Dennis Tuuri

# Sermon Transcript – Reformation Covenant Church
## Pastor Dennis Tuuri

Sermon text for today is Hebrews 10 verse 24. Please stand. Sermon is on reformation. A few things to consider. Hebrews 10:24. And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works. Let’s pray.

Lord God, we thank you for your word. We thank you for this instruction we’re given. Help us, Father, to be a considerate, not an inconsiderate people. Bless us by your Holy Spirit today with the tremendous example of the Lord Jesus Christ in front of us, his consideration for us. May we also, Father, be considerate of one another. Use your word now to change us and transform us by your spirit. In Christ’s name we ask it. Amen.

Please be seated.

In Jeremiah 29:4-7, we read of doing little things well as the key for, I guess you could call it reformation in the context of exile. There will be conversion of the empire. Things will change. The Lord God will have used his people notably to change the world and to convert first the Babylonians and then others. But that will happen. Those marvelous deeds of conversion and a new world and reformation, they’ll happen primarily through small seemingly inconsequential acts of faithfulness to God.

We look at the financial mess we’re in and it’s very complicated, of course. Some would say that it’s too complicated for mankind to figure itself through. This is because the governments that be in the world are trying to do what the Austrian economists—who are not to be seen as a biblical basis for us, but were pretty sound men in different ways—said was impossible: that it’s impossible to organize the banking system, the monetary system, the marketplace from a centralized statist authority. Rather, a providential and sovereign God directs us as we do the simple things well.

So our culture today is awash in all kinds of complexities, difficulties, ups and downs of the stock market, etc. And while men involved in this, I’m sure many of them are good men trying to honor God, I think that much of what we see in terms of the complexity of the issue arises from the state seeing itself essentially as God on earth and having to control all the complexities of a nearly infinitely complex marketplace being the result of activities of men who are made in the image of God—a nearly infinitely complex system as well.

So we have these complexities and perhaps the way out of these complexities for you as an individual, for your family and for your children is simple things. R.C. Sproul Jr. wrote a wonderful little article on the economy of wealth and poverty a month or so ago in the midst of these difficulties and he said, you know, wisdom really is pretty simple. It has this simplicity to it and very simply put he says that you know the problem we have is we’re spending more than we consume or rather we’re consuming more than we produce.

So the simple overall big picture of what’s going on in our economy is a debt-ridden economy and it’s a debt-ridden economy simply because we consume more than we produce. And the way out of this is a simple task of ordinary men and women, people like you and me and our children, teaching them to produce more than they consume. And so that simple truth will produce large effects in the context of our culture, or the rejection of that simple biblical truth that we’re to produce and then consume some of what we produce and we’re not to consume more than we produce.

The rejection of that produces the difficulties we’re in. And the simplicity is something to be marveled at—that really the way out is a long-term solution to produce more than we consume.

We’re gathered on once more on a day in which we celebrate the Protestant Reformation and the great events. Front of your orders of worship today have some pictures reminiscent, reminding us of all these things—great events—and we look to do great things in the context of our world. But Jeremiah reminds us that reformation comes about from very simple, small, inconsequential things done faithfully to God.

And I want to focus our attention today on something that’s small. We’re actually doing already what the text in front of us and its associated texts tell us to do. I want to talk today about a few things to consider. Before we act, we consider. We think. We kind of remember. We meditate. We think things through. And that’s really the point of my sermon.

We’ll be doing a subject study in a couple of minutes going through a particular word that’s translated consider found in Hebrews 10:24 and 13 other texts. But what we’re trying to do, what we’re doing right now, is already doing this in a way.

And Deuteronomy 32:7 says to remember, to consider, to think about the days of old, consider the years of many generations. And when we look back at the Reformation so that we can look forward to our reformation, that’s what we’re doing. We’re considering. Deuteronomy 32:7: remember the days of old. Consider the years of many generations.

Psalm 77:5. I have considered the days of old, the years of another time. So we’re to consider these things.

Now, we know that ultimately we can consider these things as part of the providential acts of God in history. Isaiah 52:15 says, “So shall he sprinkle many nations. The king shall shut their mouths at him. For that which had not been told them shall they see, and that which they had not heard shall they consider.”

So we move from considering things to then speaking a simple word into the context of our situation—whether it’s in Babylon or whether it’s in the Babylonian captivity of the superstitions of the Roman Catholic Church at the time of the reformation or whether it’s in the context of a growing statism of our day—we look back, think what God has done in the Protestant Reformation in the works that he did in the exile. We consider these things and we do it to the end of knowing that the end result of this—just as the kings of the reformation, just as Nebuchadnezzar was brought to a consideration of the things of God—that’s the future for us as well in this land. We don’t know when it’ll happen or in what time, but we do know how. We know it’s through these simple acts of faithfulness and consideration.

Before we even get to simple acts of faithfulness, we consider them. We think about them and we consider what we’re to do.

I’m going to read a couple of definitions. There are several Greek words that are translated to consider or think about. And I want to read several of these definitions and I want them just to kind of wash over us. You know, it’s easy—okay, we got to consider things. So okay, that’s got it. Well, these definitions will help us think about that in a little broader sense.

Hopefully it means: to exert effort in continually acquiring information regarding some matter with the implication of concern as to how to respond appropriately; to be aware of; to be concerned about; to consider. So to think carefully, diligently; to inquire into a matter to the end of being able to think it through and make good actions.

The particular word we’re going to look at today is an intensified form of the word to think. Noetic knowledge means knowledge, and the Greek word—the root for that is the word that we’re going to look at today—the intensified form of the Greek word: to be thinking a lot about; to concentrate one’s discernment toward. Another word is the definition of this other word that’s translated; can mean this: to think about something thoroughly and/or seriously; to think seriously about; to ponder. And the idea is it has a connotation of both intensity of thought and quantity of thought. You know, we could—it’s kind of related to the idea of meditation which is a lost art in our day and age, our busy times and stuff. And I suppose I should preach on meditation.

But meditation it involves a quantity of thought and it also—these terms mean an intensity of thought as we think about particular things. Another definition: to give very careful consideration to some matter; to think about very carefully; to consider closely. To think or reason with thoroughness and completeness; to think out carefully; to reason thoroughly; to consider carefully.

So we have these terms used in the New Testament where we think through things carefully, deliberatively toward an end of understanding and knowing the appropriate action in the midst of a particular consideration.

This is one of the words that’s used in Luke 1:29 when Mary considers the greeting, what it meant—thinking it through, meditating about it, thinking a lot and thinking in a focused way about what had happened to her.

This—the rejection of which in Romans 1:21 leads to destruction. What kind of culture we’ve got today—with the term I heard this last week, the new term is gender queer. People don’t know what gender they are in our movement and stuff, and homosexuality and lesbian. It’s Romans 1. How do they get there? It’s a failure to consider. That’s what it says in Romans 1:21. Their reasoning, their considerations become futile. They can’t think because they’ve rejected the beginning point of proper thinking, which is to thank God and to acknowledge his control of the very thought process.

So we’re in the midst of a nation that’s going slowly mad. I mean that when you move away from Jesus Christ, who is the source of rationality, your thinking, your ability to consider, to meditate, and to think about properly is diminished. You lose that. And so we’re a culture that’s slowly becoming mad.

And would we have it any other way? Would we want a culture to be able to turn from Jesus Christ and still have rationality and make good decisions? I don’t think so. God is gracious and he shows us that you can’t have the fruit without the root—without Jesus Christ.

So there’s the opposite of what we’re talking about: being careless or inconsiderate. And in Matthew 12:36, we’re told that we’re going to have to give account for every careless word—not thinking, not considerate—for every inconsiderate word. Matthew says we’re going to have to give account for the inconsiderate words that we speak. So consideration very important.

You know, one of the books I suppose that you’d want to look at as a kind of a textbook on meditation is Ecclesiastes, right? He’s always saying there, “I beheld, I looked, I considered.” And for instance, in chapter 4:1, he considers the oppression that’s going on. He considers all the living which walk under the sun in chapter 4:15. Chapter 4:4, “I considered all travail in every right work.” Model to us of what you’re supposed to do: consider, think about, meditate on, be considerate.

In Ecclesiastes 7:13, we’re admonished to consider the work of God. So Ecclesiastes is this sort of book that really is kind of given to a meditative state about what he sees.

So the particular word we’re going to do now is one that’s translated—as I said—13 or 14 times in the New Testament. It is this intensified form of the simple act of knowing or thinking about something. So to think with intensity and with a lot of thoughts involved.

Now, Acts 27:39 is one occurrence of this. “When it was day, they knew not the land, but they discovered a certain creek with a shore into which they were minded, if it were possible, to thrust in the ship.” Now that verse is in the context, of course, of one of Paul’s missionary journeys. He’s on a ship that he knows is going to shipwreck and won’t survive—even though every person on it will, if they just hang together. That’s the big narrative going on here in which we find this verse.

So they know by now—he’s already—they’ve already been prideful and ignored Paul’s warnings, the Holy Spirit’s warnings through Paul. They’ve suffered tremendous storm come up. They know that they’re in deep water both metaphorically and literally. They’re in the midst of real problems on the sea. And so, you know, in the morning comes up, they’re desperately looking for what they’re going to do to save themselves. So they considered—they don’t see the land, but they consider this creek that might take them up into land. It might be a place they could get to safety.

So it’s kind of an illustration—this first usage I’m mentioning in Acts. It’s an illustration of what you got to do. So you can say, “Well, they just noticed a creek.” No, they were in trouble. They deeply noticed. They took great care in noticing and finding out about how we’re going to get out of this mess. They considered this creek. They found it through their intensity of looking and thinking. And that’s the sort of work that we’re commanded to do, is commanded of us various places in the scriptures.

And so let’s now talk about what probably is the most important thing to begin with, and that’s with Jesus Christ.

In Hebrews chapter 3 verse 1 we’re told: “Wherefore holy brethren partakers of the heavenly calling consider—intensely think about quantity and time—the apostle and high priest of our profession Christ Jesus.”

So you know, we’re not going to have reformation. We’re not going to have success in converting the nation in which we’ve been placed, in which we’ve been exiled, without starting with a healthy consideration of the Lord Jesus Christ.

You know, we talk a lot about the Lord’s day here and many controversies. What is it? What can we do? What can’t we do? Well, I think that you know this is where it begins. If you’re not going to consider, meditate on, think about what it was this Christ that was presented to you in the context of the worship service the rest of the Lord’s day, well, I doubt you’re going to do it the rest of the week.

So this would be a good day as you move toward sleep tonight and rest to take hands off your own life and to consider the apostle and high priest of our confession, Jesus Christ.

I’m going to spend a little bit more time on this one, very little time on some other references. But on this one, you know, look a little bit at the context. Open your Bibles up. Look at Hebrews 2. This section I’m going to start talking in verse 14. We’ll get to Hebrews 3:1, but in verse 14, and some of you have heard me talk about this a lot, and I like to talk about it a lot because I think it’s so important.

Hebrews 2:14: “For as much then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same.”

So Jesus’s incarnation—with Reformation Sunday, we start to move toward Advent. And in two weeks, I think I’m going to start the beginning of seven Advent sermons on the incarnation of Christ. Why? What do we celebrate at Christmas time? Well, we celebrate the incarnation. He himself took part of the same.

To what purpose? “That through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is the devil, and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetimes subject to bondage.”

Now, this is an important verse in our sanctification. Are you subject to bondage? Are there prevailing sins in your life? Are there sins and difficulties you’re having trouble overcoming? Well, we’re told here in the couple of verses past this that what we’re supposed to do is intensely consider the Lord Jesus Christ, our high priest who took on—who at this very season we’re to remember why he came according to these verses in Hebrews. He came to deliver us and what are we need delivering from? Bondage, servitude to sin.

Through what mechanism does this work in our lives psychologically? How does this work? It works because the devil has placed us in fear of death. And it’s fear of death that makes us sin. It was fear of death, so to speak, that made Adam and Eve sin. They didn’t want—for God to have lied to them. They were fearful of God. And as a result, they sin. And man, and what is their first relationship to God after that? They’re fearful. They’re hiding from the very one who loves them so much that he’s provided everything for them.

That’s who we are. The key to release from sin, life dominating sins—the key to release from sins that trouble us, that are always on us—one of the main keys is this idea of meditating, considering the high priest Jesus Christ. And we’re told a few verses before this to consider specifically his atonement: that through his death you were released from fear of death. And as you appropriate, as you consider, meditate on Jesus Christ and his atonement for your sins, his dying for you—you see, as you meditate upon that, the Holy Spirit will release you increasingly from bondage to sin.

We’re to meditate. Consider a few things to consider: Reformation begins with considering the glorious liberty that is now ours because of the atoning death of Jesus Christ. When we consider that, it changes everything.

Jesus died so that you might be freed from death. You know, nobody is saved to be selfish. If you somehow think through a consideration of who Jesus is—that because he’s God, because he exists in the form of God, his way is to die for you and to serve you—now, if you think Christianity has brought you to salvation so that you can do whatever you want, you’re not a Christian in the Bible believing sense of the term. You’re—you’ve not been saved if you’re selfish. I mean, it just—it’s a different Jesus.

The Jesus of the scriptures is one who has died to deliver you. For what purpose? To be like him, to serve others. No one is saved to selfishness, to be selfish. We’re all saved to serve other people.

Consideration of Jesus Christ on the Lord’s day. Few things to consider. Think about this. Things that make you pause. Huh? How about that? Jesus died.

Secondly, in verse 17: “Wherefore in all things it behooved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest.”

Well, a consideration of Jesus means he’s merciful and faithful. That’s great. If he was merciful but not faithful, not so good. If he was faithful but not merciful, well, now we got a judging, stern God who’s not merciful toward us. But he’s both these things. He’s merciful and he’s faithful. He’s going to do exactly what you need. It may not feel like it to you, but if you rely upon the fact that he’s faithful in his mercifulness toward you, this is good news.

This is a Jesus the consideration of which is absolutely essential for, you know, having us walk in liberty and with freedom in service to others.

Jesus—a consideration of Jesus is: he’s merciful. He’s gone through it, folks. He’s gone through what you’ve gone through. He’s sympathetic. He knows what it’s like. Now, he’s not so sympathetic he says it’s okay that you’re sinning. No, he’s faithful. But he’s merciful. He’s compassionate. He’s empathetic. He went through it. He knows what temptations are like. He learned obedience through suffering.

Another thing that the consideration of which we will never plumb the depths of—that mystery. I hope to talk about that during Lent season. But our Lord Jesus Christ, he’s sympathetic. That’s something real important to consider and to think about, to meditate upon the fact that Jesus has released us, but he’s also a merciful and faithful high priest. He made reconciliation for the sins of his people. He set us free from fear of death, but he’s also done that by reconciling us, by atoning for our sins.

A meditation of that atonement, you see, and the fact that he’s merciful and compassionate—

Third, verse 18: “For in that he himself has suffered being tempted, he is able to succor them that are tempted.”

He’s not just merciful, but he is able. And the idea isn’t that he’s able and won’t exercise it. He is able and will exercise succoring, giving you comfort in the midst of temptation. You know, my wife—I mentioned this before—but she found this wonderful passage. And again, Lent season, I think I’ll preach on this text. Jesus is sweating drops of blood and you know this unusual language draws us to the narrative and what’s going on. And there’s some things that match up and a little structure to that story. And at the very middle of the sufferings of Jesus Christ in the garden, an angel comes and ministers to him.

Now, why? Consider that. Think about it. Well, it’s to remind us in union with Jesus we go through sufferings. We go through difficulties, trials, and temptations and we can count on union with Christ that the Lord Jesus Christ himself through his spirit comes to succor us, to give us comfort in the midst of our trials and temptations. A meditation on Jesus Christ. He brings comfort to us in the midst of stuff that nobody else understands.

Oh, you know, “nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen, nobody knows but Jesus.” And that is true. But he does know and he’s sympathetic. And not only is he sympathetic, he’s active in succoring you and bringing you comfort because he in like ways was tempted.

And then verse one—you consider him. Verse two: “Who was faithful to him that appointed him even as Moses also was faithful in all his house.”

So we’ve got these great truths presented to us about Jesus. He died so that we could be released from fear of death, which led to bondage to sin. He died for our sins to make reconciliation with those. He died sympathetically as our high priest. And not only that, he’ll be both sympathetic and faithful. And he’ll succor us. He’ll bring us comfort. And in all of these things—that’s all good things about him—but now, what’s stressed is his faithfulness.

Consider him. He is the epitome. He is the gold standard of faithfulness. Moses was faithful over his house, but Jesus is the one that made the house, the church, and owner of it. And he is more faithful even by way of picture or analogy than the great and faithful Moses. Jesus is the gold standard of faithfulness. Consider it. Don’t be tempted to not believe—or to believe rather—that he won’t be faithful. Jesus were to consider his faithfulness.

Verse six: “Christ is a son over his own house whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing and the hope firm unto the end.”

The consideration of Jesus Christ isn’t just to make us feel better. It is that. But a consideration of this thing to consider leads us to action. It leads us to steadfastness. If we do these things, then we’re to hold fast the confidence. We meditate on Christ to the end that we in union with him would also be faithful where God has placed us. That we’d hold fast the confidence, the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.

So this consideration leads to our faithfulness. Then we become like him as we meditate upon him and think about him and who he is and what he’s accomplished for us and all of its wonderful glory—that we can just touch briefly upon today. Can we plumb the depths of a consideration of the apostle and high priest of our faith in the remaining Lord’s days we have as we draw breath on this life? Do we have enough Sabbaths to consider the work of the Lord Jesus Christ and say, “Okay, I’m done with that now.” No. No, we don’t. We got plenty of stuff to occupy ourselves on the Lord’s day.

Consideration of Jesus Christ to the end that we might be faithful.

And then verse seven: “Wherefore as the Holy Ghost says that if you’ll hear his voice, don’t harden your hearts.”

It’s all moving toward a purpose: our obedience.

Now this same basic idea is in Hebrews 12:3. “Consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest you be wearied and faint in your minds.”

Talking to people that have had a tough time, little tiny church meeting in a big city, opposition, persecution from the Jews. Those Romans are getting pretty nasty, too. It doesn’t look good. And he says, “Well, I know it doesn’t look good.” He doesn’t deny any of their problems or difficulties they’re going through. And I’m not telling you to have Pollyanna faith and just sort of whistle past the graveyard. No, Jesus is that faithful high priest.

You’re going through troubles, some of you. Deep troubles for some of you. I know you and I know it’s hard. And this verse tells us it’s hard. But understand that the way you get through those tough waters is to consider Jesus Christ because he endured contradiction of sinners against himself—kind of thing that you won’t have to endure as much as he did.

So a consideration—first thing to consider is Jesus. This is the same message as given to us in general terms in the Old Testament.

Deuteronomy 4:39. “Now therefore know this day, and consider it in thine heart, that the Lord, he is God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath. Thou shalt therefore keep his statutes and his commandments.”

So again, there, see, it’s the same thing. Consider, intensely think about, meditate upon God himself and his character to the end that then you will be strengthened to keep his commandments. Don’t—it’s not willpower. You know, sanctification isn’t just trying harder the next time. It comes first from no action at all in terms of physical action of you, but a mental focusing of yourself on the person of God and specifically in Hebrews, the person of Jesus Christ.

You know, the entire premise of all these verses is that you’re supposed to control your thoughts. You can do that. You have control. Now, we don’t today. We’re not taught when we’re little to control what we’re thinking. But the Bible says, not only can we, but it is absolutely essential. If you can’t control your thoughts to consider Jesus, you’re not going to be faithful. You’re not going to be freed from the bondage of sin because of the fear of death. You won’t move on to keep his statutes and commandments correctly.

If you don’t think and discipline your thoughts, can you do it today? Can you make it all the way to bedtime trying to be diligent in considering Christ and his people and being with them and making this day unlike the other days—different—so that when you go back to your normal stuff, your normal recreations tomorrow, your normal movies, your normal music, your normal vocation, all that stuff, that you’ve done it with this day of consideration of Christ, that’ll inform you and change how you go about doing that week to week and day to day.

Deuteronomy 8:5. “Consider in your heart that as a man chasteneth his son, so the Lord thy God chastens thee.”

When times are tough, when mom or dad bring chastisement to you, or when your church elders bring formal discipline against you, or informal admonitions and exhortations, and are seem stern with you, when your employee or employer rather—you know—chastens you. Understand a meditation of God: he chastens his children. A thinking through at that moment will change the way you respond to that difficulty.

Even though those people and authorities may be doing things improperly—they always will. I mean, it’s always I guess it’s not the—I don’t like this phrase “lesser of two evils.” Well, it’s always sort of like that. None of us is God incarnate. Everything we do has this tinge of difficulty, but with a lack of knowledge and a lack of complete moral rectitude to it. We’re all going to mess up.

But beyond it, behind it, a consideration of who God is reminds us that in the difficult times, we don’t lose hope. We know that it’s a demonstration of what it appears not to be: the love of God for us because he chastens his sons.

1 Samuel 12:24. “Fear the Lord. Serve him in truth with all your heart, for consider how great things he has done for you.”

Consider how great. Well, that’s what we’re doing every Lord’s day. It’s a remembrance. It’s a consideration of the great things that God has done for you. For you personally, Jesus has done this stuff. He’s done it. Consider it.

And this verse goes on to say the next verse, 25: “But if you shall still do wickedly, you shall be consumed, both you and the king.”

How do you—how do you avoid being consumed and destroyed? Through a consideration of the grace and mercy and love of God. And if you reject and spurn that love and do wickedly in spite of it, well, then there’s no hope for you.

Job 34:27. “Because they turn back from him and would not consider any of his ways.”

Again, sin—a turning back—is linked directly to a failure to meditate, to think intensively about the ways of God. The ways of God. That’s what the Lord’s day is: consider it.

All right. Now we move on. Point two in the outline. I told you I spent more time on that. We’ll do quickly with some of these others.

Nature. And I’m just going through the verses, all the verses that use this intensified form of thought or consider. So here’s a few things to consider. It’s not my list. It’s the Bible’s list based on this particular word.

So in Luke 12:24, we’re to consider—well, actually, yeah, verse 24, consider the ravens. You know the story here. And then later in the Acts it says to consider the lilies. Verse 27.

So what is this? These are the natural order. And it’s when we say that we sort of think, well, but it’s a God created natural order. And he’s given it to us to meditate on, to think about, and to draw lessons from it. You know, consider the lilies. Well, you know, you probably got to get down on your hands and knees to consider them. If you want to look at how beautifully dressed they are, get down there and look at them. You’re supposed to do that. Consider it. Look at these things, man. It’s beautiful. These lilies, right? Beautiful things.

When you walk around today, we take it all for granted. I just—the older I get, the more delighted I am to see the trees around us, the clouds, the sky. Grass grows upward. No matter what the economists do this week, you know, no matter what how crazy the culture gets, the grass grows toward heaven. Reaches up. Consider nature.

And of course, the end result of this consideration in the gospel accounts of considering the ravens and lilies is so that you don’t have to worry about that stuff. But even there, consider what the text tells us. It says, don’t worry about it. We need to hear that today more than ever, right? I mean, as Lars said, his 401k is a 101k now. Well, you know, calm down. Consider how God takes care of his creatures.

But that’s not the end of the story. Of course, in the gospel accounts in Matthew and Luke of this story, this is to the end that you’d seek the kingdom of God and all these things shall be added unto you. It’s not you can just sit back and relax and say, “The world owes me a living and just kick back.” No, it’s to consider these things that you get right priorities about seeking the kingdom and not running after all this stuff and checking your stocks every day and the price of gold every day. All forget that stuff. Seek the kingdom. Okay?

So a consideration of nature. Again, this is Old Testament as well.

Psalm 8:3. “When I consider the heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars which thou hast made.” What is man? God exalts man above the heavens. You’re supposed to go outside, look at the sun, look at the moon, look at the stars. You’re supposed to meditate on it in relationship to you. You’re an itty bitty little thing. And yet, in union with Christ, you’ve been given dominion over all of this.

Consideration of the natural order.

Proverbs 6 and Chapter 24—both of them you’re supposed to consider. Well, in chapter six, you consider the ant. Consider the ways of the ant. Suppose now you get really close down to the earth. Consider that ant. Or I guess these days you got magnifiers and ant farms and stuff. So you look at the ant, you look at the natural order. You’re supposed to learn from a meditation and intensified thought about a few things to consider.

Reformers were diligent because they considered the way of the ant. That’s what we’re supposed to be like: diligent guides, right? One day in seven we rest, six days we work. Consider the ways of the ants and be wise.

Then on the other hand, in Proverbs 24:32: “I walked by the house of the sluggard and I saw everything was broken down and I considered that too.”

So two things were to meditate on in the natural order: the ant on the one hand and then the destruction that happens to the slothful man’s house on the other. We’re to consider that, to think about it.

Third, we’re to consider unnatural things too in the New Testament.

Acts 7:31. Peter has just been released. No, that’s not right. Oh, this is okay. 7:31. This is Moses. He sees the burning bush. Description going out in Acts chapter 7, the sermon there about Moses. And in verse 31: “When Moses saw it, he wondered at the site. And as he drew near to behold it, the voice of the Lord came unto him, saying, ‘I am the God of thy fathers and the God of Abraham.’”

God reveals himself to Moses in an unnatural event. But what would have happened if Moses hadn’t considered it and drawn near? I don’t know. But the text wants us to tie those things together. He saw something odd happen, not natural. Now, the natural stuff we can learn from the unnatural things—the things that are odd—that are happening around about us. We’re supposed to think about those things, too, and not just blow them off as some weird occurrence.

Moses considered it. He was a thinking man, a contemplative man, a meditative man. He—well, you’re saying, “I would too if I saw something weird like that.” Well, maybe you would. Maybe you wouldn’t. Maybe you just run away. He considered it and drew closer to understand it more. And as a direct result of that in the text, then God speaks to him out of the middle of the burning bush.

Unnatural things are things we’re supposed to consider as well. I didn’t—you know, it’s not my verse. That’s just where that Greek word is found: is in Moses considering this thing.

Now we get to the Peter text in Acts 12:12. This is a different word, but it’s the same basic truth. Peter has been released from prison. The gates open up and huh, look at that. He says—and he walks out the gates of the prison and everybody, nobody’s stopping him and he’s released. And you know, it’s the middle of the night and he’s been released in a weird way. And then verse 12 says: “When he had considered the thing. He came to the house of Mary, the mother of John.”

Seems like a consideration of the unnatural events that had just happened led him to a particular action of going to someone’s house. And the text goes on to tell us that house is where people were praying. There’s nothing charismatic about this. This is just the normal way. We’re supposed to consider what’s going on. And as we consider things—the unnatural things and the natural things—the Lord God will lead and guide and direct us in a way that’s good, useful for the kingdom.

Peter considers what the odd things that had just happened to him and as a result makes a decision to go to the house of Mary, the mother of Mark, and which is where the prayer meeting is going on as it turns out.

Dreams. Acts 11:6. I know this isn’t quite dreams—it’s more of a vision—but you know, it was about nap time when Peter is up on that roof in the book of Acts in chapter 11. He’s recounting this story. You know, he’s going to be called to go to a Gentile, to Cornelius, a faithful man, and to accept him into the church. And you know, Peter has these unbiblical religious scruples about the Gentiles not being able to eat with such one, etc.

And the Lord God takes him up at the top of the house where they would take naps after lunch. And he has this vision. So I don’t know if it’s a dream, a vision. I’ve heard both ways. But he sees this thing coming down with all manner of four-footed beasts in it. This thing being lowered by God. And so Peter takes that vision and meditates on it. He thinks about it. He considers it. And as a result of considering it, God gives him knowledge of what he’s supposed to do. And then things start happening and the visitors come to the door and that’s that.

Again, we see these great acts of reformation being accomplished. This case by Peter going to Cornelius. But the text wants us to realize that there’s this step in there of consideration now of dreams or visions. And it’s interesting in the Old Testament, you see the same sort of thing going on in a couple of places in Daniel 7:8.

Daniel’s got this vision going on and he considers the horns. He’s thinking about the horns. And behold, there came up among them another little horn before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots. So the text want—and we just blow by it—but he’s thinking about the horns. He’s considering it and then more—a little horn comes up out of it. The revelation increases as he considers it.

Same thing happens in Daniel 8:5. “As I was considering this vision, behold, and he goat came from the west on the face of the whole earth.”

Maybe if he’s not considering it, that’s the end. And God says, “Well, the guy’s, you know, not paying attention. Got to pay attention here. I have dreams and they’re not all meaningful. Many of them probably aren’t. I consider them. I think that’s proper. I think we all ought to be considering dreams and strange things that happen to us. And dreams are pretty strange. And I think that as we—if you don’t think about your dreams, they’re probably—but if you do meditate on them and think about them, I think that the text sort of shows us that God will then move you ahead.

He wants you to begin reformation and obedience and understanding more of his ways through a consideration of what he’s already given you. Whether it’s the natural order, the unnatural order, dreams, whatever it is, he wants you to think about that stuff. You’re supposed to be a thinking people by considering people.

And when I have dreams, I think about them. And yes, they do change my decisions or not change, but intensify a decision one way or the other. I don’t think that’s wrong. I don’t think it’s weird. I think it would be weird to be like modern man and just think your dreams are just some sort of bit of undigested meat or something as Scrooge thought, right? No, they’re not.

We don’t understand them, but I do believe that God gives us to them, particularly if we remember them, to think about them a little bit, to meditate upon them. So I think that’s the text I think draws us in that way.

Ourselves. James 1:19-27, we’re supposed to think about ourselves.

Says uh—or does it say this? Well, I’ll just begin reading it.

Oh, verse 23: “If a man is a hearer and not a doer of the word, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass.”

So the idea is he says you’re supposed to look, consider, behold. It’s the same word here. You’re supposed to consider intensified thought about who you are as you look at the word of God. Now, does it mean that you’re supposed to see what a sinner you are, or does it mean you’re supposed to see what a saint you are? I kind of think the latter.

Now, it does say his natural face, but the word here for natural it means generation. His generated face, maybe his newly generated face. I don’t know. But the text goes on in verse 22 to say, “Be doers of the word.” And it also goes on to say, verse 25: “Who so lookth into the perfect law of liberty and contin.” It seems like analogy is that we’re supposed to behold who we are in Jesus Christ by examining the perfect law of liberty by thinking about, meditating upon our union with Jesus Christ.

And so we’re supposed to understand who we are as Christians. I don’t think it’s pointing us back to our sinful nature as much as it’s pointing us to who we really are now. We should be training our kids: we don’t want you to be a Christian. You are a Christian. We want you to act unhypocritically like who you really are. And when you do sinful things, you’re not acting out who you are. You’re playing a role as somebody else—who people used to be before they were converted.

So I think that we’re supposed to—I know we’re supposed to—consider ourselves and not forget. And this is linked to a consideration of who we are in relationship to the perfect law of liberty. And the end result of that will be that we’ll be doers of the word, not merely hearers.

So in order to do what I’m telling you today—to think and consider about things—you’re supposed to look in that perfect law of liberty. See, that’s who I am as a Christian. I’m supposed to consider things. And then this week, you’re going to go away and when you have a dream or when you have somebody talk to you or when you look at your wife or your husband or your kids or when you look at your vocation, you’re going to consider things a little more. You’re going to be a bit more meditative because you’ll be a doer of this word and not just a hearer.

We’re supposed to consider who we are. Part of that, of course, is to consider our sins.

Matthew 7:3. Don’t take the mote out of your brother’s eye. But consider, think intensely about something to consider here is the beam in your own eye.

Now, the whole point of the story is not leaving your poor neighbor with a piece of wood in his eye. Now, God—that’s not the point of the story. The point is God wants you to help the guy take the piece of wood out of his eye, but the way you’re going to help him is to consider your own sin, to consider your sinfulness. Get rid of that first, then go and help your brother.

The idea is not just to avoid judgment and avoid trying to help people. It’s just the opposite. We’re not saved to selfishness. We’re saved to serve and we’ll serve best when we consider our sinfulness and what our sinfulness is doing in terms of helping or hindering other people.

We’re to consider ourselves: who we are in Christ and we’re also to consider the degrees of sinfulness. Haggai 1:5 and 7. “Now therefore thus says the Lord of hosts, consider your ways.” He says again verse 7: “Consider your ways.”

We’re supposed to meditate upon our sinfulness so that we can remove it through repentance so that we can help other people. So we do have to think about our sin and your pastors are here as well.

Leviticus 13:13. “The priest shall consider, ‘Behold, if the leprosy have overspread all of his flesh, he shall pronounce him clean.’”

Now, okay, so what’s going on is there’s this inspection. And so if it’s just white skin everywhere, you know, then he’s clean. He can come back. If he can see raw flesh, then he can’t—he’s not clean. He’s got to still be cleansed for. He’s unclean.

Point is, the priest had to look really hard. He had to look over your body. Is there any raw flesh? I got to look this thing over. And it’s a metaphor, of course, for sinfulness, the effects of the fall or uncleanness.

So your pastors are supposed to consider you, to think about you, particular to the table until we’re sure this thing isn’t there anymore—more so a careful consideration of our own sins and then as we’re called to—as priests—other people’s sins as well.

So you know, it’s unthinking about our sins that make us stupid. We’re to consider our own calling—not our abilities.

Here’s another verse in First Kings 5 verse—no that’s not the right verse. The verse is chapter 4 Romans 4:19. “Being not weak in faith he—that’s Abraham—considered not his own body now dead.”

So you know the story: he’s—you know, God’s going to give you a child. Well, my wife is well past bearing children. Her body is dead in terms of generation. My body is dead. I’m too old to have children. But God had called him to be—to have kids.

Now it’s a wonderful thing Abraham doesn’t meditate on his weaknesses or disabilities on his natural ability to carry out what God has called him to do. He meditates on the calling of God.

One of the most important pieces of advice I give to married couples—are those about to get married. Don’t rely on your giftings. It won’t pull you through it. You’ll know how poorly equipped you are to be a parent when the kids start coming. But you also—so don’t meditate on your lack of ability. Meditate on your calling from God. That’s what Abraham did. He didn’t meditate on his inabilities, his own ability to do a task. He meditated instead on whether God had called him.

Now, some of you are self-called. And that’s bad.

I’m not doing that.

Hyram—when Solomon asked Hyram to help with the temple construction—he considered the matter. It says, and he, you know, when you build a house or a tower, you’re supposed to consider it. I’m not saying don’t consider your abilities at all in terms of vocation. You got to do that. But I’m saying that if God calls you to a task, don’t meditate on your inability to Philip rely on God’s calling, not natural abilities.

Eight: we’re to consider one another. Most important application, I suppose, is number eight here.

We’re to consider one another. And that’s the text I started with at the beginning of today: is how, you know, we’re supposed to consider one another to provoke unto love and good deeds.

So you know, this is so important. This is so important. I decided to do this sermon a week or so ago in Houston. I was sitting around a room with Ralph Smith. And Ralph had been with an older pastor, man, I don’t know, East Coast somewhere. And he said, the man was such a godly fellow. He was so considerate of other people. And Ralph said, “I’m just an inconsiderate man.”

Now, don’t tell him I repeated that confession to you, but I’m sure he wouldn’t mind. “I’m just so inconsiderate,” he says, “of other people, you know,” and we’re at this presbytery meeting and a lot of our difficulties result from inconsideration of one another. Doesn’t mean you change what your position is or what you want to say necessarily, but it does mean you have to consider the impact of what you’re saying on the other person.

What do you want from the other person in your relationship? What do you want for the relationship? What do you want for yourself? Think through that stuff before you start talking and taking action.

Where do consider one another. Now the end is to provoke. So it doesn’t mean an overconsideration that is just, you know, smarmy nice because the consideration actually leads to a provocation—to kind of jabbing somebody encouragement—not to the end in itself but that provoke them to love and good works.

So what this means is you and I need somebody else to think about us, and we need a lot of somebody else’s to consider us—to think intensely and long about us in terms of the best way to provoke—to move you toward and to move me toward—love and good works.

Now in Hebrews, this is given to all the congregation. That’s who the recipients of the sermon are. So I want you today to commit to thinking about the people in the pews today. To think about and to consider the people who you walk past today in the hallways or who you might have a conversation with.

We usually are considering our friends. That’s easy. But what about the people that aren’t our friends? That’s tougher. And that’s who the people are that we need commandment from God to consider—to think upon. What do they need? Maybe they need a strong word. Maybe they need just a hug. Consider one another.

We’re trying to build a church that transforms the fallen world. What do we do? So we’re trying to, you know, dress up on Sunday and try to do good and I understand all that and I like it, but some person comes to faith in Christ and they walk in the door and they’ve got 25 tattoos and three piercings. Are we considering them in what we’re doing here and greeting people? I don’t know that we are.

Now, are we considering one another if we all start, oh, let’s just all wear tattoos and piercings and forget the dressing up. Let’s just, you know, that’s not considering one another. That’s not considering the well-being of our children. I don’t think we can have it. You know, seems like most churches today go one way or the other. They reach out to people that are, you know, kind of moving toward Christ. So they don’t want to put up any walls, or they’re trying so hard to develop a godly Christian culture. They’re not considering that they have to in the body of Christ bring in all elements at various phases of sanctification.

Now, I think we can be a congregation that does both, but it’s not going to be easy. It’s going to be considering our relationship to people that walk in that door. And you know, when some people walk in that door, you know, I have certain guys in mind who I want to greet them. And when other people walk in that door, those are not the guys I have in mind. I have other guys in mind to greet them.

There are members of our congregation that are quite good at giving a sense of acceptance. Maybe they’ve got tattoos, who’s, you know, maybe they’ve got whatever it is. They’re the ones who should be bringing those people in and being friendly to them and greeting them. That’s being considerate toward our visitors, you see.

So it changes what we do. So in terms of the overall structure of the church, before we start acting with people, let’s think about what it’s going to be. What’s going to be the effect of a particular course of action? Consider one another.

If we’re going to have reformation, if we’re going to take our little island of exile here in the midst of an increasingly nutty country—a nuts country—we’re going to need community life. We got to rebuild community. If we’re going to have community, it’s going to come about as we consider each other, particularly the members that are less likely to come across our consideration.

So don’t make a commitment today to consider a few people, maybe even know who they are right now. Don’t make them your friends. Don’t make them your—well, I want you to go home and be considerate of your friends. And I want you to go home and be considerate of your wives and to be considerate of your husbands. Be considerate of your children. I want the children to be considerate of their parents. Absolutely. That must be done this week if you’ve heard this word today from God’s word, God’s scripture.

The spirit is motivating you to make those kind of actions. But I’m asking you now to think of one or two other people that you might see today, to make a commitment to consider them, to pray about them, how to encourage them, how to provoke them to love and to good works. That’s what we’re supposed to do. We’re not saved to be selfish. That’s how party spirit comes in, by the way, because we’re selfish in groups now. That’s all party spirit is: selfishness in groups.

God says we’re a community. We got crazy uncles here, you know, and you got to be considerate of the crazy uncle. You don’t let him be harmful, but you’re considerate of it.

So God’s word tells us that we’re to be considerate. We’re to think upon people, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together. We always make that an application of Lord’s day. That’s what the first application is. I’m convinced the text—that’s what it’s saying—but it’s saying more than that. Consider each other that people have need of community. What we do here is practice community in a right way so that we can engage in reformation in the context of the weak.

So the ones you might consider are the ones that have less community: individuals, singles, people that don’t have as many friends, right? They’re the ones you need to consider that you don’t want to forsake the assembling of them with. Some of us do that. We forsake the assembling with all kinds of people. We act as if they’re excommunicated or something when they’ve—there’s nothing happening—just because we haven’t considered the effects of our actions positively or negatively.

We begin with the consideration of Christ and we then move eventually to consideration of one another. And then finally—the last reference that Jesus talked about directly in terms of himself—was enemies.

Luke chapter 20. He was answering these people but he perceived their craftiness and then his answer results from his perception of their craftiness. We must be discerning of potential enemies in the context of the land. Consideration can be—you know—this nicer than Jesus—kind of being considerate people. No. Consideration involves a recognition, a thinking through. Enemies will be a reality in the context of the world. The word of Jesus and it’s one thing that he says we’re to draw our attention to as well: enemies.

We can defeat those enemies. We will defeat those enemies. The church of Jesus Christ will prosper. Reformation will come to the land again. The emperor will be converted. The empire will become a place of witness of the Lord Jesus Christ once again. Great things will happen.

The question isn’t whether they’ll happen or not. The question is what will our participation in those great things be? And our participation will increase as we become a considerate, thoughtful, deliberative, meditative people—particularly of Christ and our neighbors, but also recognizing that we’re in the midst of a land in which we have many enemies as well. And we don’t answer enemies the same way we answer friends and members of the body of Christ.

May the Lord God grant reformation in our day. Tremendous things through simple acts and not even acts at all—as we think of them. Not doing anything except thinking, considering and meditating.

Let’s pray.

Lord God, it is with delight that we have spent some time here today meditating on the great blessings of Jesus Christ, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We give you thanks for the wondrous works you have done and accomplished. Help us do such wondrous works toward one another as well through a consideration of one another to move each other to love and good works in Jesus name we ask it. Amen.