in the world. If you make twice that at $80k you'd be in the top .78% richest person in the world and for comparison let's double that number again - you'd the 16,317,962 richest people in the world coming in at .27%I believe there is a fundamental connection between our spiritual lives and the way we think about and handle money. 1. We are told in 1 Timothy 6:17-19 "Command (the rich) to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. 19  In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life." 2. In Luke 3 after Jesus preached to them about salvation and He warns them to flee the coming wrath. "What should we do?" they ask. Jesus tells them: "The man with two tunics should share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same." 12  Tax collectors also came to be baptized. "Teacher," they asked, "what should we do?" 13  "Don't collect any more than you are required to," he told them. 14  Then some soldiers asked him, "And what should we do?"He replied, "Don't extort money and don't accuse people falsely - be content with your pay." Luke 3:11-14He is telling them to be generous (tunic), honest (don't collect more) and content (do not extort money). A person shows his repentance by being generous with the necessities of life - clothing and food, by being honest and by earning an honest days wages. 3. Jesus told the disciples at one time, that where our heart is there is treasure is as well. Luke 12:32-37"Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. 33  Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. 34  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. And if we keep reading we see that the thought progresses...35  "Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning, 36  like men waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him. 37  It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes. There are obvious overtones and connections to Matthew chapter 25Matt 25:36-41 (these were the last words of Jesus Public Ministry before the cross)Jesus put into words the very message he put into action for the least.When we look at the whole of chapter 25 - we see that 31-36 is as an explanation of the former parables. We are to be spent in the service of our absent Lord who has entrusted His possessions to us. Being ready for His coming means being involved as servants in the ongoing ministries committed to us by our Lord. Matt 25:31-4631  "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 32  All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33  He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. 34  "Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35  For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36  I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.' 37  "Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38  When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39  When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' 40  "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' 41  "Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42  For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43  I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.' 44  "They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'  45  "He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.' 46  "Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life." Although sheep and goats grazed together, it is said that Palestinian shepherds normally separated sheep and goats at night because goats need to be warm at night while sheep prefer open air. Sheep were more valuable than goats, and characteristics like this may have influenced how these terms would be heard figuratively; for instance, in a pagan dream handbook sheep were associated with good while goats were associated with trouble. Except for visiting the imprisoned, the deeds Jesus lists are standard righteous deeds in Jewish ethics. Providing for the poor, giving hospitality to the stranger and visiting the sick were basic to Jewish piety. What I want to draw attention to is what Jesus DID NOT say here: <ul><li>He DID NOT say, "I was in prison and you liberated me." Prison broke me! </li><li>He DID NOT say, "I was sick and you healed me" - though I am sure some would certainly try. </li><li>He DID NOT say, "I was hungry and you sang to me"</li><li>He DID NOT say,"I was lonely" and you sent me on a cruise!" </li></ul>  A major part of the parable rarely discussed is the surprise of the sheep and goats<ul><li>1. Neither was surprised at the place assigned, but by the reason he gives.</li><li>2. The Sheep's surprise make it impossible to think that works of righteousness win salvation.</li><li>3. As we serve, we align ourselves with their distress and affliction. In doing so we align ourselves with the messiah who identifies with them.</li></ul>What serving and giving to others will do<ul><li>1. Help us develop a broad - general concern for the well being of others, especially the materially poor. Sharing from our wealth with those with less arises from our desire to alleviate human suffering.</li><li>2. Breaks the wall of "us" and "them"</li><li>3. Inspire thanks to God for his mercy in our lives.</li></ul>(Video Clip Setup)Oskar Shindler was an opportunistic German businessman who sought to profit from Germany's invasion of Poland by having Polish Jews work in his factory during the holocaust. His accountant, Itzhak Stern suggests Schindler hire Jews instead of Poles because they cost less (the workers themselves get nothing; the wages are paid to the State). Workers in Schindler's factory are allowed outside the ghetto though, and Stern falsifies documents to ensure that as many people as possible are deemed "essential" to the German war effort, which saves them from being transported to concentration camps. At first, Schindler prepares to leave Krakow with his ill-gotten fortune. Then however, he prevails upon SS Amon Göth to let him keep "his" workers, Göth agrees, but charges a massive bribe for each worker. Schindler and Stern assemble a list of workers who are to be kept off the trains to Auschwitz. Oskar and Itzhak produced a list of 1097 names manually typed-297 women and 800 men. In this clip, we see Oskar leaving the factory of 1100 workers following the declaration of the wars end. Shindler says goodbye and suddenly realizes what he had done, what he could have donw and what he had to work with.It is the same moment in the separation of the sheep and goats where they realize what they had and had not done. Following the war Schindler lost everything. He died broke. But that one act of courage had a domino effect-a half-century later, there are more than 6,000 descendants of the Schindlerjuden.I'm neither a historian nor the son of a historian, but let me make an observation: The true nature of a heart is seen in its response to the unattractive. "Tell me whom you (show) love," Houssaye wrote, "and I will tell you who you are."The sign of the saved is their love for the least. Sun, 23 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0800 0:00 20081116 Completing the Love of Jesus http://www.cedarpark.org Pastor Joe Fuiten John begins this letter with a discussion about Jesus.  In verse 2 he says of Jesus, The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us.  Jesus is the eternal life that existed with the Heavenly Father and appeared to John and the others who lived at that time.            Having given us this important truth John immediately recognizes that sin is a big problem.Scripture Reading:  1 John 1:5-1 John 2:105 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.  8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives. 2:1 My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense - Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 2 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. 3 We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. 4 The man who says, "I know him," but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But if anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: 6 Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did."The big problem of sin is here called darkness.  In verse 7 John is quick to point out what Jesus did for us.  "The blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin."  That is really big news. We can be pure.  Our rottenness and darkness of sin can be dealt with.It seems hard to imagine but there apparently have always been people who claim, with a straight face, that they have never sinned and therefore do not need a Savior such as Jesus Christ.  In my youth, it was Norman Greenbaum who wrote the famous hit song, Spirit in the Sky.  One of its classic lines was "...never been a sinner, never sinned.  I've got a friend in Jesus."  Hey Norman, John has a statement for you in verse 10:  "If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives."Do people other than Norman Greenbaum think they have not sinned?  Yes, most people think that.  The idea that people have their own religious beliefs to which they are entitled is a modern version of that.  People today who talk of freedom from constraints of law are making that argument.  Everybody should be able to do whatever they want because no one has the right to tell me what to do.The opposite of those who say they have not sinned are those who confess their sins.  In verse 9 we have this:  "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."  Rather than denying sin, we are called upon to confess our sin.  The next several verses going into chapter 2 deal with Jesus, our atoning sacrifice.  "He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world."Then in verse 3 a decisive turn takes place.  We get some really straight talk from the disciple whom Jesus loved.  "3 We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. 4 The man who says, "I know him," but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him."People generally seem to know that they are sinners and need to be forgiven.  They sometimes believe that if they have confessed their sin and invited Jesus into their lives, that is the end of the matter.  In opposition to that is what John says here.  Obedience is critical.  If you say you know Jesus but don't obey God's commands, you are a liar.The next verse presents the exact opposite kind of person.  5 But if anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: 6 Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did."Love that is not responded to with obedience is incomplete.  We are loved but something is still missing.  We can say to someone, "Jesus loves you" but John knows that is not the final answer.  That is the start but not the finish.  It is true but not yet complete.            People have funny ideas about the love of God.  Certainly we need to know that God loves us, period!  When you start feeling like Jesus does not love you, you are hearing the voice of the devil.  When something bad happens sometimes people say "How could a loving God let this happen?"  Mind you, when something good happens those folks seldom show up to church to give God thanks.  But when something bad happens, God gets all the blame.  God has no hands but ours, as Mother Teresa famously said.  Bad things are not evidence of a lack of love on God's part but an opportunity for us to share God's love with people.When you speak about obedience people react to that as if it were a lack of love.  Their idea is, "If God loves me he will let me do whatever I want.  He wouldn't judge me."  The opposite is actually true.  That fact that God won't let you do whatever you want is a sign that he loves you.One day when I was a teenager, I was saying something bad about my mother.  We were sitting at the table in the kitchen.  As soon as I said it, my father reached out his hand and slapped me across the face.  That was the only time in my life he ever slapped me.  I learned a lot of valuable lesions in that one second of time.  I learned not to bad mouth my mother and I learned that my father was not going to put up with such behavior.  I have never doubted my father's love but he didn't just let me act any old way I wanted to.You can't confuse love with always getting your own way.  Sometimes God says no.  It doesn't change his love for you.  God is not going to agree with everything you think because there are some things about which you are wrong.  Sometimes the most loving thing that can happen to you is for someone to disagree with you.  If you let a kid get away with bad behavior that is not a sign of love.            5 But if anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him.  What does it mean about God's love being made complete?  Is God's love somehow incomplete?  It must be incomplete if obedience can make it complete.  John 3:16 says that God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son that whoever believes in him would not perish but have everlasting life.  God's love had a purpose, our eternal life.  If obedience is necessary for God's love to be fulfilled, then we would say his love is made complete when we obey.  God had a goal.  When we obey him that goal is completed.            If God's love finds its completion in our obedience to him, then how is our love for God made complete.  John answers that question in chapter 3 verse 17:  "If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?"             Our effort at "One Day to Feed the World" reflects our love of God.  If we want our love to be complete it has to be active.  How active? We quite arbitrarily set that number at one day in three hundred and sixty five days.              God's love is brought to completion when we obey him.  Our love for God is brought to completion when we serve someone else. Sun, 16 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0800 0:00 20081109 Soul On Ice http://www.cedarpark.org Pastor Joe Fuiten Over the last 20 years Cedar Park has had a significant ministry in praying for and supporting couples dealing with infertility.  Today we are taking that ministry to a new level by adding "Embryo Adoption Services of Cedar Park." (adoptanembyo.net) Embryo Adoption Services of Cedar Park will provide a link between those who have embryos to donate and those who desire to adopt an embryo.  We will facilitate the services essential to making that happen including the necessary screening of donors and recipients. We will do this work as inexpensively as possible but with the highest of ethical standards.We think there are hundreds of thousands of frozen embryos in the offices of fertility treatment doctors across the United States.  These are left over from In Vitro Fertilization (literally, fertilization in glass), a procedure during which the egg, instead of being fertilized in the fallopian tube, is fertilized in a test tube or petri dish.  They are quite literally, "souls on ice."Even after being frozen more than ten years, these embryos have been successfully implanted.  Some of those children are among us today.  Our ministry will be the point of connection between those with a need and those who wish to donate embryos.We had intended to announce this ministry a little later, but suddenly a lot of attention is being given to the topic and we wanted to take advantage of the public's attention.  On Wednesday, Focus on the Family will be doing a national story on our work as will Matthew Staver of Liberty Counsel, and Jennifer James of K-Love.  Concerned Women for America has already done a story as has Channel 13.  Some local print media are working on a story including the Christian Examiner, the Seattle Times as well as local radio.There is a lot of interest for two reasons.  First, embryo adoption is a fairly new concept and procedure.  Secondly, the human drama of all this relates to people of all ages so it makes for a good news story.For us, it is a much bigger story than its newness or the human drama.  There are some profoundly spiritual values at work here.  They provide an opportunity to teach the ways of God to a world increasingly lost and estranged from God.  This program will be the first church-based program of its kind in the US and probably the world.  For Cedar Park Church, such a ministry is a natural extension of the very successful twenty-year effort in praying for infertile couples on "Presentation Sunday."          You have heard me say it for decades now.  Whenever a child is born it is God's way of saying there still is a future.  God's redemption of our lives involved the birth of a baby.  What he wants to yet accomplish in this world and in our country will involve babies.  Second, God has also established that babies should be born into families with a mother and father.  I was quite happy with that part of the election across the country as more states put messing with marriage outside the reach of state courts who have no regard for God's rule in our lives.          Third, in the Bible, there are several scriptures which indicate that God is interested in us having families.  The first one goes back to Genesis 1:27-28, "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it."          God's intention is that the family would use the earth for its benefit extracting crops from the soil, minerals and resources from the ground, harnessing the wind, sun, sea, and rivers.          The Ten Commandments envision a family since three of the commandments deal with the family relationship.  Children obey your parents.  Do not adulterate your marriage. Do not desire another person's family.          In Isaiah 58:12 "Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings."          Psalm 127:3-5 views a family in a very positive way:  "Sons are a heritage from the LORD, children a reward from him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons born in one's youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them."As we help families to have children, we feel like we are doing God's work.  In my mind, this is just a continuation of what we have been doing for 20 years in praying for infertile couples on Presentation Sunday.Fourth, a ministry like this helps people to think rightly about human existence.  A person is a person no matter how small.  A frozen embryo has all the potential to become a teenager and an adult.  Once such embryos exist, people who have an ethic of life will want to make sure they have a future.  Embryos are not simply human material to be used for medical experimentation, vaccine cultivation, or trash to be discarded.Human embryos are being misused in a variety of dehumanizing ways. In our own way this will be speaking to those wrong actions in our country.  It really is the new frontier in the discussion about life.  How should we think about human life?  Psalm 139:13-16 gives us a way to think:   "13 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. 14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. 15 My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, 16 your eyes saw my unformed body.  All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be."God knows us from the tiniest moment.  He has works created in advance for us to do.The Executive Director will be Maria Lancaster, the first woman in Washington State to give birth to a child who started as an adopted embryo.  She is a business person who heads her own fishing ship supply company.  She will be serving as a volunteer Executive Director.  In part, that is how the price will be kept low, far below anyone else working in this field.  She will share her own story and how this kind of ministry has impacted her and her husband, Jeff.  Welcome Maria Lancaster.           I want to invite you to tell the story of this program.  If all you do is tell people about it, it will have an impact upon their lives and how they think about the matter of life. Sun, 09 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0800 0:00 20081102 A Shepherd in a Time of Trouble http://www.cedarpark.org Pastor Joe Fuiten              It is hard to imagine what portion of Scripture is more loved than Psalm 23.  Many can quote it.  I quote it often as I pray for people who have lost a loved one or who are going through some very difficult experience themselves.1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, 3 he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. 4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 6 Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.               It is a Psalm of David, King of Israel.  He wrote about a Shepherd's Shepherd.  Even though he was a successful king, he came to rely upon one stronger than himself.  As a shepherd himself, he had fought the bear and the lion in order to protect his sheep.  He had killed Goliath in order to protect Israel and the reputation of God.  He hid out in caves to escape from Saul.  He led armies against foes on all sides.  He had to flee a rebellious son.  There was intrigue among his friends, and plots by his enemies.  He faced foes within and without.            When David writes of his soul being restored he is not so much speaking of recovery from sin but of coming back to life.  He knows what it is to be worn out, sad, or exhausted.  He knows loss and defeat.  He also knows what it is to come back to life with new energy and excitement.  Among the things to particularly note in this Scripture are these:<ol><li>David had a biblically informed perspective.</li><li>David was more conscious of God that he was conscious of his problems.</li><li>David's rather positive talking helped him rather than hurt him.</li><li>David lived in the expectation of a good future.</li></ol>First consider David's biblical perspective.  The thoughts he is expressing are not new thoughts.  They come from other parts of the Scripture.When David was being attacked or when he had a need he was reminded of Joseph in Genesis 49:22-26  "Joseph is a fruitful vine, a fruitful vine near a spring, whose branches climb over a wall.  23 With bitterness archers attacked him; they shot at him with hostility.  24 But his bow remained steady, his strong arms stayed limber, because of the hand of the Mighty One of Jacob, because of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel, 25 because of your father's God, who helps you, because of the Almighty, who blesses you with blessings of the heavens above, blessings of the deep that lies below, blessings of the breast and womb.  26 Your father's blessings are greater than the blessings of the ancient mountains, than the bounty of the age-old hills. Let all these rest on the head of Joseph, on the brow of the prince among his brothers.             Can you see that Psalm 23 is really a reprocessing of Genesis 49?  Each passage has the same concerns of enemies and blessings.              We see the same biblical frame of reference in Psalm 80:1-3.  Hear us, O Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock; you who sit enthroned between the cherubim, shine forth before Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh. Awaken your might; come and save us.  Restore us, O God; make your face shine upon us, that we may be saved.             If you are praying for the elections, you might want to read Psalm 80 aloud to the Lord.  It expresses the thoughts that should be in the heart of every American.            When Isaiah came along, he used the same biblical references.  Isaiah 40:6-11  "6 A voice says, "Cry out." And I said, "What shall I cry?" "All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field. 7 The grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath of the LORD blows on them. Surely the people are grass. 8 The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever." 9 You who bring good tidings to Zion, go up on a high mountain. You who bring good tidings to Jerusalem, lift up your voice with a shout, lift it up, do not be afraid; say to the towns of Judah, "Here is your God!" 10 See, the Sovereign LORD comes with power, and his arm rules for him. See, his reward is with him, and his recompense accompanies him. 11 He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young."            As you think about these great ones from the past, I invite you to do what they did.  Get out your Bible.  Use it to pray.  Use it to understand who God is and what he does.  You are one of the sheep of his pasture.  (Psalm 100:3)  "Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture."  Some people call it praying the Word.  When you see God through the truths of the Bible you know him accurately.  When you see yourself and your circumstances through biblically informed eyes you are living the life of faith.Second, notice that David was more conscious of God that he was conscious of his problems.            We can't help but be conscious of our problems.  There is something about health and financial challenges or relationship problems that tend to focus the mind.  The Psalmist is not ignoring his enemies or pretending they don't exist. He knows he needs to be cared for. However, he is centered on God. Isaiah 26:3-4 "You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you. 4 Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD, the LORD, is the Rock eternal." Third, notice how positively David talks.  David's rather positive talking helped him rather than hurt him.  Negative expressions crystallize negative thoughts and form an attitude over time.  It is my observation that venting does not diminish frustration, it increases it.          Hitting a pillow or mattress does not help. I am not even sure that crying helps. Self-pity, self-indulgence, and self-justification, are probably not helpful.  The bible's idea is rather simple--find something good to say.  Philippians 4:6-9 says "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-- if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-- think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me-- put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you."When you put together the first three, a biblically informed perspective, being more conscious of God than conscious of our problems, and positive talking you get to the fourth area.  That is living in the expectation of a good future.  He said, "Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life..."Why do people project problems but not answers?       How can I make it for 5 more years? I can't possibly live with this person for the rest of my life.    I don't want to have children.  How can they make it in the future? These are all tomorrow's problems brought into today (without God's answers).  I appreciate the saying of Alcoholics Anonymous-Don't try to stop drinking forever, just say, "I will not drink today."  I understand why it is important.  However, I will note that David did project good into the future.  He said, not only is God good to me now, he will be good to me all the days of my life.In many ways the opening and closing statements are both about the future.  The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want is very similar to "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life." Sun, 02 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0700 0:00 20081026 Call Me http://www.cedarpark.org Alan Ehler Sun, 26 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700 0:00 20081019 David Cawston http://www.cedarpark.org David Cawston Sun, 19 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700 0:00 20081012 Feast of Tabernacles: Every Year, Rejoice Before the Lord http://www.cedarpark.org Pastor Joe Fuiten Scripture Reading:  Deut 16:13-1713 Celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles for seven days after you have gathered the produce of your threshing floor and your winepress. 14 Be joyful at your Feast - you, your sons and daughters, your menservants and maidservants, and the Levites, the aliens, the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns. 15 For seven days celebrate the Feast to the LORD your God at the place the LORD will choose. For the LORD your God will bless you in all your harvest and in all the work of your hands, and your joy will be complete. 16 Three times a year all your men must appear before the LORD your God at the place he will choose: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks and the Feast of Tabernacles . No man should appear before the LORD empty-handed: 17 Each of you must bring a gift in proportion to the way the LORD your God has blessed you. Leviticus 23:41-4341 Celebrate this as a festival to the LORD for seven days each year. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come; celebrate it in the seventh month. 42 Live in booths for seven days: All native-born Israelites are to live in booths 43 so your descendants will know that I had the Israelites live in booths when I brought them out of Egypt. I am the LORD your God. 44  So Moses announced to the Israelites the appointed feasts of the LORD."             Of the seven appointed feasts of the Lord, only the Feast of Tabernacles remains unfulfilled: <ul><li>In "Passover", Jesus is the Passover Lamb whose blood protects us from judgment. </li><li>In "Unleavened bread", he is the pure and sinless Bread of Heaven.</li><li>At "Firstfruits", he is the Resurrection, the Firstfruits of those who have died.</li><li>Pentecost" was fulfilled when Jesus poured out the Holy Spirit upon the believers. </li><li>"Trumpets" announced the beginning of the Kingdom of God, and called men to repent and receive that kingdom. </li><li>"Day of Atonement" found its fulfillment when Jesus died upon the cross to atone for all sin. </li></ul>Only the "Feast of Tabernacles" remains unfulfilled.  We have to wonder if God will fulfill the other six and somehow overlook this one.  That doesn't seem likely.  Indeed, when Christ returns to Jerusalem and reigns there for 1,000 years, then "Tabernacles" will be finally fulfilled.  God is an orderly God whose work of Salvation is unfolding methodically even in our world.This feast is one of rejoicing.  I am struck by the fact that God said the fatherless should rejoice.  The widow should rejoice.  The alien should rejoice. 14 Be joyful at your Feast - you, your sons and daughters, your menservants and maidservants, and the Levites, the aliens, the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns.  These are not groups that one would necessarily presume to be rejoicing.  In fact, each of them might have a reason not to rejoice.What do the alien, the fatherless, and the widow have in common?  God promises to take care of each of them.Ex 22:21-25  "Do not mistreat an alien or oppress him, for you were aliens in Egypt. 22 "Do not take advantage of a widow or an orphan. 23 If you do and they cry out to me, I will certainly hear their cry. 24 My anger will be aroused, and I will kill you with the sword; your wives will become widows and your children fatherless.  25 "If you lend money to one of my people among you who is needy, do not be like a moneylender; charge him no interest."Deuteronomy t 24:17-22 "Do not deprive the alien or the fatherless of justice, or take the cloak of the widow as a pledge. 18 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and the LORD your God redeemed you from there. That is why I command you to do this. 19 When you are harvesting in your field and you overlook a sheaf, do not go back to get it. Leave it for the alien, the fatherless and the widow, so that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. 20 When you beat the olives from your trees, do not go over the branches a second time. Leave what remains for the alien, the fatherless and the widow. 21 When you harvest the grapes in your vineyard, do not go over the vines again. Leave what remains for the alien, the fatherless and the widow. 22 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt. That is why I command you to do this. It is very possible that some today have cause not to rejoice.  Maybe you contributed your share to the trillions lost in stocks or in the housing downturn.  Your retirement plans have gone out the window.  You may not be an alien, but you feel like one.  You may not be fatherless but you feel like an orphan.Tabernacles is to remind us that the presence of God is its own reward.  Beyond that we have a God who supplies our needs.  As God provides for us in difficult times, we learn that the golden calf is not where it's at!  Neither is any other substitute for God.  When we go through difficult times, we learn something about God.  This is the sense in which we understand Deuteronomy 8:1-4.  2 Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. 3 He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.           Each morning the Israeli's awakened to see the ground white with manna.  Like snow that had fallen in the night, it was there to feed them and to remind them that God had been with them, even in the night.  He fed them so they would not believe we live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.<a name="_ftnref1" href="http://www.cedarpark.org/admin/podcast/podcast_add.php#_ftn1" title="_ftnref1">[1]</a>  It must have been quite a feeling, to be so directly sustained by God.            If we truly understand, every paycheck is the presence of God.  Every bucket of green beans harvested, every ear of corn enjoyed should remind us of God.  Every day should be Thanksgiving.  Every blessing is a reminder that God is near.The eighth day was the great day of this holiday, because then they returned to their own houses again, and remembered how, after they had long dwelt in tents in the wilderness, at length they came to a happy settlement in the land of promise, where they dwelt in goodly houses. And they would the more sensibly value and be thankful for the comforts and c