The Week in Review

Are you a Coat Maker? (part 2)

South Suburban Church of God

May 17, 2009

Destiny-Determining Coat Maker -

1 Samuel 17:38-40

And Saul armed David with his armour, and he put an helmet of brass upon his head; also he armed him with a coat of mail. And David girded his sword upon his armour, and he assayed to go; for he had not proved it. And David said unto Saul, I cannot go with these; for I have not proved them. And David put them off him. And he took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in a shepherd's bag which he had, even in a scrip; and his sling was in his hand: and he drew near to the Philistine.


We have here the story of David slaying Goliath. The warriors went for 40 days to the battle, took their places but as soon as Goliath came out, they ran and hid. Then we have David, this small shepherd boy stepping on the scene. He is outraged at the idea that Goliath would defy the army of God and says he will go to slay the giant. The king agrees and now we have the king placing his coat of armor upon David. David cannot use this because it was not made for him; it was made for someone else. David decides to take it off because it is weighing him down and decides to uses the giant slaying tools that he has, his stones and slingshot.



There are a few things we need to see in this interaction. We have the trained men that when faced with a Goliath of a problem, ran. Yet, here comes this small shepherd boy to take their places. I can see what the king must have seen. In one corner we have David, shepherd boy, not must battle training accept against a lion and a bear, weighting in at about a buck and a quarter soaking wet. In the other corner a giant over nine feet tall, covered in bronze armor weighing about 125 pounds and a spear weighting 15 pounds. The giant’s armor alone probably weighted more than David did. Do you know what the king must have thought? This boy cannot win. So, then why let him go to battle in the first place? Why give him this Goliath of a situation if you think he cannot win it? The reason is simple, because no one else wanted to do it.



Isn’t that true today? Sometimes individuals end up with Goliath assignments because those that have been trained to do it, end up running from the task when it gets too big. Oh they come, line up for 4 weeks, 4 months or 40 years but as soon as the situation is bigger than them, they run and hid waiting for someone else to take the task. So the king made the decision to give David his armor. He is the authority and he decides that David cannot win this battle without his armor. When he does this he can also take some of the credit if David wins. He could easily say, “If it were not for my armor he would not have won”. Or even if David had lost, he still could say, “I tried to protect him”. But the question is, why wasn’t the king wearing his own armor?



What then does this tell us today? God does not need us as to be ‘Destiny-Determining coat makers”. He does not need you or I becoming the king, the authority on what someone needs to win the battle. He does not need us so busy standing on the side lines because of Goliath situations and waiting for someone else to show up so we can give them the job we were trained to do. If we are busy trying to take off our armor that we should be wearing and give it to someone else, what is protecting us? When we do this we are doing two things wrong. First we are not covered and we become vulnerable ourselves. Secondly we burden someone else by trying to make him or her win battles our way, with our tools.



As a right kind of coat maker one that creates garments to help others, we are not asked to be a “king” or “authority” on what someone else needs to win the battles or to determine what others are to be and we are surely not told to make them into duplicates of ourselves. In fact, all we are to do is provide for them so that they can grow and become more of what God desires for them to be. Doing anything else and we are trying to either give them our responsibilities or we are burdening them to do things our way. Instead we must be like the king in the 2 Chronicles 26:14 were it reads, “Uzziah provided shields, spears, helmets, coats of armor, bows and slingstones for the entire army.” In this scripture Uzziah is said to be a wise military man. He knew in order for his army to be equipped for battle each of them needed to have their own tools. He did not choose to give one only a helmet and another only a shield. He gave each one complete armor so that they would have what they needed to use in battle.



As coat makers we are required to present each person with the tools they need and not our hand me downs, which are ill fitted at best and most assuredly burdensome and discouraging. God is the author and finisher of our faith, we do not get to write someone else script. God does not need destiny-determining coat makers. He needs discerning, coat makers that provide all the necessary battle tools for the army of God to be successful in battle. Come back next week so we can look at the right ways of making a coat.

The Week in Review

Cultural Trends

Written April 11, 2006 (posted 9/28/09)

Joseph M. Stowell, the author of Shepherding the Church, speaks to the changing culture and how it influences individual’s acceptance of God’s truth. Some of the influences are not always obvious, but they are in television, music, and magazines to name a few. The influence of television will be examined to determine how it changes individuals understanding of truth.


Carl Jeffrey Wright, the author of God’s Vision or Television states “We get more information from television than virtually every other media source. According to the Wall Street Journal, most people watch an average of 20 hours of television a week compared to time spent reading newspapers, magazines, or books, which averages about 2-3 hours per week. Time spent in church, prayer, or Bible reading doesn’t even compare since most people spend approximately 3 hours or less there as well” (8).



The belief that there are no absolutes is one of the messages passed through television. The newest craze of “reality shows” focuses on individual lifestyles and portrays them as successful and enlightened because of their choices. These shows, and others like them, support the belief that everything is relative to what you want and what is best for you. They also show that there are no absolute right or wrong ways of doing things or making choices. Following a set of rules or guidelines of correct behavior is considered weak. Stowell states, “We now must proclaim that there are absolutes in a world where relativism rules. It is our task to call people to something beyond themselves in a day when self-fulfillment has been elevated as the ultimate god. We must be willing to stand unintimidated for biblical correctness when it crosses swords with political correctness” (17).



A life of sexual purity is another message the television distorts and makes difficult for truth to be accepted regarding it. “In the world of television, love also triumphs. The Love Boat, The Newlywed Game, The Bachelor, and Ordinary Joe all take the love of men and women to absurd extremes. These shows exploit both the viewers’ and the participant’s obsession for ‘love’. However, much of the ‘love’ on television is really just about sex” (Wright, 29). Individuals have trouble understanding why sex outside of marriage is not acceptable. The messages brought forth are that sex or love is wonderful and expressing it is only natural. The minister, preacher or pastor that speaks out against fornication or adultery are sometimes looked at as being “outdated” because their messages does not fit the lifestyle of the people. This is a difficult situation, since this belief has made it into the church and into the hearts of some of its members. The images and messages of what happiness looks like in regards to sexual relations has caused some pastors to lose their place and standing in the church. They have not been able to withstand the pull of television, movies or other sexual material, thus causing them to move into sexual sins. “Purity is increasingly important in contrast to our culture’s disinterest in the theme…In our culture someone needs to stick up for purity. Spiritual leaders need to lead the charge” (Stowell, 228-229).

Work Cited

MacArthur, John, et. al. Pastoral Ministry: How to Shepherd Biblically. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, Inc., 2005.


Stowell, Joseph M. Shepherding the Church. Chicago, IL: Moody Press. 1997.


Wright, Carl Jeffrey. God’s Vision or Television? Chicago, IL: Urban Ministries, Inc., 2004.

Words of Encouragement

And when the Israelites saw the great power the LORD displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant. - Exodus 14:31

God's power brings results. The Israelites were amazed at the wonderful works of God. They saw the Lord's hand against the Egyptians with all the plagues he sent. It was so amazing that it caused fear to fall upon the hearts of the people. This working of God's power brought about a change in the hearts of the people. It made them realize that God was truly God.

It also resulted in them trusting in God. This is the result of God's power, it brings individuals to the place of trusting in him and his power. When we see God's power active in the world, we become like the Israelites, we become afraid. Not afraid in a negative sense, but in a positive way.

This fear of the Lord is an individual realizing the wonderment of God and sees that God is far greater than one's self. It causes the individual to be humbled at the awesomeness of God.

What working of God's power have you seen, that has resulted in your humbling yourself before God? Does God's power cause you today to place your trust fully in God? I pray today that as we see God's power at work in this world that we allow it to result in our further trusting him, in our yielding ourselves to him. God's power brings results, if you allow it.

Lord, today we seek you to have your way within us and that may your power continue to manifest within our lives so that we can be all that you have created us to be. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.

The Week in Review

Are you a Coat Maker?
South Suburban Church of God
May 17, 2009

As I was preparing for this message and the direction the Lord was taking me, I began to think about my mother. My mother was a seamstress. I was amazed at her ability to take fabric and create wonderful garments. She could take a bag of sequin or beads and create beautifully beaded dresses. She could take a pattern and alter it so that it would create something with its own unique flair and it would fit the personality of the person she was designing it for just right. When she finished the garment the individual that it was made for would be so excited about the fit and how much it expressed their personality. There was something special knowing that the garment was created just for them. Well today I want to talk about something similar, about being a coat maker, creating something specially tailor for an individual and allowing that which you make to help them express their uniqueness.

First, what is the purpose of a coat? When we think about a coat we think about a garment that covers us from the elements. We think about a garment that covers our exposed skin and protects us from the sun, the wind, the rain and the cold. The coat becomes a covering that protects us.

The question I want you to think about today is, are you a spiritual coat maker? And if so, what kind of coat maker are you? Are you making garments that will project others from the elements? Are you using your talents and your gifts to create covering for people that are standing exposed and uncovered?

What are people facing? They are facing the heat uncovered. The heat of life is beating down on them and because of it, they are being dried up of all hope; they stand parched without the living water, which is Christ. Some are facing the changing winds of life that blows on them and making it difficult for them to stand against these great chilling forces. These winds are chilling out the truth of God’s word, keeping it from settling in the hearts of people. Or what about the rain, those storms that come in life and leave many unable to stand under the weight of the rain-drenched clothing? Somebody is standing in need of a covering, a coat to protect them from these elements. Are you making some coats?

What is wonderful about the word of God is that we have examples of what happens when things are done wrong and then we have examples of how to do them right. Let’s look at the wrong types of coat makers, first.

The “Favoritism” Coat Maker
Genesis 37:3-4, 23
Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colours. And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him. 23And it came to pass, when Joseph was come unto his brethren, that they strip Joseph out of his coat, his coat of many colours that was on him;

Israel who was also known as Jacob before God changed his name, gives his son Joseph a coat. We see a father preparing a coat for his son, a “coat of love”. It is a good thing to be a coat maker that makes a “coat of love” and we would think this is a good thing that Israel is doing, however, we see some problems. The first problem is Israel loved Joseph more than he did the other sons and it was something very obvious. He gave Joseph a coat that was like a neon sign saying, “He is more important to me than you”. Think about this coat? It is bright and rich in color. To create garments of such brilliance was costly because of the treatments that had to be done to fabrics to obtain the colors. There was no expense spared on this one son. Truly we should not be cheap and should not spare any expense in giving our love, but the problem comes in if we pick and choose whom to give it to. How long do you think this can go on before we have problems? Not long because we see the brothers plotting Joseph’s death. While the brothers were wrong in their action, a coat maker, a provider cannot show favoritism in love because it breeds hatred, disharmony and discord.

Favoritism amongst a family surely brings disruption in the unity of the family. Also let us also not miss another possibly problem here, the favor shown by Israel was because of his personal reward in doing it. In other words, he was feeling himself because this was a son he had in his old age, it was a mark, a reward for him, and it was a male thing. You’ve seen it, men that have fathered children in their later years the pride that have because of that child, especially if it is a son. It’s like a badge of honor. This son along with his brother Benjamin was like special accomplishments for Israel.

What does that say to us today? As spiritual coat makers, we cannot show favoritism to one member of the family over another one. I cannot love Sis. Rose more because she can really cook, or Sis. Dorothy because she makes killer cornbread. First, that type of love is wrong because of the reasons I’m giving it. I’m giving it because of what I get in return, how it profits or benefits me. Love in the family is to be given freely and without any expectation of return, benefit or repayment. Secondly, I cannot lavish more love on one in the family as if saying by my actions “you are more important”, without problems arising. How long will it be before we see disharmony in the unity if believers show love more for one than the other? We set up the possibility of jealousy amongst the brothers and what happens is they may begin to plot on how to take that “coat” away. What they are trying in fact to do is remove the symbol of the “coat of love” that should have been lavished on all which was only being given to one.

The Favoritism coat maker does not line up with the type of garment makers God requires in his family. This is not to say that God does not allow us to see special things within each other and that we should encourage that, but we cannot pick one to love more than another. We know this because the word reads, “For there is no respect of persons with God”. – Romans 2:11. If God does not show respect of person, then we definitely cannot pick and choose whom we will give a “coat of love” to (come back next week for the next installment).

The Week in Review

Study of the Synoptic Gospels - Luke Survey

Written by Minister Jewel D. Williams (12/07)

Observations: Luke’s purpose for writing is to present the evidence of Jesus and he does that with his detail and themes throughout the writing of his Gospel. Luke’s Gospel focuses on history as the place where God’s salvation story was effected and on Jesus as God’s savior. Luke shows God’s love for mankind started with Adam and continued to all people; men and women, Jew and Gentile.

Author and intent: The most reliable information comes from the New Testament itself. Luke was well educated and believed to be a doctor and close friend of Paul (Co. 4:14). It is said that Luke’s intention was to make his Gospel more accurate than other versions of the Jesus story that had been compiled prior to his. Luke 1:1-4 states his main purpose, which was to write an orderly and accurate account so that others could know the truth.

Structural: There were some interesting patterns that I found within the Gospel of Luke. The first interesting structural pattern was the usage of the phrase “And it came to pass.”

This phrase was used 35 times (1:8, 1:23, 1:41, 1:59, 2:1, 2:15, 2:16, 2:46, 5:1, 5:12, 5:27, 6:1, 6:6, 6:12, 7:11, 8:1, 8:22, 8:40, 9:28, 9:33, 9:37, 9:51, 9:57, 10:38, 11:1, 11:14, 11:27, 14:1, 17:11, 17:14, 18:35, 19:29, 20:1, 24:4, 24:51). This phrase is used as a transitional phrase when the movement or action transitions from one event to another. This statement is an active statement in that what follows did happen.

There is also a Chiastic Structure (ABCBA pattern) regarding John and Jesus’ birth (see chart 1 below). It might be a stretch here, but I see the reference to Herod as a “C” between the events of John and Jesus (in chart 2, however it is not included in this post).

Contrasting is shown in Luke’s Gospel. One example is the speech by Mary (1:46-53).


Low Esteem----------------------------Blessed of All Nations (1:48)
Put Down-------------------------------Mighty Exalt the Low (52)
Fill Hungry with Good----------------Rich Made Empty (53)


There are also several mentions of the Holy Ghost’s work before the infilling mentioned in Acts. This is not something I am familiar with seeing in the other Gospels (1:15, 1:67, 2:25, 3:22, 4:1, 4:14 and 5:1). We see the working of the Holy Spirit as the one that empowers the individual to give prophecy, to be led, to hear God’s words, infill, empower for service. There is a climatic turning when we read of the entrance of Satan. The first when Satan enters Judas, (22:3) and the second when Jesus tells Peter what Satan wants to do to believers (22:31).

Chapter Titles:

I. Introduction – Salvation reliability (Chapter 1:1-4)

II. Preparation for Jesus’ Ministry (Chapter 1:5-4:13)
a. The Two Births (1:5-1:56)
b. The Two Sons (1:57-2:52)
c. John’s Ministry – Preparing the Way (3:1-20)
d. Jesus’ Ministry – The Way (3:21-4:13)


III. Jesus’ Gospel Message (4:14-9:50)
a. Message of Good News (4:14-5:16)
b. Conflict Over the Message (5:17-6:11)
c. Message for the Poor (6:12-8:3)
d. Revelation in the Message (8:4-21)
e. Jesus’ Identity Through the Message (8:22-9:50)

IV. Discipleship (9:51-19:27)
a. The Final Journey Begins (9:51-13:27)
b. The Journey Continues (13:22-17:10)
c. The Journey Ends (17:11-19:27)


V. Death and Resurrection (19:28-24:53)
a. Entrance into Jerusalem (19:28-48)
b. The Controversy (20:1-21:4)
c. End Time (21:5-38)
d. The Passover (22:1-38)
e. The Arrest and Trial (22:39-23:25)
f. The Crucifixion and Burial (23:26-56a)
g. The Resurrection – The Fulfillment (23:56b-24:53)

Thematic Study (Noting Proportion/Sensing Atmosphere):
The Themes in the book of Luke are God’s universal work, Jesus as Savior of the world, Event’s of Jesus’ early life, the place of women in Jesus’ ministry and the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Luke traces the ancestry of Jesus to show an emphasis of the universal nature of God’s dealing with the world. Luke focuses on Jesus as savior from the first announcement by the angel (2:11) to his last appearance on earth (24:46-47). When Jesus began his ministry, he opened the scroll and read of his fulfillment of the prophet’s words, thus announcing who he was. Luke also took an interest in the early life of Jesus. Matthew mentions the birth of Jesus, but Luke goes into more detail about his birth, and some of his early life. The other theme that is important to Luke is his emphasizes on women. All the Gospels mention women but Luke goes to greater extents in mentioning women in his Gospel (2:36-38, 7:11-17, 7:36-50, 10:38-42, 13:10-17, 21:1-4 and in the parables 13:20-21, 15:8-10, 18:1-8).

Literary Type & Genre: Luke adopted the geographical style of the Gospel of Mark as the basic pattern for his own Gospel (Nickle, 137). It is said that Luke wrote fine Greek. His polished style of writing was characteristic of the authors of Greek classical period, such as Homer and Sophocles. In his writing style, he was able to adopt a scriptural tone when it suited his purposes. “In effect he was consciously casting his composition into ‘Bible language’”(139).

Who or what is this about? – This Gospel is about Jesus. Luke tells his story of Jesus to help address the faith needs of his community. Matthew tells his story using the fulfillment of prophecy, while Luke uses a similar style with his “And it came to pass” theme. When reading Luke’s Gospel, this theme changes the direction of movement from one event to another while also bringing the reader to the understanding that this is a telling of something that has happened (has been fulfilled). The Gospel of Luke repeatedly discloses the true identity of Jesus to clear away all doubts about who he is.


Why is this so important? – Why is this book written in this way? It is said that Luke’s Gospel was written in this apologetic style to answer the concerns of his community and time. It is suggested that the writing occurred at a time when Roman authorities had begun to differentiate between Judaism and Christianity (159). Luke therefore was writing to clear up any misunderstanding or misinterpretations about Jesus.

What are the implications and assumptions one can take from this book? – One can assume Luke’s mission in presenting the Gospel was to defend the truth about Jesus. He wrote his Gospel to prove Jesus’ promised coming, his promised mission and his promised fulfillment of his ministry. It was important also to Luke that his readers knew Jesus was the savior for not only the Jewish people, but for all people.


What is the setting and why is that important? – The most likely places of this writing of the Gospel were Greece, Caesarea, Alexandria and Rome. There are some that state the true location cannot be discovered. However, wherever he wrote it, it was intended for Christians who may have had a pagan background.

How does this now speak to me? – The Gospel of Luke shows a detailed telling of the life of Jesus. This shows me that nothing was an accident in the unfolding of the life of Jesus. Even the smallest of details were part of God’s plan. The telling for example of John the Baptist’s life is in line with Jesus’ life. This then speaks to me that even the smallest events in my life should be looked at from the mindset that this is part of God’s plan for my life. He was involved in my very beginnings and he wants to be involved in the end. He was in the beginning of Jesus’ life and he was there throughout his earthly ministry. It says to me that God wants that for us as well. He wants to be a part of our entire walk, from beginning to end.

Words of Encouragement

I love the LORD, because he hath heard my voice and my supplications. Because he hath inclined his ear unto me, therefore will I call upon him as long as I live. - Psalm 116:1-2

O PRAISE the LORD, all ye nations: praise him, all ye people. For his merciful kindness is great toward us: and the truth of the LORD endureth for ever. Praise ye the LORD. - Psalm 117

Praise and prayer. These two scriptures have been on my heart for the last week or so. I wanted to share it with you this week.

The first scripture tells us about the writer of this psalm. The psalmist writes that he loves the Lord and he says it is because he has experienced God's care of him. What is that care? When he sought God, God answered. I like the part where it says he inclined his ear towards him. This made me think about a small child calling out to his parent and the parent hearing that small voice even in the midst of noisiness and leaning down to where the child is to look him in the face and hear what he has to say. WOW!

Can you see that visually? God comes to where we are and no amount of "stuff" around us can keep him from hearing us and he knows are voices even in the midst of many voices. He comes close to us and he hears his child. The psalmist says then because of this, he will continually call upon the name of God.

So what is then required of us when we call upon God? The next psalm gives us our direction. We are to praise him because his truth is everlasting. This is a reminder that when we pray we are not to walk away from our prayers as if God did not hear us or that our prayers simply were words that were lost in the air. God inclines his ear so he hears all that you request of him.

Let us realize that prayer and praise goes together. We praise our Lord because of his truth that is everlasting. We have a hope and we should praise him even before we see the results of our prayers. Why should we praise him? Because while we may not have the answer yet, we have the assurance that God has already heard us and that his word is true. He promises to never leave us or forsake us.

Prayer: Lord we praise you name this day. We thank you for answering our prayers and our concerns. We are thankful and rejoice because you are a faithful God and your truth endures forever. Help us your people to rejoice always in all situations as we wait upon you. Amen.

The week in Review

The Image of God: Why Did God Create Me (part 5)?
Written by Minister Jewel D. Williams
December 11, 2008

Conclusion

Towner sums up with his comment, “We are God’s creatures and chosen partners in the work of the creation. We are given ever greater opportunity to be bearers of the divine image, that is, positive, responsible stewards in the world, until the day that God makes all things new.”[1] Man was made in the image of God. This image is found in all humanity. Sin does not destroy the image of God nor does he lose it. However, sin does distort the image of God. The image is man’s ability to have a relationship with God. Sin changes that relationship from a loving one to a hostile one causing man to become God’s enemy. God’s love for mankind caused him to send Jesus so that man could be reconciled back into a right relationship. When man is reconciled to God, man can then live out the purpose for why he was created. Man was created to worship and have fellowship with God. Christ’s gift of the cross allows man to become more like the “son” and therefore to reflect more of the restored image within. Why did God create me? He created man to have a right, loving relationship. He created man to be his partner in the world as man creates more of his kind. That translates for the believer that God requires one to reflect the Son so that others can be drawn and in doing so they too can be restored to a right fellowship.

[1] Towner, “Clones of God,” 356.