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October 13, 2019 Magnify: Identity
Magnify: Identity
Romans 6:1-14
John 1:1-18
Last week we started the Magnify part of our sermon series. We talked about what it means to magnify and how we are going to look at different aspects of our lives so that we can follow our theme verse of Psalm 34:3: “Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together!” In our first week we magnified our worship. Today we magnify our identity.
There is a video of a woman calling Pizza Hut to ask if children eat for free on Tuesday according to a coupon. Pizza Hut said yes and asked how old the child is. The woman said 39, I am a child of God. Pizza Hut responded that children of God did not count. The woman responded immediately, “No, no, no, we count. It’s funny that you say that because I was reading in the Word that Matthew 5:9 says ‘Blessed are the peacemakers because they will be called the sons of God. I’m not a son, but I am a child of God so I will be there ma’am thank you.”
What is your identity? Typically if you have to provide proof of who you are you show your driver’s license, passport, school ID, or other forms of identification. How do you answer the question when someone asks you to describe yourself? Perhaps your identity is in the things that you like such as family, sports, music, traveling, etc. Maybe it is in your career/job. Maybe it is in your relationships of being a spouse, a parent, a friend, etc. It may be in the negative aspects of life in which you are still struggling, whether in the present or the past.
Today we are so lost that we can’t even identify our gender anymore. There is a video on YouTube from the Family Policy Institute of Washington in which the journalist, being a 5’9” Caucasian male, asks students the following questions:
--So if I told you I was a woman what would your response be?
--If I told you I was Chinese what would your response be?
--If I told you I was 7 years old what would your response be?
--If I said I was 6’5” what would you say?
--Would you be willing to tell me I’m wrong?
Most of the answers were “good for you,” “be who you are,” “I may have questions, but if that is what you believe,” or “it’s not my place to draw lines or boundaries.”
The conclusion at the end, made by the journalist, was “It should not be hard to tell a 5’9” white guy he’s not a 6’5” Chinese woman. But clearly it is. Why? What does that say about our culture? And what does that say about our inability to answer the questions that are actually difficult?
In another video this company asks students about knowing the differences between men and women. The conclusion statement that is made by the journalist was: “There may be nothing more self-evident in the universe than the fact that every animal species is divided into two halves: male and female. Yet, the most intelligent of those species seems to be wrestling with whether ‘male or female’ are actually real things.”
God knew this as it says in Isaiah 29:16: “You turn things upside down, as if the potter were thought to be like the clay! Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, “You did not make me”? Can the pot say to the potter, “You know nothing”? We can in so many ways lose our identity in God, thinking that we know better, trying to reverse God’s plan. Isaiah 64:8 says, “Yet you, Lord, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.”
John 1:1-13 tells us that “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not understood it.” We read about the beginning of all things in Genesis chapter one. We see how God created us male and female. John tells us here that Jesus is the light of all mankind, and our sinful nature is the darkness. We often don’t understand who we are, thinking we know better and thus not knowing the light and giving in to earthly notions.
John continues “There was a man sent from God whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.” We are called to be witnesses of the light of Jesus so that all might believe. We are not that light and thus should not act like we are by putting our identity into worldly things, rejecting the light of Jesus and remaining in worldly darkness.
“The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.” Know your True identity of being a child of God. Our identity is not in human decisions, but in being created by God.
1 John 3:1 says, “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!”
2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”
Romans 6:1-7 tells us, “What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.”
Our identity is being a child of God. Our old sinful selves that wants to make decisions instead of listening to God is buried in the grave. Our new selves, being washed in the waters of baptism, are resurrected with Christ. Knowing our true identities leads us to make the good confession. That good confession is telling others who we are as Christ did.
Paul tells us in 1 Timothy 6:11-13, “But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Pontius Pilate made the good confession.” After Jesus was arrested, He was asked many questions. Most of them He did not answer. The questions that He did answer were those about His identity.
Mark 14:60-62, “And the high priest stood up in the midst and asked Jesus, “Have you no answer to make? What is it that these men testify against you?” But he remained silent and made no answer. Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?” And Jesus said, “I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.” Jesus did not respond to false accusations, but did clearly answer who He was. Make that same confession to others of what your identity truly is.
1 John 1:5-10, “This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 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 cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.”
Jesus calls us to deny ourselves, take up your cross and follow Him. We are first to deny ourselves and what we think is best before we can follow Him. When we understand who we are and who He is and what He has done for us, then we can understand our True identities in a dark world. We are sinners and thus we confess. We are not righteous in any way, but God is. Thus we help others to see the light of Jesus and continually praise Him for our True identity in being a child of God!
Amen!
October 6, 2019 Magnify: Worship God
Magnify: Worship
Colossians 3:12-17
John 4:19-24
We have learned over the month of September what it means to Multiply God’s Word. Today we get into what it means to Magnify God’s Word. The word magnify means to make (something) appear larger than it is, especially with a lens or microscope. Therefore we are going to take a closer look at some of the Godly aspects of our lives. Our theme verse for this part of our series is from Psalm 34:3, “Magnify the Lord with me; let us exalt his name together.” The Hebrew word for magnify can mean to “make great” or “glorify.” Thus some translations say Glorify the Lord with me. Look at what it says, we are to Magnify the Lord, not ourselves or other worldly things. And once again notice how we are to do this together. Today we are going to take a closer look at what it means to worship our God.
Psalm 150 states:
Praise the Lord.
Praise God in his sanctuary;
Praise him in his mighty heavens.
Praise him for his acts of power;
Praise him for his surpassing greatness.
Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet,
praise him with the harp and lyre,
praise him with timbrel and dancing,
praise him with the strings and pipe,
praise him with the clash of cymbals,
praise him with resounding cymbals.
Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord!
Everything we have that is good is from God. He is the creator of all things. Yet we take His good creation and we abuse it, mistreat it, and ruin it. One of the most truthful statements that can be said is forgive them Father for they know not what they do (Luke 23:34). Yet God loves us unconditionally. So much that He sent his one and only Son to die for us, so that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16). Jesus is certainly worthy of our praise. Without Him we would all perish, but because of Him we have eternal life. Therefore we should praise Him in all we do. We are here, hopefully today to praise Him and not just to check it off our list. I pray that we are also here to praise Him with our hearts, not just our mouths in going through the motions.
In John 4:19-24 we read about the woman at the well. Before reading Gospel reading for today, we find Jesus on His travels and coming to a well in a Samaritan village. Jesus explains to a Samaritan woman that everyone who drinks from the well she is going to draw water from will still be thirsty, but whoever drinks from the water that He gives will never be thirsty again. She of course wants some of that water. Jesus then tells her things that no one knows. Our reading then picks up from there.
“Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.” “Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”
Worship is not confined to just one place. Whether we worship in a school cafeteria, an office building, someone’s backyard, or in a church building, worship comes from the heart not the place. What is more important is what you are worshipping. The Samaritans and many others worship what they do not know. We, as Christians, worship what we do know. We worship a God revealed in Scripture and revealed in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Jesus tells us that true worshipers must worship in Spirit and in truth. It revolves around and is anchored in the revelation of God’s Word and praises Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It hates sin and is filled with joy over the grace and mercy that is freely given to us in Jesus Christ. It trusts in the promises of God and it proclaims the Gospel message to all people. True worship comes from the heart! So many may say if that is true then why go to church? Scripture tells us the answer in Hebrews 10:23-25: “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” We were created for relationships, to help one another out through the difficult times, and to help one another know God’s Word more in our daily lives and thus in our daily worship.
In the story we later read that the woman leaves her water jar to go back and tell everyone about Jesus. She is a good example for us to tell people to come and see for yourself, don’t just take my word for it. Worship then affects witness.
Are we being effective witnesses? When someone comes in to our church, do we love them or harass them? When we are at work or in public, do they know we are Christian or do we hide it? Are we being true Christians or are we just all talk? The invite cards are a great example for us. When you happen to hear someone struggling, talk to them, pray with them, and invite them to church and to our picnic in the park. Help them to see who God is and what He has done for us. All of that is our worship and it should be from the heart!
There is a story of a man who loved to sing in church. The problem was; he wasn’t very good at all. Most of the time he did not sing out loud, but he loved Christmas carols so much that he couldn’t help himself during the Christmas season. At first most of the people just laughed it off, but eventually some became annoyed and voiced their opinion to others. They felt that the man was ruining the beautiful singing of the rest of the church. Enough voiced a concern that it was brought to the attention of the pastor to tell the man to stop, and the pastor agreed with them. The following Sunday the pastor told him that they did not want him to sing anymore in church. This obviously upset the man and he left the church. As time went on the elderly pastor died. When he entered into heaven an angel approached him and asked, “aren’t you the pastor of that one church?” “Yes” replied the pastor. The angel continued, “we used to love to hear the music from your church during the Christmas season, but then it stopped. What happened?” The pastor, not realizing what the angel was talking about replied, “I am not sure. Nothing really changed. The choir is still going strong.” The angel said “No, it was the beautiful singing of just one man who sung from his heart. What happened to him?” The pastor, now knowing what the angel was talking about walked away saddened about what happened.
I know that music plays an important role in our worship service. I know that when our music is too fast or too slow I am cringing up front, but I also find myself smiling at the same time. You have to laugh it off sometimes! In the end I know that if we are truly worshipping our Lord and Savior with our hearts, that is all that matters! Do we worship only with our lips and ears or do we worship from the heart?
Colossians 3:12-17 tells us: “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” In verse 23 it says, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.”
Philippians 4:4-9 continues this by saying, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers and sisters, 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. 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.
Put it into PRACTICE! Remember what that means:
P—pray
R—read the Bible
A—put God’s Word into Action
C—be Centered in Christ
T—work as a Team
I—be Intentional
C—have a Godly Character
E—Educate others of God’s Word
Are we here to worship?
Are we here to bow down?
Are we here to say that Your my God?
Do we know that we worship a God that is the Light of the World, who stepped down into a sinful world to rescue all of us poor sinful beings by dying on the cross?
Are we here to praise our Savior with our hearts because He is altogether lovely, altogether worthy, altogether wonderful to me?
I pray that we most certainly are!
Amen!
September 29, 2019 Multiply God's Purpose
“Multiply God’s Purpose”
Matthew 6:19-24
2 Peter 1:3-11
We are in week number 5 of our sermon series Multiplying and Magnifying God’s Word. Thus far we have talked about what it means to multiply, not just to add and definitely not to subtract or divide. Our theme verse for this month is Mark 4:8: “Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.” We have explained what it means to multiply our time, our gifts, and our treasures. One of the most important aspects to multiply is to do it together. We can’t multiply God’s Word if only a few of us our willing. We just had a baptism today in which God brought in two new members to His family. We talk about how we are a Christian family. If that is the case shouldn’t we work together as a family? That does not mean we will always agree, but we should all be pointed to the common goal of Multiplying and Magnifying God’s Word. If we do and others see that, including our mistakes and how we work through them in a Godly way, who would not want to be a part of that? That is God’s Purpose for our lives. We are created to have relationships, first with God and next with our neighbor, the two greatest commandments. If we show others that we are a family, a family that makes mistakes yes, but a family that has the same goal of Multiplying and Magnifying God’s Word and getting through the difficulties in a Godly way, then who wouldn’t want to be part of that.
I heard from someone the other day, as we talked about our upcoming picnic in the park and the possibility of partnering with the campus ministry, that they could not wait to work together as a family of Christians instead of arguing about things and not working with other churches. Think about how often churches can become private country clubs. When that happens, churches certainly do not multiply, they divide. Are we a family of Christians or a country club here at this church? That will lead us into the magnify part of the series with our theme verse being Psalm 34:3: “Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt his name together.”
Our Gospel reading for today tells us, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Where your heart is, that is where you not only put your money, but your time and your spiritual gifts. We are an active family. The other night one son had cross country, another son had football, and my daughter had gymnastics. We spend a lot of time, gifts, and money on these activities. That is not a bad thing. What can make it bad is when you don’t do the things you love for the glory of God. When we let the activities take more precedent, they can take away from our daily worship of doing the will of God amidst the daily activities He has us in. When Susan teaches, her goal is not simply to fill their minds with knowledge, it is to help them grow in the purposes God has for them. I am also coaching some middle school young men in the game of baseball. Yes I want them to be the best player they can be, but I am also using the game of baseball to teach them skills for God’s purpose for them. We had a drill in which we told the players that they are going to work as a team, and as a team if they make more than 5 errors they would have to run to the fence and back. If they had less, then the coaches would run. After they made the 6th error they ran to the fence. When they got back we brought them together to tell them that the first goal was to work as a team. When one member is having a tough time, then the others should be there to encourage and support them, because one day it will be you. And when it is you, don’t get discouraged, but persevere through it.
Matthew 6:22-24 continues this by saying, “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness! No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” What are your eyes focused on? If we are only focused on the activity and not God’s purpose in the activity, then we are not seeing the light.
In Matthew chapter 10, Jesus sends out His disciples, giving them instructions and then saying in verse 38, “and anyone who does not take up his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.” For us it means that we need to sacrifice things for God’s Purpose. Many times we have our own agenda and can’t get distracted from it. This past week I had a lot of work to do. I certainly did not have time to go visit people. Yet that’s exactly what God wanted me to do this week. Visiting people caused me to not get things done as soon as I wanted. Sometimes that stresses me out, but this week I knew God had it under control and those visits were such a blessing! Don’t ever get so tied up in the things you have to do that you miss the things that God wants you to do.
This reminded me of the experiment with a big jar, rice, and for this example we’ll say apples. The rice represents the small things in life while the apples represent the big things. When you add the rice to the jar first and then the apples, it will not all fit. But if you add the apples first and then the rice, it will all fit! We are to do the big things first and the rest will happen. We are to do the things of God first and the rest will happen. Are we multiplying our own plans and purposes or God’s plan and purpose,? Not just as a whole in our life, but all the moments that occur each day?
In 2 Peter 1:3-11 we read: “His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.” We have been given everything we need to participate in God’s Purposes.
“For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Once we understand God’s Word, we understand what we should do and not do. Once we understand that, we realize how hard that’s going to be and the cross we are to carry and thus we learn perseverance. Those lessons lead to understanding God’s ways to love one another. Peter puts it well that now having these qualities we should not be ineffective and unproductive in our knowledge of the Gospel for ourselves and others.
“Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”
Amen!
September 22, 2019 Multiply Our Treasures
“Multiply our Treasures”
1 Timothy 6:17-21
Luke 16:1-15
Thus far we have talked about how we can multiply our time: we can’t add time to our lives but we can dedicate our time more to God instead of spending it on worldly things. We have also discussed multiplying our spiritual gifts with the most important part being how we can use our gifts together. When there is a need to be filled and you have the gifts to fill it, trust in God with His Word and His strength to fill it. Today we talk about multiplying our treasures. We often don’t like to talk about money, especially in the church, yet Jesus talks about money a lot in the Gospels. Why? Because Jesus knew that money would be the biggest rival that would challenge our allegiance to God. Luke 16:13 tells us, “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” The truth is that money becomes our own “god” that lures us to worship ourselves, as we indulge in our own comfort and pleasure. Money often becomes the distraction, in our personal lives and in the church. This causes us to unfortunately make poor financial decisions. 1 Timothy 6:9-10 states: “Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” Many people have taken that verse as money is the root of all evil instead of the Truth being the love of money. When we desire money over God we wander from our faith, and if we are not paying attention we could wander completely away. God uses money as a tool for us to help our neighbor, not as a crutch to hinder us. Unfortunately we can get our priorities mixed up. Thus Jesus talks quite a bit about it in the Bible.
We can understand this more by comparing Zacchaeus to the rich young man. When Jesus meets Zacchaeus a tax collector in Luke 19, Zacchaeus had made himself wealthy by cheating his fellow Jews. Jesus points Zacchaeus in the right direction of what he should do and Zacchaeus follows by giving half of his possessions to the poor and paying back others he may have cheated. Jesus' immediate response is, "Today salvation has come to this house ..."
Conversely in the story of rich young man, Jesus tells him “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me" (Mark 10:21). Instead of following as Zacchaeus did, we are told that he went away sad because he had great wealth. Money had become a boundary between himself and God and he did not want to give it up.
Which are we—Zacchaeus or the rich young man? I would say that we are probably both. Sometimes we hear what God is telling us and we make changes and other times we hold tightly to our money like the rich young man.
2 Corinthians 9:6-15 states: Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. We are supposed to give because God first gave to us. Verse 10-11 continues, “Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.” God tells us to trust in Him with our finances. When we give, He will give more! I know that and would say that I trust in that, yet my actions say otherwise. I struggle with holding on to my money. Not that I don’t want to help, but that I am so concerned with all the bills I have to pay, feeding my family, etc. I want to trust that God will provide, but yet I struggle through the process.
Others take the route that since I am a Christian and I am well off, I can do whatever I want since God favors me. Thus Paul tells Timothy in 1 Timothy 6:17-21: “Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.” Those who are rich, and most of us are rich compared to many in this world, are to not put our trust in riches or material things. We are to put our hope in the one that richly provides. Paul continues, “Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. 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.” We are to share what God has already given to us—not for this present world, but in the true life that we are to live in heaven with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
What about saying: “If I only had….” If only I would win the lottery. I would pay off bills and Lord I would give some money to the church and these charities, etc. God knows, however, that the more a person has, the more a person wants and when we usually have extra, we usually waste it. Luke 16:10-13 states: “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?” If we can’t be trusted with the riches of this world, how could we be trusted with the things of heaven?
So what does that mean for us here at Alive in Christ? I hope you did not only hear you need to give more. Is that part of it—absolutely! We need to trust God who richly provides! But I pray that it is not just to support a church budget. I pray that we want to multiply God’s Kingdom, and that is going to require money. I wish we could be the church in Acts where we just sell off everything, give it to the poor, and share everything. But that is not the world that we live in. Today money is needed. And it is only going to get worse. As we grow and get our own place we will have to pay a mortgage and utilities. It won’t be the good old days of living free in our parent’s house. Are we ready to support what ministry God has for us? I will say if we are only here to get paid then we should not support that. But if we are here to multiply God’s Kingdom, let’s do it together with our time, talents, and finances.
Let’s do that for His glory!
Amen!
September 15, 2019 Multiply Our Spiritual Gifts
“Multiply our Spiritual Gifts”
1 Peter 4:1-11
Matthew 5:13-16
We continue this series on multiplying and magnifying God’s Word today by looking at how we can multiply our spirituals gifts. Let us multiply not add. Let’s all be in this together, not as individuals. That is why God gave us unique and individual gifts, so that we could bring those gifts together as a church to glorify His Kingdom. God certainly did not give me all His gifts. There are so many areas that I have no clue what I am doing, but someone in here does. The areas in which you don’t have gifts, someone else in here does. We certainly can’t help everyone. We won’t even have the gifts in some cases to be able to help. In other cases one individual may not have the gifts to help, but someone else in the church does. God has brought us here to work together to spread the Gospel. Where we are not as good in one area, we lean on others for help. That’s working together to multiply and magnify God’s Word.
Matthew 5:13-16 states that we are the light of the world and that we should not hide it. If the church needs an area to be filled and you have those gifts but choose not to help, you are hiding your light! When you hide your light you show others to hide their light as well. The light we have is Jesus. When we don’t go out and share that light with others, we are again hiding that light. Matthew 5 also says that we are the salt of the earth. Salt gives flavor to the bland. The world can seem monotonous without a purpose. We are to give God’s salt to the world to give it flavor, to give it a purpose. People need to know that there is so much more to their lives, but we can’t do that when we hide our light or lose track of our own saltiness. In those cases we can wind up subtracting and even dividing God’s kingdom. Many people today claim to be Christians in word but not in action. They don’t utilize their gifts, ultimately hiding their light and saltiness. This gives many people the wrong impression and potentially leads them away from God.
Think of a person sitting in the middle of the road with an on-coming truck about to hit him/her. That person doesn’t know the truck is coming nor realize where s/he is at—thinking it safe to be there. What are you going to do? Would you not do anything and let them get run over? I would have to imagine you would do something. Some would run out and pull them away from the on-coming danger risking their own lives in the process, and some would yell for them to watch out, warning them of that danger. As we discussed last week in the parable of the talents, it does not matter which of these you do; God gives us all different gifts. The point is that you use those gifts to help spread the Gospel, rather than do nothing. Let’s look at the story of the person in the road from a Godly perspective. The person in the road thinks it is completely safe to be there because they don’t know any better. They think that they are just fine in the world with no understanding of eternity. They don’t know the Truth of God’s Word because no one has told them. Instead of an on-coming truck, it is the on-coming death of the person that is going to happen at some point. Are we going to sit back and do nothing to help them know the love of Jesus and His promises to be with Him in Heaven, especially when the threat does not seem imminent? After all it is not like the person is in immediate danger! At least that is what we want to think. There are so many people that need to hear the Gospel and we unfortunately don’t say anything. Is it fear of offending them, them saying no, fear of embarrassment, are we just not seeing the Truth of what God is telling us, is it a time factor of not being important enough in a given moment?
As we discussed before, it won’t be easy. 1 Peter 4:1-2 states, “Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because whoever suffers in the body is done with sin. As a result, they do not live the rest of their earthly lives for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God.” We need to arm ourselves with the attitude of Jesus, take up our cross. Attitude and effort play a major role in the process. Most of us do just fine when things are going well, but what about your attitude when things are not going well? I have certainly seen that when someone is tired in our house that attitudes are typically not good. When attitudes are bad then so is the effort! When attitudes are negative, the effort is negative, and thus the results are negative. I have offered food to my kids before that they did not think would taste good. Their attitude towards it was negative. Thus their brain said it would taste bad. Many times I would ask if it tasted good and they would shake their heads yes but do it with a disgusting look on their face. When things look too difficult then we have a negative attitude about it and thus hide our light. I don’t want to fill that need for the church because it will take me out of my comfort zone, or the thousands of other excuses I can make up, all just hiding my light and losing my saltiness.
1 Peter 4 continues (verse 7-11), “The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of clear mind so that you may pray.” The end may not seem as imminent as an oncoming truck but it is near. Therefore we need to have a clear mind of the Truth of God’s Word. Knowing that the world is full of sin and we are not safe in the middle of the road, we need a Savior in Jesus Christ. When we have this in mind, the first thing we do is pray, take everything (the good and the bad) to the Lord in prayer. But don’t stop there. 1Peter 4:8 says, “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.” Love each other deeply! Not love only the people you are close to, but all people. Not occasionally or how you feel like it, but deeply as God loves each of us. But I can’t love this person because of these reasons! God replies, “I still love you deeply even though I could use those same reasons not to love you!” Verse 9 states, “Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.” That verse makes me laugh because it is so true! We complain all the time about all the things we have to do. We talked about this before, don’t look at it as we have to do but what we get to do. We often won’t do something because it is going to be hard so I complain because I don’t want to put in the effort. Verse 10 states, “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. Use your gifts, however big or however small. Don’t get caught up in thinking that this only occurs in a sermon or Bible study in which you don’t have the gifs and thus do not use. God’s grace comes in various forms and in various places. Don’t underestimate those opportunities. Don’t hide your light, let it shine for all to see.
On the way to Phoenix there was a car stalled in the fast lane on the highway. Not a place you want to be. It was a young man who did not know what to do. He was so nervous. I don’t know very much about cars so I can’t help with that. But I can push his car off the road where he is safer. I can also offer him my cell phone if he needs to call someone. Or I suppose I could just pass him by like everyone else. Verse 11 states, “If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.” It is not for your glory so stop trying to do it perfectly! Speak the Word of God, serve with His strength.
It is going to require effort and sacrifice. It is going to require each of us to take a good hard look at our own choices in life and how we are utilizing the time given to us, especially when we don’t know how long that is. Are we ready to do that now as if the time to act is as imminent as an oncoming truck? You are a piece to the larger puzzle. The puzzle that makes the full picture of the Gospel!
Let us complete that puzzle together!
For His Glory!
Amen!
September 8, 2019 Multiply Our Time
“Multiply our Time”
Ecclesiastes 3:1-15
Matthew 25:1-13 (31-46)
Last week we talked about our overall theme for the coming months: to multiply and magnify God’s Word. We want to multiply God’s Word, not just add. That is going to take everyone using the gifts that God has given to each us. If this is only going to be a few of us, then we are going right back to adding, not multiplying. We also learned that it is not going to be easy. Our theme verse again for this month is from Mark 4:8: “Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew, and produced a crop, multiplying thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times.” In the parable of the sower we see that 3 out of 4 seeds usually don’t make it. Some people will not want listen. Others will jump right in and fall just as quickly. Others will get choked out by the difficulties of life. In the end this journey is going to be tough and many who you spread the Gospel to won’t fully take root. Yet that is what God has called us to do and if we do it together then we can multiply His Word.
Today we are going to talk about multiplying our time. We may have a different amount of days given to each of us, but we all have the same amount of time in that day, 24 hours. What are you spending that time on? Relevant or irrelevant activities? I am not talking about giving us extra time, but maximizing the time we have.
In our Old Testament reading for today, the book of Ecclesiastes tells us that there is
“A Time for Everything.” “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away; a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.”
Notice how each of these is the opposite. We all have our good days and our bad days. At the beginning if this past week I had an overwhelming sense of peace. I’m not sure if I have ever felt that before—it was an amazing feeling! Then I got a phone call that informed me of a death of a young lady. On Wednesday morning I was walking our dogs when 2 strays came out of nowhere and attacked my dogs. I tried to protect and hold back my dogs while trying to keep the other 2 strays at a distance. It felt like 10 minutes of struggle with no end in sight. Thankfully God sent some neighbors to help! Unfortunately that ordeal has spooked the dogs and myself. I love to go on walks with the dogs, but now I am hesitant to. The next day I prayed a lot during the morning walk! I got home very thankful that all went well. I took a shower and was getting ready when my sister informed me of another friend that passed away. I decided to go and write a devotion. So I went downstairs only to find that half of the keyboard on my computer was all over the ground when my dogs decided to play with it! I spent most of the day trying to fix it! I could not get most of those keys back on but it kind of works. Although it certainly takes a while to type up something. Of course throughout the week it was a flip of a coin whether the AC in my truck was going to work. So I experienced a time for different things. The most important part of the week was that the peace never left. It was not always high, but it was there not to allow the thorns to choke it away. It certainly got tested when I came back downstairs on Friday to see my Bible partially tore up on the floor!
Is your day being spent with the thorns of life that distract you away from Jesus? Or are we fixed on Jesus throughout the different activities we are doing in our daily lives, good or bad?
In our Gospel reading for today, Jesus tells to keep the end in mind—that is His second coming, judgement day. Jesus tells us in Matthew 24:36, “no one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” Thus Jesus tells us of three parables to help us to understand how to spend our time wisely. That time should be preparing for Jesus’ return.
The first parable is that of the ten virgins. Matthew 25:1-5 says, “Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept.”
Unfortunately we all become drowsy and fall asleep. But in this case we are not talking about our bodies needing that rest that we all need in sleeping. This is more of a case of our spiritual nature. Are we asleep in our faith? The day and hour is unknown. This parable tells us that it may be a long time before the bridegroom comes. Are we ready? Are we prepared? Has the trials of life caused you to fall asleep in your spiritual nature? Have you lost that hope? The moral of this parable is to be ready to honor the groom no matter when he arrives. The bridegroom will return suddenly and you cannot get ready, you have to be ready. Jesus is warning His followers not to fall away, but to remain vigilant in their calling to honor Him when He returns. One could look at the oil in this parable as representing doing whatever it takes to be ready and honor Him when He returns. Jesus then tells us at the end of this parable, “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.”
I had many students fail tests because they did not study or only crammed a study session in the night before. I would tell them if you want long term memory you have to study long term. Basically, most people can’t study only the night before and be successful. You have to put the time and effort in to listen and practice. That’s how it works for most things in life. I’ll be honest, I studied last minute for several tests and did well. It is possible, but I certainly would not want to risk my eternity on a last minute cram session! Thus Jesus tells us to be ready.
The next parable is the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25:14-30. The Master, that being Jesus, gives His slaves, that being us, different amounts of talents to go out and spread His Word. The last slave unfortunately misjudges and distrusts his Master by doing nothing with what he has been given. The slave was unfaithful to his identity to his Master. The other two slaves, however, honored their Master by serving Him with what was entrusted with them. We need to remember who our Master is or who we are. We are children of God, entrusted with resources and opportunities to multiply and magnify His Word. We are not supposed to do nothing with what God has given us.
The last parable is that of the sheep and goats found in Matthew 25:31-46 shows us our calling to serve those who are lost. In doing so we are serving our Master. We are to take seriously the calling that God has for us to care for our neighbors that God has put into our lives. The Gospel message comes from the Word of God and from the actions of those who trust in Him. We are to give back to others the gifts that God has given us. One of those gifts is our time. We should not just give to get something in return, living the world’s motto, “You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours.” As Jesus says in Luke 6:32-36, “even sinners do that.”
When we fail to look for the return of Christ, we could lose faith and fall away. We get caught up in the distractions of life and give in to worldly desires. When that happens we forget what we are supposed to do. We forget God’s promises and instead look to earthly promises that don’t last.
Are you giving your first fruits of time to God, or is He just getting your leftovers? We need to be diligent in spending time with God on a regular basis. That does not mean we don’t have times in which we skip reading His Word because something else comes up. We often will skip a meal because things happen, but we are pretty good at not missing many of them. Do you do the same with the Bible? Don’t just run to Him when you think you need Him, know you need Him each day. Time management and organization play an important role in the process! We try to teach our kid to get the things they need to do first before playing or watching TV; homework, getting ready for school or getting ready for bed, chores, etc. For Christians we should prioritize our time with God, reading His word, going to church and Bible studies, and serving.
There is a time for everything--a time for work and a time for play, a time to add and a time to multiply. Let us use our gift of time to multiply His word to others so that they can be ready as well!
Amen!
September 1, 2019 Multiply the Good Seed
“Multiply The Good Seed”
Mark 4:1-8
Hebrews 13:1–16
During the month of September we are going to talk about how we can multiply God’s Word in our lives in worship, in our time, in our talents, in our spiritual gifts, and in God’s purpose for our lives. Then in the month of October and November we are going to talk about how we magnify the Lord together in a variety of aspects of our lives.
The theme verse for multiplying God’s Word comes out of Mark 4:8 (NIV), “Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.”
That is what we are talking about, multiply as meaning to increase greatly in number. We want, or should want, God’s Word to grow exponentially. Think of it this way: when you add ten 2’s together you get 20 (2+2+2+2+2+2+2+2+2+2=20). When you multiply ten 2’s together you get 1024 (2x2x2x2x2x2x2x2x2x2=1024).
Needtobreathe sings a song called “Multiplied.” One of the lyrics sings, “May this offering stretch across the sky. These hallelujahs be multiplied.” We want to show our witness of God’s love to others so that they can feel that same joy and hope in Jesus Christ. We do this by stretching out our offerings across the sky--offerings of our time, of our gifts and abilities, and our money. When we share the love of Christ we will hear these hallelujahs being multiplied. Share your witness with others through the means that God has given you. Through that process, being surrounded by a cloud of witnesses, continue to help grow that person’s faith so that they will go out and do the same. When this process continues, God’s Word is multiplied!
| 1 + 1 = 2 | = 2 | ||
| 1 + 1 = 2 | 1 + 1 = 2 | = 4 | |
| 1 + 1 = 2 | 1 + 1 = 2 | 1 + 1 = 2 | = 8 |
This has to be done together with everyone doing their part. If we have only a few of us doing it, then we are just adding and not multiplying!
In our Gospel reading today we read about the parable of the sower. A farmer goes out so sow some seed, just as we go out and spread the Gospel. Some seed, God’s Word, falls along the path and the birds eat it; that is when some hear the word of God, the devil immediately comes in and takes it away. There are some that do not understand and will refuse to believe, trusting so easily in other areas and discounting God’s Word as fiction or a fairytale. Some seed fell on rocky soil and sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched and they withered because they had no root. Some are going to come in and are going to be on fire, but when they find out it is not easy, they are going to turn away just as quickly!
Other seed fell among thorns which grew up and choked the plants so that they did not bear grain. The thorns of life include worries, the deceitfulness of wealth, and other desires that cause us to be unfruitful. We get distracted by irrelevant things that cause us not to take root in God’s Word. We get caught up in the busyness of life that we find little time for God’s Word. In the end it is not putting God first, it is having Him only in our spare time. Unfortunately I think this is exactly where most Christians can be categorized as. We all get caught up in the worries of life, but how quickly and how often we repent and turn back to God determines how much we will get choked by those earthly thorns.
Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, multiplying thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times.” We are to be gardeners for God to help cultivate the good soil so that we can help them establish deep roots in God’s Word. Yet the church unfortunately in many places can be one of those thorns that choke away at the good seed. Let us multiply the good seed! Hebrews 13:1-2 states, “Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.” We are to go out and spread the seed, not make judgements of the soil in which they fall. We are not the harvester, that is the angels. We are not the judge; that is Christ’s job. We are gardeners to go out and spread the seed to all people, being a witness for Christ.
Notice that in this parable three out of 4 seeds fall in places that there is no growth in God. Certainly does not make our jobs easy as Christians does it? But, unlike the misconception that some have, being a Christian is not easy. Jim Caviezel , who played Jesus in the Passion of Christ,” said in an interview that in playing this role, his shoulder popped out of socket many times, he was accidentally hit by a whip causing a 14 gash, his body was blue for the final scene and that was not make-up, he had pneumonia throughout, he was struck by lightning on the last scene, and after all of this had open heart surgery. He had trouble finding work for a while afterwards. In the end, he joked that if you want to be a Christian then you are in for it! During this interview he got really passionate on a few points.
--“Most people want the resurrection without the suffering. When a person wins the gold medal in the Olympics and the US flag is being raised are they crying because Nike just called with a 30 million dollar contract or do they understand the sacrifices that were made for us to raise that flag?”
--“This movie was not the passion of mediocrity, it wasn’t just the Romans, when we sin we all betray Jesus, especially as Christians.”
--“Some people will choose evil, but you don’t.”
--“Many Christians have immersed themselves in paganism, they want to be cool to their pagan friends so that they can be cool.”
--“Many will say it is choice, my freedom to choose. Freedom exists not to do what you like but having the right to do what you ought.”
Therefore, in Hebrews 13:16 it states, “and do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.” Matthew 25 tells us that what we do for one of the least of these, we do for our Heavenly Father. We are to be the gardeners that God has called us to be, to spread the seed, that is the Gospel to all people. Some won’t hear it. Some will dive in only to easily leave. Some will be choked away by worldly things. We can’t control that end of things. That is not our job. Our job is to be the witness that God wants us to be, through the means that He has given us. As we go out we are not supposed to hide our light given to us from Jesus (Mark 4:21). We are to Go and make disciples, not to sit back and wait for them. If you build it they will come makes for a great movie, but that is not how the church works today. Take advantage of every opportunity you have to witness to your faith in Jesus. One way to do this is to invite them to church.
We are looking at the possibility of having church invite cards for everyone to pass out. Invite friends, family, co-workers, or anyone you may happen to run into through your day. I have watched skits from a duo called the Skit Guys for many years. If you have never seen one of them, you should check them out. Those two would never be going around to places all over the country spreading God’s Word if one of them never invited the other to church when they were kids. A simple invite can change the world!
As Alive in Christ Church Lutheran let us begin our journey into Multiplying and Magnifying God’s Word!
Amen!
August 25, 2019 What are you being disciplined by?
“What are you being disciplined by?”
Epistle reading: Hebrews 12:1–13
Gospel reading: Luke 13:22–30
When I first was writing this sermon I titled it “Are you being disciplined?” As I thought about it, I realized that the answer to that question should be an easy one, yes we are being disciplined each and every day. Discipline is defined as “the practice of training people to obey rules or a code of behavior, using punishment to correct disobedience.” If you do something illegally in driving home today, and a cop sees it, you will probably get a ticket. That ticket is given to correct the breaking of the law. So each and every day we are learning and making adjustments to the things that occur. When bad things happen, there are bad consequences and hopefully we learn not to do that again. When good things happen, there are good consequences and we learn to continue that behavior. We are being trained by the things that we go through each and every day.
When I think of training to obey, I start thinking about our dogs and how we are training them to obey. We first had to have them learn to go to the bathroom outside. If they went in the house they got in trouble and hopefully learned not to do that. When they went outside we would tell them good job, reinforcing to continue to do that. My physical therapist said that her dog jumps up and down and is so happy when she poops outside, because that was what she was taught.
That then got me thinking of how I am training our kids. Proverbs 22:6 states, “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.” That was our mission statement for the summer camp that I ran for many years. But even that verse leads you to asking the question of what are you being disciplined or trained by? What is the way that they should go? How we raise our children is usually the way in which they go. If we raise them in saying and doing inappropriate things, then that is what they are more than likely to do, modeling our own behavior. Thus we should train them in the way that they should go, not in worldly discipline but in Godly discipline. Is your discipline in God’s Word or is it in the world.
Why does what we are being disciplined by matter in the first place? In Luke 13:23 someone asks Jesus, “Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?” Jesus answers, “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to. Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, ‘Sir, open the door for us.’ But he will answer, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from.’ Then you will say, ‘We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.’ But he will reply, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from. Away from me, all you evildoers!’” Notice how Jesus doesn’t give us a number. Instead He simply tells us that the door is narrow. I would make the claim that the door is only big enough for one person, and that is Jesus. When the time comes for us to be at that door, how discipline in God’s Word are we going to be? Will we stand there and make a case for how good we are or how bad others are? Or are we going to say that I am not good enough, but Jesus died for me, and His promise for me through Him is to be in heaven!
How we do that is found in our epistle reading for today. Hebrews 12:2 tells us to “fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” In all that we do, we need to fix our eyes on Jesus. That is where our discipline comes from. That is where our training should come from. One of the first things that we need to do to continue to be trained by this is to be surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses (Hebrews 12:1). Surround yourself with fellow believers. If we are around worldly believers, then that is the way we will be trained. Hebrews 11 is the faith chapter in telling us of all those who have come before us in faith. They are witnesses to God’s Word in their lives. Surround yourself with those witnesses that have come before us and with those that are witnesses with us today!
Hebrews 12:1 continues by telling us to “throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” We need to get rid of the things that are causing us to sin. Our dogs love to chew bones. We give each of them a bone so they don’t have to share. The problem is that there is always one bone that they both want. Unfortunately this can cause fights between them and they can get real aggressive. They usually stop when they are told to, but sometimes we simply have to get rid of the bone that is causing the problem. What bones are we holding on to each day that cause us problems?
Hebrews 12:3 states, “Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” When you are going through tough times, don’t forget what Jesus went through for our salvation. Don’t lose heart or give up the fight when things are difficult. Hebrews 12:4 states, “In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.” Discipleship and God’s training are lifelong commitments! If we are not dead yet, then there is still work to be done for Jesus. In all that we do we can show others how we are trained and thus help them in their training. That especially goes with the times that we mess up. We are not perfect. It is not about us. Are we showing others that and pointing them to Jesus because we are pointing ourselves to Jesus? When you mess up, repent! Show others what God would want them to do by modeling it yourself!
We are disciplined/trained each and every day so that we can live a life that God has intended for us! Hebrews 12:11 states: “No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” Tough times are exactly that—tough! If we are guided by God’s discipline, not taking it lightly (Hebrews 12:5), then we will see a harvest of righteousness and peace!
So the more important question is not are you disciplined, but what are you being disciplined by? Is it the world or God’s Word? I pray that we can all fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith by surrounding ourselves with other witnesses, getting rid of those “bones” that cause us to sin, and that we don’t grow weary or lose heart in the promises that God has made to us through His Son and our Savior Jesus Christ!
Amen!
August 18, 2019 Are you seeing past the end of your nose?
“Are you seeing past the end of your nose?”
from Luke 12:51 (Matthew 10:34-42)
Old Testament reading: Jer. 23:16–29
Gospel reading: Luke 12:49–59
In the original movie, Mary Poppins tells Michael and Jane that sometimes people can’t see past the end of their nose. The point that is being made was not that they were blind, but simply that they missed some obvious things that were right in front of them. In the movie she is referring to Mr. Banks not seeing the little old bird woman at the steps of the cathedral as he walks to work each day. After all he walks that way to work every day so he has to see her. There are probably days that he did see her, but still wasn’t paying attention. What things, what people are sitting right in front of you every day that you are not seeing? What people has God put in your life and you are not paying attention?
Of course the next day the family walks to the bank and the kids see the woman and ask if their dad sees her. His response was, “of course I see her, do you think I can’t see past the end of my nose?” Mr. Banks, as well as the rest of us, can see things when they are pointed out to us, but we struggle to see them on our own. And when they are pointed out, we often fight against it. We make excuses and say exactly what Mr. Banks said, well of course I see that. Yet we get so caught up in our own defense that we still fail to see the full truth.
As for Michael and Jane, they wanted so much to feed the birds that day that they got caught up in their own frustrations and then got lost, literally in the city. You could say that they technically did not see past the end of their noses either. I’m not sure if you have seen “Mary Poppins Returns,” but in that movie those “tuppence” that were given that day to the bank, actually is what saves his house in the future. It is amazing how God can work in our lives in so many ways that we often overlook. How often are we not seeing past the end of our noses that we fail to see God’s work going on. We are so caught up in our own ways of doing things that we are blinded by God’s will and action in our lives.
The other night my son was watching TV and I was playing with the dogs about 5 feet from him. My daughter has this toy spider that moves when you make a loud enough noise. One of our dogs started barking at it and thus it would move toward him. He kept barking and it kept moving toward him. Eventually he would move and swat at it with his paws. It was extremely funny to watch and I could not believe that my son had not gotten involved or that he was not laughing as well. I looked over at him after about 5 minutes of doing this and he was zoned into the TV. Everything around him disappeared and it did not matter if a bomb were to go off, he was fixated on that TV. I got his attention and he did start laughing and enjoying the moment. I can make fun of how he got so wrapped in the TV, but I would have to only look in the mirror at the several times I have done that as well.
What about being so fixed on what is right that you forget to act in a Godly way? I remember coaching a baseball game several years ago for little league. The umpire made a bad call. Now this is not one of those moments of my own personal opinions, he truly did not know the rules of the game, thus I told him about it. In the beginning I did not even do it in a wrongful way. I was somewhat polite. The umpire kept coming at me, saying things to me even though I wasn’t saying anything to him. Of course that is where I let the sin come in and said some things that I should not have, which thus got me kicked out. I remember going to my truck and the verse of the day popped up at that moment on my phone. To be honest I don’t remember the exact verse that came up, but what I got out of it was that God was telling me that just because I was right and the umpire was wrong, did not give me any right to treat him the way I did.
We can get so focused on something irrelevant and meaningless that we can’t see past the end of our nose, no matter what is happening. We can get caught up in thinking that we are so right that we can’t see past the end of our nose to the Truth of what God is telling us of how to treat others. We can get caught up in our own ways that we even misinterpret the Bible to fit what we want it to say.
Today, Jesus asks Luke 12:51, “Do you think I came to bring peace on earth?” Before we continue with how Jesus answers this question, what is your answer? At the beginning of my journey this week and the previous times I read this passage, my answer would be a resounding yes you came to bring peace on the earth. I mean look at some of the Bible verses that talk about peace:
Psalm 29:11 "The Lord gives strength to his people; the Lord blesses his people with peace."
1 Corinthians 14:33 "For God is not a God of disorder but of peace-as in all the congregations of the Lord's people."
Colossians 3:15 "Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful."
Isn’t Jesus the Prince of Peace? The implication here is that Jesus came to only bring peace on earth. Many churches have signs on it praying for peace. Miss Universe contestants often pray for world peace. Jesus does come to bring peace, the Gospel, but He also comes to fulfill the Law. The proper distinction between Law and Gospel needs to occur. I have seen many churches only preach the Gospel. This can sometimes lead people to believe that they can do whatever they want to. It has certainly lead many individuals to think that as well. Many claim to be Christians but on a day to day basis don’t act it out in any way. I know for many years I would go to church, but then go out into the world and not live out my beliefs. I thought that that was good enough. I went to church, I can check that box off. Oh this person that needs my help, I’ll just dismiss them, it’s not a big deal and it’s not my problem any way. Have you ever been caught up in that line of thinking?
When looking at these verses by themselves I can see how it does not make sense about the answer Jesus gives, “No, I tell you, but division.” 1 Corinthians 14:33 says that God is not a God of disorder but peace. Why in the world would Jesus want to bring division? In Mark 3:23–27; Matthew 12:25–29; Luke 11:17–22 Jesus talks about a house divided cannot stand! Now He has come to divide the house? Here is where we can get lost and not see past the end of our noses! We read the verses individually and often miss the overall point that is being made. For example Psalm 29:11 states that God brings peace to His people. The key words are His people. To those who do not choose to receive His love, therefore choose not to receive His peace. God is a God of peace, but we are sinful people who choose sometimes to not listen or see past our own selves and desires. Thus Colossians says that we are to let the peace of Christ rule in our hearts. When read as a whole we can understand and see that Christ is a point of contention for people in the world. 1 Corinthians 1:18-25 states, “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”
Jesus’ mission includes bringing fire on the earth. John the Baptist said that Jesus would “baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire.” Jesus wishes that the fire were already kindled, wanting to get it over with. The baptism that Jesus must undergo is the fiery judgement that He must do on the cross by drinking the cup of God’s wrath. It’s distressing to take upon that judgement of the world for everyone. Yet Jesus willingly suffers for each and every one of us on the cross!
As Jesus made His way to Jerusalem, it was clear that the people were not ready to accept His message of salvation. God wants to bring peace, but people refuse to receive His offer of reconciliation. Thus families were divided.
People could interpret the weather, but could not see the spiritual things happening right in front of them, being blind and stubborn. It is not as if they are unable to see what is coming, but rather that they are unwilling to make the necessary changes in their lives. Even though we are stubborn, there is still time to escape and thus people should concern themselves with settling their debts with God as they were with settling worldly accounts. Why don’t people take the opportunity given to repent? Unfortunately it is because it is foolishness to them.
Hebrews 4:12-13 states, “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.”
We will receive an account for our actions. It will be peace for those who listen to God’s Word and are His people, but it will be wrath for those who do not believe.
Jeremiah 23:16-29 states,”Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you, filling you with vain hopes. They speak visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord. They say continually to those who despise the word of the Lord, ‘It shall be well with you’; and to everyone who stubbornly follows his own heart, they say, ‘No disaster shall come upon you.’”
God is a loving God, but the world twists that around to say that He therefore only brings peace and thus we can do whatever we want. That is not the Truth of God’s Word. He will bring peace to His people, but He will also bring wrath to those who do not believe. Do we understand this? Do we know then to stop giving in to worldly things and follow what God has for us? Are we seeing the signs or are we not seeing past the end of our noses?
May we go from here to have a Godly perspective on life. Not to get focused on things that are not important and not to miss what is right in front of us. God is doing amazing things each and every day. Keep your eyes and ears out to see His glory and share it with others.
Amen!
August 11, 2019 Why do you worry?
“Why do you worry?”
Old Testament reading: Psalm 33: 12–22
Gospel reading: Luke 12:22–34
How many of you would say that you worry a lot? I would have to say that we all have our moments of worry, but some are better than others at dealing with it. I am pretty good, most of the time in dealing with worries. Yet I still have my moments. It is ironic how this week’s sermon is about worrying and unfortunately that is all I did this week. I even let it get the best of me and frustration came out. I said and did things that I should not have, all because of the stress that got to me. I was caught up in the worries of what to do for this church. I worry about how I am supposed to lead everyone. I worry about whether I am even qualified to do so. I worry about our finances and what we can do to fix it. I worry about each of you and the direction you are going in your life. I worry about others who don’t believe in Jesus. I worry about so many people that call themselves Christians but certainly don’t seem to live it out. I started questioning why God even called me here. I may have the passion, but am I just sitting on my hands and not doing anything with it? I started thinking it would be so much easier to do any other job than being a pastor. All of that then led me to question other things. Am I a good husband, a good father? I started focusing on the bad habits that my kids have and wondering how I can help them with it. I started seeing how some of those habits were my own fault: “Hey, don’t yell at the dogs,” while I am yelling at them!
Jesus tells us in Luke 12:22, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear.” I can look at part of it and realize that it does not matter what we eat, just be thankful for whatever food we have. Don’t worry about what you wear, that is not what defines you. But I struggle with the “don’t worry about your life” part. I almost want to have a debate with Jesus on this. Am I not supposed to be concerned with how I am living my life?
So I looked up the definition of worry. The verb form defines it as to “give way to anxiety or unease; allow one's mind to dwell on difficulty or troubles.” The word that stood out for me was the word “dwell.” When we dwell on the difficulty or troubles we have, we cause ourselves more problems. Jesus says in Luke 12:25, “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?” Statistics show that people who worry too much actually cause their life to be shorter with heart problems, depression, family problems, etc. 1 Peter 5:7 tells us to cast all our anxieties on God. We are not to dwell on them, but pray about them and hand them over to God, trusting that He will help us through. The noun form defines it as “a state of anxiety and uncertainty over actual or potential problems.” A study found that 85% of the stuff that people worry about does not actually happen. Thus the phrase you are worrying for nothing is true 85% of the time. The other 15% was found to be things that the person could get through rather easily or something that was a good lesson to be learned.
I stressed this week over things that have not happened. I honestly don’t know the specifics of what to do in where God has called me. Unfortunately that leads me to believe in negative things that may or may not happen. It’s the worst case scenario situation that we often find ourselves in. You know when you think of all the negative things that could happen: “I’m not going to do the right thing so therefore I am going to lose my job. We’ll have to sell the house and move in with my parents. The kids will have to be taken out of the Christian school and they’ll lose their faith. My wife probably won’t even want to be with me any more so she’ll leave. The kids will leave and I will die all alone.” Have you ever been caught up in that kind of thinking? None of that is going to happen, so why am I worrying so much about it. What I need to remember is to be grounded in God’s Word like the lilies of the field and to stay above the stress and negative things of this world like the ravens. Which is better the rich man who stored up all his grain for himself or the raven who trusts in God to provide?
Worrying shows that we don’t trust God. Worrying is circular. It keeps us spinning around and around without getting us anywhere! The constant worrying causes us to be so dizzy that we can’t focus on what we are supposed to be doing, trusting in God.
It took me some time to realize all of this. It did not begin to sink in until Thursday when my wife and I went to our children’s meet the teacher night. Up to this point we were not talking to one another and I knew that I had to apologize for my actions. We got in the truck and drove to the school and the whole way God kept telling me to apologize. But I was stubborn and did not want to. I kept pushing it off, even making excuses like I don’t even know where to begin. God’s response to me was just begin, say you’re sorry! When I finally realized that, I still did not want to! It took a good portion of the trip before I finally began and said I was sorry for all that I had done. Man was it a relief.
God spoke to me more in a story told by the Headmaster of schools. It was a story by C.S. Lewis in which a horse from Narnia asked if a young man knew how to ride a horse. The young man did not. Thus the horse then asks if the boy knew how to fall. Yet he did not mean the act of falling as we all know how to do that whether we want to or not. What the horse meant was if the young man knew how to get back up each time that he fell. Then each time he fell, he would not be afraid to get back on and try again. When we go through struggles, are we learning from them or are we making excuses not to try, looking only at the negative?
Psalm 33:16-22 states:
The king is not saved by his great army;
a warrior is not delivered by his great strength.
The war horse is a false hope for salvation,
and by its great might it cannot rescue.
Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him,
on those who hope in his steadfast love,
that he may deliver their soul from death
and keep them alive in famine.
Our soul waits for the Lord;
he is our help and our shield.
For our heart is glad in him,
because we trust in his holy name.
Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us,
even as we hope in you.
I learned a couple of things this week. First, worrying is not thinking. I do have to think about the things in my life, just not dwell on the negative. When I am in a situation I must first seek God’s Kingdom, knowing that He will provide and get me through the circumstances of life and not rely on the false hopes of worldly things. Second, I am not qualified! But who is? It is not that I need to know how to ride, it is that I need to know how to fall, that I am not afraid to take the chances and I learn from my mistakes. Sometimes it simply requires starting something and trusting and listening to God through that process.
It was not a fun week to say the least. Praise be to God for the lessons learned! The worries that I had going into the week are still there. I just know how to handle them better. I know that through each of those worries, God will get me through.
Amen!
August 4, 2019 Is Life Meaningless?
“Is Life Meaningless?”
Ecclesiastes 2:17-26
Luke 12:13-21
Is life meaningless? I suppose you have to ask what worldview you are coming from in order to answer that question. If you are coming from a Christian point of view, then the answer should be “absolutely not.” We are to live our lives to the glory of God and for His will in our lives to love him and love our neighbor. Belief and trust in Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. We are God’s creation, meant to be with Him in a new Heaven and a new earth.
What if you are coming from a non-Christian point of view? From the complete non-believing person of an atheist then your answer will eventually lead you to: life is meaningless. Unfortunately most would probably disagree with that saying that there is meaning for their life. They can live a good life, be a good person, help society, and in the end when they die and thus go on to nothing else, they can say their life had meaning. I suppose I could agree with that, if, and this is a big IF, there was nothing else after this life! This just takes us back to our presuppositions. Are we mortal or immortal? Don’t get me wrong, I am not talking about the movie version of mortality. I am talking about our souls. If we are mortal then there is nothing after this life. When we die, we die, and that’s the end. Or are our souls immortal? Do our souls continue on after this life? If they do, where do they go? Is it a reincarnation thing or something else? This is back to presuppositions again. It matters does it!
In our Gospel reading today, Jesus is making that point in the parable of the rich fool. A man from the crowd stands up to tell Jesus to tell his brother to split the inheritance that was evidently given to the other brother. This is similar notion from Martha wanting Jesus to tell Mary to help her. In the end Jesus is basically saying that this argument is meaningless. We should not be arguing over money or other worldly possessions that will not last. To make His point, Jesus tells a parable of a man who produced an abundant crop. The man was selfish in his desires to keep it all for himself so that he could sit back, retire, and basically live life’s spoils—a very worldly way to live, and in the end a meaningless lifestyle. Jesus ends the parable by saying, “You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself? This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God.” We will all come to judgement day and face God. Will we defend ourselves with meaningless excuses to enter, or will we say that we don’t deserve to enter except through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ?
Are we storing up riches for ourselves? If so our life is meaningless because we can’t take it with us. Are we rich towards God, giving Him all the honor and praise? Are we doing our part in monetary gifts to His church as individuals? Life has its moments, but during times of plenty are you giving more to God or keeping more for yourself? Even life as a Christian is meaningless if you are not following God’s Word and Will in your life.
I believe that our souls do go on to something else after this life, thus our souls are immortal. We have two places to go, either we are with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in Heaven or we are not. If we are not, that is a place that no one wants to be! Matthew 16:26 states, “What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul?” If an atheist is right and when we die, we die, there is nothing after, then life is meaningless. What’s the point of being good or helping others? Why not just store up things for yourself as the rich fool did? Solomon unfortunately got caught up in all of this as well when he is writing Ecclesiastes. The Hebrew word for vanity (meaninglessness) is literally “chasing after wind.” It is grasping after shadows, a wild goose chase in which there is no goose. He states in Ecclesiastes 1:14, “I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.” He tried to satisfy all his desires by trying “everything under the sun.” He turned to wisdom as an answer. Many of us today turn to science or Gnosticism, believing that knowledge triumphs over all. Solomon was the wisest man on the earth, and in the end he found that it did not satisfy, saying in Ecclesiastes 1:17, “Then I applied myself to the understanding of wisdom, and also of madness and folly, but I learned that this, too, is a chasing after the wind. For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief.”
For Solomon, and for many others, if that is not the answer, let’s turn to pleasure, for pleasing of the self must be the answer. Ecclesiastes 2:1-11:
I said in my heart, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure; enjoy yourself.” But behold, this also was vanity. I said of laughter, “It is mad,” and of pleasure, “What use is it?” I searched with my heart how to cheer my body with wine—my heart still guiding me with wisdom—and how to lay hold on folly, till I might see what was good for the children of man to do under heaven during the few days of their life. I made great works. I built houses and planted vineyards for myself. I made myself gardens and parks, and planted in them all kinds of fruit trees. I made myself pools from which to water the forest of growing trees. I bought male and female slaves, and had slaves who were born in my house. I had also great possessions of herds and flocks, more than any who had been before me in Jerusalem. I also gathered for myself silver and gold and the treasure of kings and provinces. I got singers, both men and women, and many concubines, the delight of the sons of man. So I became great and surpassed all who were before me in Jerusalem. Also my wisdom remained with me. And whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I kept my heart from no pleasure, for my heart found pleasure in all my toil, and this was my reward for all my toil. Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun.
Solomon also tried wealth and power, serving others, and even religion and found that all was meaningless, a chasing after the wind. Solomon does not just argue, he experiments. He experiments with self-satisfaction. He experiments with being ethical and with God. With wisdom, Solomon learned that with more wisdom comes more sorrow. With pleasure, Solomon found that inevitably whatever the pleasure is it becomes boring sooner or later. Solomon realized that after all that he has done, what’s the point? Things come and go. It is not that he did not enjoy the parties, etc., but nothing satisfies. With power he realized that meaning can’t be something that is bought or something we have control over. It must be a free gift of love. With ethics Solomon discovered that you can’t help others unless one knows the purpose of doing so. Solomon did not know Jesus. What he knew of God was that God was distant and in control of all things, but with a lack of concern or relationship with His creation. This is far different from what we know of today. We learned last week that we can call God, Father. 1 John 4:10 says, “This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”
C.S. Lewis described it as a fleet of navy ships. The voyage will be a success only, in the first place, if the ships do not collide and get in one another’s way; and, secondly, if each ship is seaworthy and has her engines in good order. As a matter of fact, you cannot have either of these two things without the other. If the ships keep on having collisions, they will not remain seaworthy very long. On the other hand, if their steering gears are out of order, they will not be able to avoid collisions. Therefore the ships first need to know how to avoid bumping into each other. The ships also must know how to stay shipshape and avoid sinking. Most important of all is that they must know why the fleet is at sea in the first place. What is their purpose?
Peter Kreft states in “Three Philosophies of Life, “without the kind of faith in God that is larger than life and therefore worth dying for and therefore worth living for, without faith that means trust and hope and love, without a lived love affair with God, life is vanity of vanities, the shadow of a shadow, a dream within a dream.” “Short –run purpose is no compensation for long-range purposelessness.” He describes how society, and the devil, tries to hide this Truth. First is the diversion of a million little things that distract us away from the Truth. Second there is so much propaganda out there that leads us to say, “don’t impose your opinions on me.” Of course that is said as they impose their opinions on others! Third there is indifference that states that God, no God, what does it matter? Fourth is the American dream and pursuit of happiness. Don’t talk negatively, practice the power of positive thinking and certainly don’t tell someone they are sinful and in need of a Savior! The last piece is subjectivism. What is true for you is not true for me!
Ecclesiastes is the question to which Christ is the answer! We have something new under the sun through Christ’s Incarnation and Resurrection. Ecclesiastes thus ends by stating: “Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it is good or evil.”
Colossians 3:1-4 states: “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”
There is meaning in our lives! If you are a Christian and you believe this, is your worship meaningless? Do you just go through the motions but not live it out. Do you come to church and act Christian just to walk out the doors and act very non-Christian? In Matthew 15 the Pharisees ask Jesus “Why do your disciples break the traditions of the elders? They don’t wash their hands before they eat!” Jesus answers them in a very direct manner by asking His own question, “why do you break the command of God for the sake of tradition?” Jesus goes on to point out where they are wrong and how they are leaning more on their traditions than following God, quoting from Isaiah 29:13, “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.” They worship in vain, that is, their worship is meaningless! They are only acting it out and not following it through.
Go from here and know your life is not meaningless. There is a purpose for your life, a promise that is given to you from your Heavenly Father. That promise is that all those who trust in Jesus will have an eternal life with Him. Don’t just know your life is not meaningless, live it out on a daily basis; for Christ first loved us and thus we serve for Him.
Amen!
July 28, 2019 What are you asking for?
“What are you asking for?”
Epistle reading: Colossians 2:6-19
Gospel reading: Luke 11:1-13
Being a teacher for 15 years makes me want to give you a homework assignment this week. This homework assignment you don’t have to turn in. You don’t even have to do it if you don’t want to. It would be beneficial for you to do though, so I leave it up to you.
Your homework assignment is this: pay attention to your prayer life this week. Now there are two parts to the assignment. The first part is pay attention to what you are praying for. What are you asking for in your prayers? What do your prayers consist of? Are your prayers consistent with the way that Jesus taught us to pray or are they just about you? Are your prayers only asking for things? Are your prayers only asking for what you want? I will be honest, when I first started praying, it was all about myself and the things that I wanted. I remember even repeating them over and over each night, not varying them in any way. I was more caught up in what I wanted than what I needed. My prayers were for my kingdom! Then as I understood more, it became less about me. John 3:30-36 says, “He must become greater; I must become less.” I have to admit too that it has been a long process. Thanks be to God for His patience! Don’t get me wrong, I still have my moments, but I find myself more being thankful for what I have and then asking for help in dealing with some of life’s difficulties.
For example, my sister is going through her difficulties with brain cancer. I find myself praying first for her salvation. After all isn’t that what it is all about? Very often everyone, including Christians, get lost in the things of this world. We want everything to go smoothly so that we can enjoy what we have at any given time and moment. Of course we should do that, regardless of what is going on because the joy of what Christ has done for us can never be taken away. Yet we don’t, do we? Instead we complain when life is difficult and forget to give thanks when life is going well. Do I want my sister to be cured of her cancer—absolutely! But what I want more is for her to spend eternity with her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
The next part of the assignment is to pay attention how many times you are praying this week—not an actual number, but paying attention to whether or not you have an active prayer life. In the end answer the question: Do you have an active prayer life? When I was younger I recall praying mainly at night. The prayers were short and most of the time I would fall asleep not finishing them, more rambling on than anything else. Unfortunately I still have those moments today! I am thankful that I pray more consistently now, throughout the day and in a variety of circumstances. It is amazing, though, how life can distract you! I would say I pray less on the weekend. That is sad to say, but it is true.
We are to be mature in our faith, to go from drinking milk to solid food. We can put them into categories of our lives: are we just beginning in our prayer life as infants; are we toddlers, adolescents, teenagers; are we young adults; or are we mature prayer people? I don’t mean that if you are young that you can’t be mature and if you are older that you are mature. Don’t get that confused! There are many older people that are infants and many younger people that are mature. What I am doing here is just putting it in terms that we can understand. Where are you in your prayer life?
Let’s get to the Gospel reading on how we are to pray. First, it seems that we are often too busy to pray, forgetting to in a lot of cases because we have so much going on. Yet Jesus was a busy person, and He always had time to pray! We should have no excuses for not going to our Heavenly Father in prayer! His disciples saw Him praying on a regular basis, in every circumstance, no matter how many people wanted His attention. Thus one of them says, “teach us to pray.” Many of us choose not to pray because we don’t quite know what to say. We can often use it as an excuse to not pray. Jesus simply wants you to talk to Him like you would any friend. There is no set rules for praying. In working with youth I would ask someone to pray for the meal and many did not want to because they felt they did not know how. Jesus loves any conversation you give Him. He just wants to hear from you. Don’t ever think that He is not listening because you did not do it properly! To help us in our prayer life, Jesus does give us some basis instructions. Jesus first gives them a way to pray that no other has dared to do, addressing God as “Father!” The disciples often heard Jesus praying, “Father,” but now they are given that same privilege to address their Heavenly Father the same way. We are children of God because of what Jesus has done for us. John the Baptist could not tell his disciples that. The Pharisees could not either. Jesus could teach us that way because He is the Son of God. He teaches us that we can as well, from His authority and from His love in dying for our sins!
So how should we pray? Jesus tells us to first acknowledge and give honor to the one who deserves it--“Father, hallowed by your name!” Then acknowledge whose will is best for you and your life—“your kingdom come.” It’s not my kingdom! I’m not in charge—thanks be to God! Then we pray for our daily bread. We pray for the necessary things first, what we need in order to survive on this earth, having the food and water that we need each day! Then we pray for what we need for our eternal life each day, forgiveness from our sins: The sins that keep us away from the relationship with our Heavenly Father; The sins that can only be found in the forgiveness and love our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Then we pray for how we should live our lives out on the earth, by forgiving others as God has forgiven us! We then ask that God can help us not make decisions that would lead us to being tempted more and thus giving more easily into sin—“lead us not into temptation.”
Colossians 2:6 states, “Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.” Notice the last part, abounding in thanksgiving. As we walk with our Lord, according to His will and built on what He has established, we give thanks! Verse 13-15 continues, “And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.
Is that how we pray? Do you go straight to the praise and glory of God or straight to what you want? 1 Peter 4:11 says, “Those who preach must preach God’s messages; those who serve must serve with the strength that God gives them, so that in all things praise may be given to God through Jesus Christ, to whom belong glory and power forever and ever. Amen.” Psalm 75:1 says, “We proclaim how great you are and tell of the wonderful things you have done.” 1 Chronicles 16:23-31 says, “Sing to the LORD, all the earth; proclaim his salvation day after day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples. For great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; he is to be feared above all gods.” It is all about Jesus! He has given to us all that we need. Not victory over worldly powers that come and go, but victory over sin and death, the exact things that separate us from our Holy God. So do we concern ourselves with our will, believing that worldly things are going to make us happy? Jesus prays in Luke 22:42, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done." God’s will is so much better than any script that we think we could write!
Am I saying that we can’t ask for things? Not at all! First things first though! Are you praising God and giving Him glory for what He has done first or are you just jumping in to what you want? Are you praying for what you need: God’s will, His forgiveness, help in forgiving others, or are you praying for what you want in the selfish desires of the world? Are you asking for a new car when you really don’t need one or are you asking for help in trying to get to work? There is a huge difference!
God wants what is best for you and answer prayers that will lead to His will for your life! He wants us to be persistent in asking as well. That is asking for the right things. Jesus tells a parable to reiterate this point in Luke 11:5-13:
And he said to them, “Which of you who has a friend will go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves, for a friend of mine has arrived on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; and he will answer from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed. I cannot get up and give you anything’? I tell you, though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him whatever he needs. And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
The friend gets up because of the persistence of the man. Think about that as a parent. A parent usually gives in to a crying child because they just want the child to stop. How often do we give into a child just for our own sanity? Yet in that process we wind up creating a monster that is harder to handle in the end. Isn’t that how all things go for us, even in prayer? We ask and desire things that are short lived for simple relief and comfort, not realizing that we are making things worse in the end. God knows what is best for us. I don’t know why God answers some prayers and not others. I am not God! I will leave that to Him. But I can trust that He knows better than I!
Notice what Jesus is saying in the parable. The friend comes and asks for some bread. Is it because he is lazy and just wants to mooch off of his friend? Is he asking for selfish reasons? No, the friend has company and unfortunately does not have enough food to feed them. It is late, but the friend just arrived and is probably famished! What is the friend to do, but to go to his ‘neighbor’ to ask for help. This is not for himself, it is for his guests. Thus the person is persistent in asking for the food. The point that Jesus is making is that we should be persistent in asking for things to! He continues by saying if we, who are evil due to our sinful nature, know not to give our children something that would harm them, why would God give us something to harm us when we ask for it! Don’t get that confused though by asking for selfish items. This man asked not for himself but for a friend that arrived from a journey. God loves the selfless giver, not the selfish taker. It is amazing how people get mad at God because they did not get what they wanted! What did you ask for? Was it for your glory or for His? But wait, I’ll give God the glory if He will just give me that Lamborghini or win the lottery! No matter how many times you may ask, God knows your heart. Whether He chooses to answer the prayer or not is for the good of His Kingdom, not yours! That is how we are to pray—Thy Kingdom Come!
I pray that you can follow the assignment that you have been given for this week. What are you praying for and how active is your prayer life?
At the end of this assignment, I don’t want you to look back and be embarrassed if you are an infant in your prayer life or even boastful if you are mature in your prayer life. There is not pass or fail on this assignment. If you find that you are younger than you want to be, then be intentional in changing it, asking God for help in the process. If you are mature, great, keep up the good work, but don’t boast! At the same time, where can you improve? After all you are not perfect in your prayer life! I know for me I could improve on my focus. I pray throughout the day, and often are doing something when a pray comes to mind. Unfortunately that causes me to be distracted. I am a guy, we can’t do two things at once! There are many times I will be praying and then before I know it, I have been distracted and realize 15 minutes later that I was praying—my mind wanders! I would have classified myself as a young adult until a few years ago. It does take time, but you have to be intentional. Look at your results and determine what you should continue to do and what you should make some changes on!
Make those changes to His glory!
Amen!
July 21, 2019 What is better?
“What is better?” from Luke 10:42
Epistle reading: Colossians 1:21-29
Gospel reading: Luke 10:38-42
Today we are going to talk about attitude. I don’t know about you, but attitude plays a huge role in our house each and every day! How does your attitude affect your day? What is better: a good attitude or a bad one? What is better focusing on what you have to do or what God has given you to do?
I read on the internet that a bad attitude is like a flat tire, you can’t go anywhere until you change it. I have seen several people driving around on a flat tire, so you can go somewhere, but it usually isn’t very far. So I would have to add to it that you can attempt to go somewhere on it, but in the end you are only going to make things worse. I have also seen many people driving around on the temporary spare that some vehicles have. Those tires are meant to be temporary, to get you from one place to another so that you can fix it. They are only meant to go at slow speeds with the driver being very cautious, yet I have seen several people driving around on them at high speeds, and perhaps for weeks. It is as if they change their attitude slightly, but in the end they are not cautious with it and usually wind up being not different than they were before. From this you can see the other quote about attitude on the internet: attitude is everything.
Today we read about a random, seemingly misplaced story in the Gospel of Luke. This story is only five verses long and appears to have nothing to do with the previous story or the story to follow. Why did Luke, being a doctor and being very detailed, include this story? And why here? Because attitude plays an important part in what Luke is trying to get across, in carrying your own cross in the name of Jesus.
We have learned over the last few weeks that Jesus is on His way to Jerusalem. He is focused on what He is going to do for all of us, knowing the suffering that goes along with it and having the right attitude to accomplish it. Along the way to Jerusalem, however, many things are happening. Thus far we have learned about the three people who were shown what is meant by the cost of following Jesus (Luke 9:57-62). We have read about how Jesus sent out the 72 and they were all amazed at how they could cast out demons. They were kept on track as Jesus tells them to boast in the fact that their names are written in heaven and not to boast about the power they have been given to cast out demons (Luke 10:17-20). We read about the Good Samaritan and how we should be focused, again, on the one who is the gate to heaven, that is our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We also see how God has given us gifts to be a neighbor to others around us. But Luke wants us to understand that our attitude plays a major role in all of it, even when it seems to only be a small part of the story.
Thus we read the story about Martha and Mary in Luke 10:38-42:
Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”
The 72 were sent out by Jesus and told to stay in the homes in which they were welcomed, eating what they are given. Here we see such an example when Jesus is invited into the home of Martha. Martha is busy making the meal preparations while Mary is sitting at the feet of Jesus, listening to Him, but not helping Martha with any of the preparations.
I don’t know about you, but I certainly feel for Martha in this story! There is work to do and thus we all should be up and doing it! When I worked at a previous church I remember an Easter Sunday in which it was time for us to clean up from the breakfast. There I was cleaning up and many people walked past me, saying “Happy Easter” as they left to go home. Man I was frustrated at how only one family asked if I needed help! Yes I needed help, there was a lot to do and I wasn’t going to get home to my family any time soon! There was too much work to be done! Martha was in the same situation, she had to prepare her house and a meal for Jesus and His disciples. I thought we had it bad when we have people over for a Bible study! On those days we try and clean up the house as much as we can. What would we do if we knew Jesus was coming over? The preparations would be even more intense! I can completely understand where Martha is coming from. Her sister is doing nothing to help. And even worse, she is sitting at the feet of Jesus like she is one of His disciples; something that woman did not do at that time. Have you ever been in a situation in which you are working hard and others are not helping, or at least that is what you feel? I know we all have, and unfortunately when we are in those moments, our attitudes are usually not the best and we make things worse, even saying or doing things that we should not. Those moments are difficult don’t get me wrong, but perhaps a better attitude would help us get through!
Martha is upset and thus says, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” Martha knows exactly who to go to! Jesus can handle anything. He will set her straight, at least according to what Martha believes at the time. Martha expects Jesus to tell her to go and work, but Jesus turns our expectations upside down in many cases. Remember Jesus is on His way to Jerusalem and yet all these things keep happening. Have you ever had a day in which your plans just did not happen, everything got flipped upside down on you? What was your attitude like on that day? Did you have a flat tire and stubbornly drove around on it all day? Or did you change the tire, change your attitude, and be grateful to God in the circumstances that He has put you through. More often than not those circumstances lead you to growth in your life. Yet our bad attitude causes us to make things worse. Whenever you have to do something that you don’t want to do, you can drive around on the flat tire, even dragging yourself through the mud, not learning any lessons. How often have you looked at the negative side of things in your life--whether it be laundry, chores, homework, or any of the many things we do throughout the day that we don’t want to do? I would rather watch tv and sit around and do meaningless things each day, not do the things I have to! Perhaps we can trust in God that this is another experience that will help us to become the better person that He has planned for us. Just think about all the things you have to do this week—does it get you frustrated too much or does it lead you to give thanks?
In the story of the Good Samaritan we see how the Priest and the Levite were distracted by their daily rounds that they do not help the individual that was hurt. How often do we have our agenda for the day, just to have it mixed up and thrown off course? I can’t help this person, I just don’t have the time. Are we upset by those moments, or do we praise God? Very often God uses these moments to help us to focus more on Him. But are we too distracted to listen? I remember a few years ago when a lady’s truck stalled near a busy intersection. People were honking at her like it was all her fault, because she obviously is just sitting in traffic for the fun of it! Those people had an agenda to get to and this lady was interrupting the flow! How dare she! It was my turn to be right behind her, and yes I wanted to pull around her, not yell or complain, but certainly not wanting to help. Those are the moments in which the Holy Spirit grabs a hold of you! It’s not that I got out because I felt I had to, it was because I truly felt sorry for this woman that needed help. As I pushed her big truck off the road, I was disappointed in the amount of people still driving by honking in their angry attitude and not helping. The only people that helped that day were a few homeless people that happened to be walking by. As I look back this is very similar to the Good Samaritan. These homeless people were the neighbor for this woman, while others simply concentrated on how late they were going to be to their destination, thus affecting their attitudes.
Notice that Jesus does not rebuke Martha’s actions. He rebukes her attitude. It wasn’t what she was doing. It wasn’t that she was busy. The preparations had to be made, someone had to do it and God gave Martha the gifts to serve! We read in John 12:2, when Martha finally gets it, that she is serving once again. The problem was her frustrated attitude, she was distracted away from what God was providing for her. She was lost in thinking that Jesus did not care about what was going on at all, instead of realizing that Jesus loved her more than she loves herself. Jesus wants us to know that we don’t “have” to do things. In the end it is a matter of the heart. We should “want” to do things because of what Jesus has done for us. He truly is worthy of our praise! We want more people to help and seemingly they don’t, so we complain. Perhaps we should show a life of desire, so that others see it and want to join in, not feel obligated to join in! Jesus is our example and we are supposed to follow Him so that others can see that example, that of a good attitude and love for others, that we want to participate. Are we trying to direct our lives or sit at the feet of the one who does?
Martha is very busy serving her neighbor, but forgets to listen to her Savior first! It even says that she was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made (Luke 10:40).” A service that bypasses the Word is one that will never last. When we are distracted away from the Word of God, we are lost! Mary has her priorities straight, not Martha. We can’t serve without being served first by God’s Word. We need to be filled up with His love that overflows so that we can go and be that neighbor that He calls us to be. Not because we have to, but because we want to.
Paul makes this point in Colossians 1:21-23:
And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.
When we get caught up in thinking that we have all these things to do, having a flat tire attitude in the process, we can get lost and taken away from God’s Word. The devil loves when we get stuck in doing good things that take us away from God’s Word in our lives. We are reconciled by His death and reborn in His resurrection. We are not to get lost as Martha did in worrying about all the preparations that we have to do. Instead we first must be filled with the hope of the Gospel, continuing in the faith through the Holy Spirit to trust in Jesus. Thus Verse 28-29 states: “Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.” We will toil and struggle, but we can have a good attitude knowing that the power does not come from us, but from Jesus so that we can present everyone to be mature, having a good attitude in all things, through Christ Jesus.
Luke’s point in these few chapters is clear—we are to rely and trust on the one person who was able to follow the law 100%, who willingly went to the cross to die for us. There is a cost to following Jesus, it is not all wine and roses, so your attitude that you have plays a major role in the process. Others will see it and be affected by it. The question becomes: will your attitude bring people closer to Christ or push them further away?
Amen!
July 14, 2019 Who is My Neighbor?
“Who is My Neighbor?” from Luke 10:29
Old Testament reading: Psalm 41
Gospel reading: Luke 10:25-37
Today Jesus answers two very important questions for us. The first question is “what must I do to inherit eternal life? Now imagine we were to go ask a bunch of random people on the street, “what must I do to inherit eternal life,” how do you think most people would answer it? How would you answer it? I would assume that most would say that you need to live a good life. To a certain extent that is not wrong, we are certainly called to live a Godly life, but that is not the extent of it. The other question is “who is my neighbor?” If we were to go and ask those same people, I would assume that they would tell you about who lives next to them. Again that is not wrong, but that is not the extent of it either!
So let’s look at these questions in our Gospel reading in Luke 10.
In verse 25, an expert of the law stands up to test Jesus with a question, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” This is probably not a test in which he is trying to trick Jesus, as many of the religious leaders attempted to do. Instead, as it states in 1 John 4:1-3, we are to test the spirits to see if they are from God. That is more likely what is going on in this interaction with Jesus. And in the end, the teacher of the law really wants to know what he has to do, probably knowing that he is not following the law perfectly and thus does not possess eternal life. Many people today have that same view point. Am I good enough? What else do I need to do to ensure my future? Some look at their mistakes and dwell on them so much that they completely lose any hope to be saved: there is no way God could love someone like me! Have you ever had one of those moments? I know I have! And when I get in those moments I have to look to Romans 7:24-25: “What a wretched man am I! Who can save me from my sins? Thanks be to God for my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!”
The phrasing of the question tells it all, what must I do? As in many cases, it is not the question itself, but what is behind the question that is most important. This man is missing the point that it is not about him, but about what Jesus is going to do for him and for all of us! Jesus could answer the question given, but there would still be problems. Thus, as Jesus always does, He doesn’t answer the question with a simple answer, He asks His own question. Jesus knows that just giving this expert the “simple” answer would not be good enough, the man would not truly understand. In the end any great teacher leads the student to discover the answer for themselves. After all that is the best way to learn. For example, you can tell your young child not to touch the hot stove all you want, but what will get them to truly understand what you are saying comes after they touch it! Look at most of the situations that occur in your life, the best way for us to learn is through experience, and very often tough experiences are the ones that help us to learn the most!
Thus Jesus drives it home by making the man think about the answer himself. Jesus asks his own question about how this expert interprets the law from the Old Testament. Jesus basically throws it back to him, you are the expert in the law; what does Scripture say about it? This expert shows his knowledge by quoting Deuteronomy 6:5 concerning love to God and Leviticus 19:18 about love for one’s neighbor. This is the correct answer, and Jesus tells him this so that the two can be on the same page. However, the answer and the point that Jesus is going to make is far from over. This was simply the first step. We agree on this, but let’s dig a little deeper.
Thus Jesus adds to the answer by telling him to put it into practice and he will live. Leviticus 18:5 says, “You shall therefore keep my statutes and my rules; if a person does them, he shall live by them: I am the Lord.” The expert in the law thought that by keeping the law he would have eternal life, but living by the law means that you have to obey them 100% in order to obtain it. I suppose then there are two ways of getting into heaven: living the perfect life or trusting in the one that has in Jesus Christ. We know the answer to the first option by reading Romans 3:10: “No one is good enough, not even one.” We can’t go five minutes without falling into sin in our thoughts, words, and actions. There may be two ways of getting into heaven, but one is impossible! Thus what the expert thought would get him into heaven is the exact thing that condemns him from it.
Galatians 3:10-14 states:
For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.” But the law is not of faith, rather “The one who does them shall live by them.” Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”— so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.
The answer to “what I must do” to get into heaven is simply--nothing, you can’t! No matter how hard you try, we can never follow the law 100%, even if we think we can. C.S. Lewis was once asked to give a one word difference between Christianity and all other religions and his answer was grace. Grace is getting what we don’t deserve. God sent His one and only Son to die for us, a free gift that we do not deserve in any way! “Though we were still sinners, Christ died for us! (Romans 5:8)”
The expert is put into his place and thus tries to justify himself by asking the next question, “who is my neighbor?” So this so called lawyer is thus seeking a definition of who my neighbor is; believing that he is already doing that, or at least has the opportunity to do it and thus get into heaven. To his definition, a neighbor is a fellow Jewish person, a person who he does help and love. It is what many would have answered when we asked the question above. Again there is more to the answer, and as always Jesus throws our beliefs upside down and gives the proper definition of who our neighbor is. In His parable, Jesus mentions two men that the expert in the law would have included as his neighbor, a priest and a Levite, both having a respectable and religiously honorable position. Yet both of these men passed the injured man by on the other side of the road, not helping in any way. Then comes along a Samaritan, a person that would not have been considered a neighbor by the expert in the law and he winds up helping the injured person. Not only does he wind up helping, he goes above and beyond in his service to the man.
Jesus then asks the expert, “which of these three do you think was a neighbor?” Notice how Jesus asks the question: “which one was a neighbor?” Another way of putting it is “whose neighbor am I?” More important than a definition is how one shows himself to be a neighbor to others.
We are to love our fellow man by showing love to those who are in need of our help, no matter who or what that person may be! The answer then to who is my neighbor: the one who needs help!
Jesus tells us in Matthew 25:35-36 about the ones that need help:
For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.
Who is my neighbor? The one who needs help! The one that is hungry and needs food. The one that is thirsty and needs a drink. The one that is lost and alone and needs to feel welcomed. The one that is naked and needs clothes. The one that is lonely and needs a visit. The one that is sick and needs to feel loved. For when we do this to the least of these we do it for our Heavenly Father!
Psalm 41 tells us “Blessed is the one who considers the poor,” or the NIV version “Blessed is he who has regard for the weak.” The Psalmist is basically saying blessed are those who are a neighbor, helping one another in need. As the Psalm continues we find the Psalmist in need, going through many difficulties even losing friends in the process. We all are in need of help at times and should always be on the lookout to who we need to be a neighbor to. We will all have times in which we are the one in need and the times in which we are to be the neighbor. Thus as it says in Luke 6:31: “do to others as you would have them do to you.”
Perhaps the better question was always asked by Mr. Rogers: “Would you be? Could you be? Won’t you be, my neighbor?” Who can you be a neighbor to today, this week, this year? When you see a stalled car on the road, be a neighbor. When you see a someone, perhaps a friend, crying and alone, comfort them. When you are at the store and someone is a little short of change, lend them some money. When a neighbor is lost and thinks they are not good enough, give them the Gospel. When the neighbor thinks they are good enough and in no need of Jesus, give them the law and the Gospel—lead them to today’s Gospel reading. When you see someone on the street that is in need of help, give them a drink or some food. Serve in the church, serve at ICS, Habitat for Humanity or any other charity organization. Be a neighbor!
Yet we need to make sure that we don’t get caught up in thinking we need to do these things to inherit eternal life, taking it back to the first question asked. Ephesians 2:8-10 states: “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” We do because we are called to do in the name of Jesus, not of our own doing or for our own good. As Luther says, “God does not need our good works, but our neighbor does.”
In the end it is Jesus who is our Good Samaritan. His self-sacrificing love for us even though we were still sinners. It is by grace that we are saved. Faith in Jesus is the way to eternal life, a faith that shows its life by love for God and neighbor.
Matthew 3:8 says “Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.” The fruit is always from God, never because we are good enough, so thus we keep with repentance in knowing our sin to think it’s about us and not about God.
So as Jesus tells us in Luke 10:37: “Go and do likewise!” Go and be a neighbor, not just have neighbors, and tell them about what Jesus has done for all of us!
Amen!
July 7, 2019 What are You Boasting in?
“What are you Boasting in?” from Galatians 6:14
Epistle reading: Galatians 6:1-10
Gospel reading: Luke 10:1-20
Have you ever watched a football game when a player scores a touchdown and emphatically points with both hands to the name on the back of his jersey? The player is basically giving accolades to himself for scoring the touchdown. Saying look at me, look how good I am!
Have you ever watched a baseball game when a player hits a homerun and as he crosses home plate, he points to the sky? Now my assumption that I am going with here is that they are giving credit where credit is due—and hopefully that is to Jesus Christ!
Which of these describes you more? Basically, what are you boasting in—yourself or God?
In the book of Isaiah we find that the people of Judah became wealthy, thus their richness led them away from needing or wanting God, seemingly boasting in their richness. Thus Isaiah 2:11 says, “The haughty looks of man shall be brought low, and the lofty pride of men shall be humbled, and the Lord alone will be exalted in that day.”
In the book of Acts we find that King Herod took credit for his actions. Thus we read in Acts 12:23, “Immediately an angel of the Lord struck him down, because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and breathed his last.”
The city of Corinth was full of people who were boasting about a variety of things. Paul thus writes in 1 Corinthians 1:26-31:
For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose whatis weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”
So what are you boasting in?
The members of the church in Corinth were arguing over who they were following, Paul or Apollos. This causes Paul to tell them in 1 Corinthians 3:7, “So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.” He caps this off in 3:21 by saying, “So let no one boast in men.”
2 Corinthians 1:9— Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.
2 Corinthians 3:5—Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God,
2 Corinthians 4:7—But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.
In 2 Corinthians 12:1 Paul states that he must go on boasting. He continues by describing his own revelation by Christ. He describes the situation as if it was someone else, so that he can avoid the “I have been to paradise viewpoint.” It was not about him, but about Christ revealing Himself to Paul. Thus he says in verse 5, I will boast about a man like that, but I will not boast about myself. It then says in verse 7-10:
So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
What are you boasting in?
In Luke 10:2, Jesus says as they walk to Jerusalem, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”
As Jesus travels to Jerusalem, it becomes obvious the amount of people that were prospects for God’s Kingdom, especially in Samaria. God’s grace and mercy through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is the harvest and it certainly is plentiful, enough for all to receive. Yet the workers, those who are to spread God’s Word for all to hear are few. No matter how plentiful the harvest, the crop will be small if the workers are scarce. Jesus thus sends out 72 men, in addition to the 12 disciples, to proclaim the Kingdom of God. His first assignment for these new recruits is to pray for more recruits! The disciples could not do it themselves. The 72 extra men were great, but again the harvest is plentiful. The church needs more!
In the end, could Jesus do it all himself? Absolutely! Yet He uses people to accomplish His will. God has appointed these 72 men to help in the process, just as He calls each one of us to help in the process as well! The 72 go out and feel the power of God by casting out demons. They come back and report this to Jesus and are filled with joy. Upon hearing this Jesus describes to them a vision of the time that Satan fell from heaven (Luke 10”18-20):
And He said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”
Jesus is basically telling them that He has given them power to conquer the evil things of this world, but the best part of it all is not these gifts, but that their names are written in heaven! Satan at one time was in heaven, but chose to rebel. Don’t get caught up in your gifts and boast in your actions! Instead know and rejoice that you are a forgiven child of God that has a place in heaven with your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Paul states in Galatians 6:3-5, that we should not deceive ourselves by boasting in our own actions, thinking we are better than we are. We will reap what we sow, thus we should not be weary of doing good (6:8-9). Yet while we are doing good, we need to make sure not to get caught up in the outward actions that it is about us. Paul says in 6:14, “But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” It is not about us. James 4:16 states, “As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.” When we boast of ourselves, that is evil and not what God would want us to do.
So what are you boasting in?
The prelude to the song “Shoulders” by For King and Country states:
I look up to the mountains
Does my strength come from the mountains?
No, my strength comes from God
Who made heaven, and earth, and the mountains
When the difficulties of the world come, and they will, what are you boasting in? If it is in yourself and in your actions, you will fail and life, which is already hard enough, will simply be too difficult!
When confusion's my companion
And despair holds me for ransom
I will feel no fear
I know that You are near
When I'm caught deep in the valley
With chaos for my company
I'll find my comfort here
'Cause I know that You are near
You mend what once was shattered
And You turn my tears to laughter
Your forgiveness is my fortress
Oh Your mercy is relentless
My help comes from You
You're right here, pulling me through
You carry my weakness, my sickness, my brokenness all on Your shoulders
God loves the heart that boasts in the Lord.
He loves the heart that gives him credit for what He alone can do.
He loves the heart that wants him to get the glory in all things and that wants the power of his Son to shine in our weakness.
What are you boasting in?
I pray it is in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!
Amen!
June 30, 2019 God's Calling
“God’s Calling”
1 Kings 19: 9b–21
Luke 9:51–62
Today we are going to look at three questions: How is God calling you?; Where is He calling you?; and for what is God calling you?
Let’s first look at how God is calling you. Are you only listening for God in the big moments of life? Elijah was seemingly doing that. In our Old Testament reading for the day we find Elijah hiding in a cave in 1 Kings 19:9a. Elijah first appears two chapters before when God calls him to leave the place in which he was at and head to the Kerith Ravine (1 Kings 17:2-3). Elijah does exactly what God called him to do. We read how God fed Elijah with ravens (1 Kings 17:4) and how he boldly went to King Ahab and challenged the prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel (1 Kings 18), with only the true God sending down fire. We also read how God gave Elijah superpowers to run ahead of King Ahab to Jezreel (1 Kings 18:46). Yet Elijah got lost, and hid in a cave to hide from the threats of Queen Jezebel. Thus God asks, “What are you doing here, Elijah (19:9b)?” Elijah unfortunately is lost at this time and responds in a poor pitiful me tone, boasting at what he has done and complaining that he is the only one left and now they are trying to kill him too!
Have you ever been in Elijah’s place—complaining about what you are going through, as if you are the only one that has ever been in your situation? Have you ever done that, believing that you are the only one that has ever gone through your situation--trying to justify yourself and your emotions by having people feel sorry for you? These moments then become about you and what you are going through instead of God and what He went through for you! We can get lost and look back on the better times, or look at others through Facebook and desire what they have. We get distracted by earthly things instead of focusing on the ways of God. Have you gone from being confident in something to believing that you are worthless? I’m sure we all have! Are you listening to God, especially during those times? Elijah wanted God to answer him in his way, another key characteristic for all of us! Since God knew Elijah wasn’t listening, He told Elijah to “go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by (19:11).” God then sends a powerful wind that tears apart the mountain and shatters the rocks, yet God was not in the wind. God then sends an earthquake, yet God was not in the earthquake. God then sends a fire, yet God was not in the fire. Then comes a gentle whisper, and God was in that whisper! How does God call you out of these moments? For Elijah, God tried to make a point. He did not come in the powerful wind that tore up the mountain and shattered the rocks. He did not come in the earthquake. He did not come in the fire. God came in a gentle whisper! Are you truly listening for God’s calling in your life?
How often do we find ourselves listening for God in the big moments of life? We find ourselves only asking for God’s help and then expecting an answer in that wind, in that earthquake, in that fire, in those difficult moments of life. We get distracted by the noise of life around us, believing that we can handle it. We’re tough. We’re smart. We seemingly believe that we don’t need God, and then ask for Him in the moments that we realize we can’t do it. We certainly don’t listen for Him in the quiet moments, the small moments of life. Can God be in the big moments? Absolutely! But He is also in the small moments! Are you listening to Him and the calling that He has for you? The founder of Salvation Army, William Booth, once said “Not called!' did you say? 'Not heard the call,' I think you should say.” If we are believers in Christ, we are all being called for something! Are you listening or are you focused on worldly desires and thus are distracted?
What about where you are called? God asked Elijah in the gentle whisper the same question as before, “What are you doing here Elijah?” Unfortunately Elijah responds in the exact same way as before. You could look at the tone a few different ways, even what part is being stressed. Most believe that God is asking Elijah what he is doing in the cave because God wants him to be somewhere else. God wants Elijah to go back to where he originally sent him, to deal with King Ahab and Queen Jezebel.
Where is God calling you? Elijah is being very much like Jonah, in which God called Jonah to Nineveh but Jonah went in the opposite direction. Have you ever tried to hide away from something God has called you to do? Have you ever made excuses not to do it, like Moses did in Exodus 3 and 4? Did you simply pretend not to listen? Where has God called you to serve?
In our Gospel reading for today we see Jesus is on the Mount of the Transfiguration and is now headed to Jerusalem, the central focal point of Luke’s Gospel. Jesus is on His way to Jerusalem by going through towns along the way, with the eventual entry into Jerusalem in 19:28-38. To reach Jerusalem Jesus decides to go through a Samaritan village. The province of Samaria lay between Galilee and Judea. Samaritans and Jews differed in some essential beliefs which caused an intense hatred to develop between the two. However, this did not mean that no Jews were allowed to go through. The group that Jesus was with was not just Him and His disciples, but included other people that He healed along the way, including women. Having a large group go through the town meant that it was customary for them to send word ahead of the group coming through. The Samaritans did not have offense to them being Jews, or even the size of the group. Their offense came from Jesus. They did not want the leader and King of the Israelites coming through their town, walking past their sanctuary and their god. Thus James and John got a very hostile reception. James and John just witnessed the Transfiguration. They saw God’s Glory and His Power. Seeing Elijah as well brought back the time in which Elijah called down fire from heaven in 2 Kings 1:9-12 in this same area, thus James and John are ready to do the same thing.
This response by His disciples leads Jesus to rebuke their words and desires, discipleship does not consist of punishing those who reject the Gospel, that punishment will come on the Last Day and done by God, not by man. This journey to Jerusalem gave Jesus the opportunity for many teachable moments with His disciples and for us.
As Jesus sets out towards His goal in Jerusalem we meet two men. The first comes up to Jesus and says to Him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” Matthew describes this person as a teacher of the law in Matthew 8:19. A very bold statement by this man! It seems that he knows the law and understands what he is doing. He seems very enthusiastic about his decision, but nonetheless is superficial and does not count the cost of what he is saying--similar to Peter saying that he would follow Jesus anywhere, but not realizing what that meant at the time.
Jesus responds, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head.” In other words, are you sure you want to do that, leave your home and comfy bed and all other aspects of your life that you have come to know? Are you sure of the cost of what you just said? In the end Jesus never answers the question and we don’t find out what happened. The point was made! Are you counting the cost of what you just said and are thus willing to go through with it? Jesus was trying to help him understand that the life to follow Jesus means to choose the spiritual instead of the earthly wealth, a life with eternal purposes not just temporary ones. Are you ready to make those sacrifices? It means God’s Kingdom comes first, last, and all the time, letting God handle the things that we can’t and trust in Him to do the things that we can.
What sacrifices have you made for Christ?
Are we sure of the cost? I’ll be honest, I think there are many moments that we don’t realize what the costs are! We get so caught up in the daily living that we seemingly forget that cost! We see someone with a cast as a kid and say man that looks cool, I wish I had one. We say this without understanding the difficulties that come with it, the struggles and rehab that will come. We jump right into things thinking they will satisfy, just to find out they don’t. Sometimes a struggle is the exact thing that is needed to help us through!
As Jesus continues to walk, He tells another man, “Follow me.” The man responds, “Lord first let me go and bury my father.” This certainly seems like a simple request doesn’t it, especially for the time. It was the man’s job to fulfill the burial requirements for his father, usually done within a day or two, thus it wasn’t going to take long. Jesus responds, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God. The message is similar to the first man, God’s kingdom first, last, and all the time. This man’s father was not a believer, he was spiritually dead and Jesus knew that. Thus, to rephrase Jesus’ words a bit, Jesus says let the spiritually dead help in their own secular affairs, come and help your own spiritual future by following me and understanding the Truth, helping others understand that Truth as well!
Still another person comes and says, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.” Another seemingly innocent request! Jesus answers, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.” What Jesus is saying here is that if a person is looking back while plowing a field then the results will be crooked and not done right. If one is going to go back and say goodbye to his family, how easily will he be persuaded to change his mind and stay? It’s not easy to say goodbye to a loved one. It’s easier to stay. The point that Jesus is trying to make again is that one should count the cost of discipleship and that the ultimate point is God’s kingdom, not this earthly life and earthly pleasures. We can all get caught up in looking back at past joys instead of looking forward to our heavenly gifts.
Here we see what God is calling us to. Jesus wants us to show others His love by following the two most important commandments: love God with all your heart, soul, and mind; and love others as yourself. God is calling us to be disciples and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
In the Old Testament reading for today, God answers Elijah’s comment about being the only one by saying that He has reserved seven thousand people in Israel that have not bowed down to Baal. God points Elijah to his successor in Elisha. Elisha is plowing a field and wants to go back and tell his family goodbye. Yet unlike our Gospel reading, Elijah grants Elisha’s request and lets him go back and say goodbye to his mother and father. Elijah answers Elisha’s request by saying, “Go back. What have I done to you (1 Kings 19:20)?” Elijah basically tells him that I’m not the one calling you; that would be God. Go ahead and do what you want, but know who you would be telling no! Elijah leaves the choice between God and Elisha. In the Gospel reading, the people say these things directly to God the Son!
How is God calling you? Are you listening in all aspects, the big and the small? Where is God calling you? Are you refusing to follow where He wants you to be because you think it is too hard or you don’t have what it takes? What is God calling you to do? Are you being a disciple of Christ, being reborn in Christ and through Christ to love God with all your heart and to serve your neighbor? Or are you too distracted by life?
The choice is yours, but know who you are telling no to!
In the mercy and grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
Amen!
June 23, 2019 Guest Pastor Roger Stuenkel
June 16, 2019 Not Abandoned to the Grave
Not Abandoned to the Grave--Acts 2:31
Holy Trinity Sunday
Psalm 8
John 8:48–59
Acts 2:22-36
Holy Trinity Sunday is a time that we celebrate the doctrine of our Triune God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We celebrate this doctrine every Sunday through the confession of our faith in the Apostles’ or Nicene Creed. In the song "Who You say I am," Hillsong United sings:
Who the Son sets free
Oh is free indeed
I’m a child of God
Yes I am
The song speaks of our Triune God: God the Father has a place for His children, His creation, to live with Him in Heaven, and this is done because of the actions and life of Jesus, God’s Son and our Savior who sets us free to be children of God. The Holy Spirit tells us who we are and we are who God says we are!
In our Gospel reading today we see the claim that Jesus had about Himself in being part of this Holy Trinity. Throughout the eighth chapter of John, Jesus expresses His divinity. In verse 12 He states, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." In verse 23 He states, "You are from below: I am from above. You are of this world: I am not of this world." In verse 31 He states, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." He continues this thought in verse 36, "so if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed."
As Jesus continues in John 8, He asks the question to the religious leaders, "Why is my language not clear to you?" Jesus knew the answer to the question and was trying to teach the religious leaders of that time about the correct and righteous ways of God. These leaders, however, chose not to listen. Jesus explains to them that the reason why they are not listening is because their Father is not God, but the devil. They chose to listen to the ways of the world and the lies of the devil. John 8:47 says, "He who belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God." This was an accurate statement by Jesus. It wasn’t name calling, just a telling of the truth. The religious leaders proved this to be true in the very next verse, "The Jews answered Him, ‘Aren’t we right in saying that you are a Samaritan and demon-possessed?’" The religious leaders took offense at the truth and threw lies and name calling back at Jesus. From the Jewish point of view, there was no lower name calling than being called a Samaritan. Of course, having the Truth, Jesus wasn’t offended by this at all.
Jesus responds accurately to them with the Truth, "I am not possessed by a demon, but I honor my Father and you dishonor me. I am not seeking glory for myself; but there is one who seeks it, and He is the judge. I tell you the truth, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death." To know God is to know the Son. To know the Son is to know God’s Word and follow it. To believe that completely, one must have faith, faith given to us by the Holy Spirit. Our presuppositions lead us to read the Bible in a certain way. The religious leaders did not believe that Jesus was the promised Messiah from the Old Testament and they therefore did not listen to anything He had to say. Not listening to Jesus meant that they did not know God’s Word, thus not knowing Jesus, and thus not knowing God who they claimed to know so well. The last statement by Jesus then puts them over the top. Being far from the Truth of God’s Word they claimed blasphemy, stating "Are you greater than our father Abraham? He died, and so did the prophets. Who do you think you are?"
Jesus responds again to unbelieving comments in the best way. It is truly something to admire in a situation like this. Notice how Jesus does not let His emotions get the best of Him. Unfortunately for me, and most of us, we do give in to our emotions. Just think about a time in which you are trying to explain something to someone and they don’t get it! It may seem like such an easy concept on your part but the other person just doesn’t get it. To make it worse, add to the fact that the other person, not only not understanding, but then takes it in such a wrong way that they begin to attack you in the process. Our sinful nature immediately wants to respond in defense and say something back to the other person. Not so with Jesus! He calmly explains the Truth to them, even though they don’t understand it and continually attack Him for His thoughts. Yet comment after comment, Jesus responds with the Truth.
Jesus replied, "If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing. My Father, whom
you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me. Though you do not know
him, I know him. If I said I did not, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him
and obey his word. Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my
day; he saw it and was glad."
Jesus gets straight to the point on this last comment. He is not here to glorify Himself, but to glorify God the Father. Jesus’ glory thus comes from God the Father. This is exactly our purpose in this world, to do everything to His glory and to tell others of His love for them so that they too can glorify Him. We were created to have a relationship with our Creator, to know Him and His Word. Jesus does add a few extra comments in there, "you claim as your God" and "liars like you." This was not done in order to take a jab at them, but to show them the Truth. They claimed to know God, but yet refused Jesus, God who was right in front of them! God calls in the commandments not to lie, but yet they are lying right in front of the One person who will be the ultimate judge on the Father’s behalf. Jesus even tells them the Truth that Abraham rejoiced at seeing the day of Jesus coming to this earth on behalf of those who believe.
Not having the Truth, the religious leaders respond, "You are not yet fifty years old, and you have seen Abraham!" Jesus responds, "Very truly I tell you, before Abraham was born, I am!" "At this, they picked up stones to stone Him, but Jesus hid Himself, slipping away from the temple grounds." We can understand this comment from Jesus by looking at the following verses that state how Jesus was there from the very beginning:
--Genesis 1:26-- Then God said, "Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they
may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground."
--John 1:1—"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word
was God."
--John 1:14—"The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory,
the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth."
--John 10:30—"I and the Father are one."
--John 17:5—"And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before
the world began."
-- Philippians 2:5-8—"In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ
Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!"
-- Colossians 1:15-17—"The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together."
--Titus 2:13—while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and
Savior, Jesus Christ
Even more important than these is the fact the Jesus calls Himself "I am!" Jesus answers their question about age and Abraham by showing that He was with God from the very beginning (as the verses above allude to). This last statement, however, broke the camel’s back for the religious leaders. How dare Jesus refer to Himself as the same God that Moses spoke to in the burning bush. They refused to see the truth in the beginning and their frustration and lack of knowledge of who God is and what His Word truly stated only got worse. Thus they picked up stones to stone Him. As usual, the timing is not now for God’s plan, so Jesus slips away from the area.
Peter tried to explain this same concept to the Israelites in Acts 2 right after the Holy Spirit filled each of them to speak in a different language. He tells them what David says in Psalm 16:8-11:
"‘I saw the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will
not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my
body also will rest in hope, because you will not abandon me to the grave,
you will not let your holy one see decay. You have made known to me the
paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence.’
And then explains:
"Fellow Israelites, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and
was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. But he was a prophet and knew
that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants
on his throne. Seeing what was to come, he spoke of the resurrection of the
Messiah, that he was not abandoned to the grave, nor did his body see decay.
God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it. Exalted to the
right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit
and has poured out what you now see and hear. For David did not ascend to
heaven, and yet he said,
"‘The Lord said to my Lord: "Sit at my right hand until I make
your enemies a footstool for your feet."’
"Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you
crucified, both Lord and Messiah."
Peter tells them that David trusted in the resurrection of Christ and David knew that this descendant of his would be greater than he, sitting at the right hand of God. David knew that God would not abandon Jesus to the grave, just like God will not abandon any of us who believe, trust, and have faith in their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to the grave either! Peter understands Jesus’ question in Luke 20:41-44 more thoroughly at this point:
Then Jesus said to them, "Why is it said that the Messiah is the son of David?
David himself declares in the Book of Psalms: "‘The Lord said to my Lord:
"Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet."’
David calls him ‘Lord.’ How then can he be his son?"
Peter now understands what Jesus was trying to explain to them at that time so that he can now explain it to others in Acts. Through the incarnation Jesus becomes a man, a son in the line of David. Yet Jesus is still God. We see this also through David in Psalm 8:
Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory in the heavens. Through the praise of children
and infants you have established a stronghold against your enemies, to
silence the foe and the avenger. When I consider your heavens, the work
of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is
mankind that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?
You have made him a little lower than the angels and crowned him with
glory and honor. You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put
everything under his feet: all flocks and herds, and the animals of the wild,
the birds in the sky, and the fish in the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas.
Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
Jesus, although divine, was, in His human nature, "a little lower than the heavenly beings," sent by God to take on God’s wrath for the world as an atoning sacrifice. Because of this righteous selfless act, God crowned Him with glory and honor above all other names, putting everything under His feet.
We are not abandoned to the grave, but through the love of God the Father in sending His Son to die for us and sending the Holy Spirit to give us our faith to trust in Him we can further understand the song by Hillsong United:
I am chosen
Not forsaken
I am who You say I am
You are for me
Not against me
I am who You say I am
I am who You say I am
Who the Son sets free
Oh is free indeed
I'm a child of God
Yes I am
In my Father's house
There's a place for me
I'm a child of God
Yes I am
Praise honor and glory be to our Triune God!
Amen!
June 9, 2019 The Day of Pentecost
The Spirit of Truth
The Day of Pentecost
John 14:15-31
Acts 2:1-21
Have you ever spoke up and said something that you should not have? Have you ever not said something when you should have? When are we to know the difference between the two? Today we are going to see that the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth, the One that we should rely on to be our Counselor in the different moments of our lives.
In chapter 11 of Genesis we see that the people did not want to spread out in the world (Genesis 11:4): “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.” This was in direct violation of God’s command in Genesis 9:1, “Then God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth.” Going against God’s plan will result in something bad happening! Making a name for yourself is not the way to go. Sure it may give some pleasures on this earth, but eternity is not going to be fun for that person. Which do you care about—the finite times you have on this earth or the infinite time you have in either heaven or hell? God does promise blessings in both if you choose to listen! Thus God states in 11:7 “Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.” Thus God disperses the people from this place, gives them different languages, but keeps His own command in 9:1 for the people to be fruitful and fill the earth.
God causes them to speak different languages for fear that His people would be united in sinful ways, as is stated in Genesis 11:6, “The Lord said, ‘If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them.’” Not that the people could defeat God, but that they would rebel against Him and thus not believe and trust in Him, losing any chance of God being their God and Savior. If this were to occur, the world would have to be destroyed again and no one would be able to be saved! That is again against God’s plan and thus he does not allow it to happen!
The opposite occurs when people are united together in Christ. Even though the disciples spoke a different language than many of the people in Jerusalem at the time, God allowed them to be understood in the people’s native language. When we are united against God, our languages are separated, but when we are united with God, our languages are united. We read in Acts 2:5-12:
Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation
under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in
bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken.
Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans?
Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? Parthians,
Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus
and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene;
visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we
hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” Amazed and
perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”
There were lots of different people in Jerusalem at this time, from faraway lands, each speaking a different language. They were there to celebrate the Feast of Weeks given in the Old Testament (Leviticus 23, Exodus 23 and 34, Numbers 28:26-31, and Deuteronomy 16:9-12). The festival in Hebrew is called Shavuot, which means weeks and refers to the conclusion of the 7 weeks after the Passover and the grain harvest. In Greek it is called Pentecost, meaning fifty and refers to the fifty days after the Passover and grain harvest. This festival was about giving the first fruits of the harvest as an offering to God. It is thus a tradition for Jewish people to read the book of Ruth during this time because the story is tied to the grain harvest. During the celebration of the Passover, Jewish people were told to remove the leaven from the baking of their bread, as a representation of the old teachings of the Pharisees, which is the doctrine and traditions of men. Seven weeks later, the Jewish people are to bake bread with leaven as a representation of the teachings of Jesus to guide us in the ways of God and not in the ways of man. Thus when people are united in the ways of man, the languages are confused and separated, but when the people are united in spreading the word and ways of God, the Holy Spirit comes to allow that message to be spread to all people and to all nations, as is the Great Commission in Matthew 28!
Yet as it says in Acts 2:13: “Some, however, made fun of them and said, ‘They have had too much wine.’” No matter how many people are united in the message of Christ and no matter where you may go, there will always be those who doubt and try to cause doubts in others. Here we see how some of the people blamed it on being drunk, and unfortunately some people may have believed them. It seems no matter how incomprehensible an explanation may be, people who doubt seem to give into it. I don’t know about you, but I have never heard a person that was drunk be able to fluently speak another language that they previously did not before. A drunk certainly may speak unintelligibly, but it never is a known fluent language! Peter has to defend these comments in verses 14-21. He explains to the crowd that it is early morning and that these men are not drunk, but following what it says in Joel 2:28-32. He gives them a reference to the Old Testament so that they can understand what is happening during this moment of Pentecost.
In John 14 Jesus promises this teaching by the Holy Spirit:
“If you love me, keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and he will
give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—the Spirit
of Truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows
him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not
leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Before long, the world will not see
me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. On that
day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.
Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one
who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show
myself to them.”
The Holy Spirit will be our Counselor forever, and He will give us the Truth. The world will try to step in and confuse us, filling us with lies that go against God’s Word. Revelations 13:11-18 tells us what the devil will do and is doing in this world:
Then I saw a second beast, coming out of the earth. It had two horns like a
lamb, but it spoke like a dragon. It exercised all the authority of the first
beast on its behalf, and made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first
beast, whose fatal wound had been healed. And it performed great signs,
even causing fire to come down from heaven to the earth in full view of the
people. Because of the signs it was given power to perform on behalf of the
first beast, it deceived the inhabitants of the earth. It ordered them to set up an
image in honor of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived. The
second beast was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so
that the image could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be
killed. It also forced all people, great and small, rich and poor, free and slave, to
receive a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, so that they could not
buy or sell unless they had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number
of its name.
This calls for wisdom. Let the person who has insight calculate the number of the
beast, for it is the number of a man. That number is 666.
The devil will come like a wolf in sheep’s clothing. He will deceive us to think that he is God and that we should follow him. He will trick us into thinking that we need his mark to survive. Those lies may seem correct, but that is usually only against the world’s standards. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth, to help us to understand and combat against these lies of the devil. We know that Jesus is in us and we are in Him, and He is in the Father. Thus if He is in us, let His light shine through and follow in His commands. If we truly love in then we are to obey His teachings. John 14:23-27 continues:
Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love
them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Anyone who
does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my
own; they belong to the Father who sent me. “All this I have spoken while still
with you. But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my
name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to
you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world
gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
Although we do know Him, although we do want so much to follow and obey, we still get lost and we still give into our hearts being troubled. That is why God sends us the Holy Spirit, to be our Counselor, our Advocate, our Helper, our Comforter (different translations). God sends the Holy Spirit to us to keep us on track to His ways. He does not give as the world gives, so don’t get caught in worldly thinking. When struggles occur, and they will, have God’s peace, be led by the Holy Spirit to comfort you in your time of need or comfort others in their time of need. God tells us in Revelation 13:10:
“If anyone is to go into captivity, into captivity they will go. If anyone is to be
killed with the sword, with the sword they will be killed.”
This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of God’s people.
The Torah was written for the people on stone tablets, and the new covenant is to be written on the hearts of man as stated in Jeremiah 31:33-34:
“This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,”
declares the Lord. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts.
I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will they teach their
neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me,
from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the Lord.”
The law is written on our hearts. Whether we choose to follow or not is the question! God sends the Holy Spirit to each of us, giving us the Truth of His Word, the Truth of how we are to live. Praise, honor, and glory be to God the Father for creating all things; God the Son who suffered, died, was buried, and rose again from the dead to win victory of sin and death; and the Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, our counselor and comforter in times of need that will always be with us! Luther was right to say in his explanation of the third article of the Apostles’ Creed:
“I believe that by my own understanding or strength I cannot believe in Jesus
Christ my Lord or come to Him, but instead the Holy Spirit has called me through
the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, made me holy and kept me in the true
Faith, just as He calls, gathers, enlightens, and makes holy the whole Christian
Church on earth and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one common, true faith.
Daily in this Christian church the Holy Spirit abundantly forgives all sins—mine
and those of all believers. On the Last Day the Holy Spirit will raise me and all
the dead and will give to me and all believers in Christ eternal life. This is most
certainly true.”
Amen!
June 2, 2019 King of Glory
King of Glory
Psalm 24
John 17:1-19
In one of my pastoral classes we learned about the Theology of Glory and the Theology of the Cross. The Theology of Glory is a worldly way of thinking. It is the thought of the first being first and the last being last. It is a mindset of the survival of the fittest. Strength will win the day. The King of Glory is the one who has destroyed others and put himself on top. In the end it is all about yourself, giving yourself the glory. In Matthew chapter 6, Jesus tells us not to give to the needy if it is only going to be about bragging about it for yourself. Jesus also tells us not to pray if it is only going to be done aloud for others to hear, again giving glory to yourself. Jesus also tells us not to fast if all one is going to do is make it obvious they are fasting, again only giving glory to yourself. Unfortunately that is how the world would say that we should act. MercyMe sings a song called “Best News Ever.” It begins by saying, “Some say, don't give up, and hope that your good is good enough. Head down, keep on working, if you could earn it, you deserve it. Some say, push on through, after all, it's the least that you can do.” If you can earn it, then you deserve it. Fight for what is fair for you! Make a name for yourself! Today’s world can even twist the thought of being a sinner in the wrong way. “I am not a sinner. I am a good person! I don’t need a savior. I am my own savior!” As the MercyMe song says though, “don't buy, what they're selling. It couldn't be further from the truth.”
The theology of the cross, however, is not about us in anyway. It is about what Jesus has done for us. It is God’s way of working in the world. It is a compass not a map, giving us a way of doing things righteously (an orientation--center of your interpretation of all reality should be the cross). It is not a single event of God’s plan, it is God’s plan. This reveals who God is, especially in the moment of His crucifixion that gave Him the glory. Here the first shall be last and the last shall be first. Here victory is won through the death of our savior on the cross. It is opposite of worldly thinking. It is victory in a suffering savior, not in a triumphant king that would destroy all our enemies. It is a King that deserves Glory through defeating sin and death for everyone who believes.
Who is the King of Glory? Psalm 24 asks this same question, but it is not because the person asking does not know the answer. Instead it is asked to give even more praise and honor to the one who deserves it the most. The Psalm begins by stating that God is the creator of all things.
The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it,
the world, and all who live in it;
for he founded it on the seas
and established it on the waters.
All belongs to God as He is the creator of all things. Thus who could ascend upon His mountain? Who is truly worthy? We know this today that it is only Jesus! And for those who seek Jesus, they will know the Father, and be blessed and vindicated by the King of Glory! The final stanza, verses 7-10, are thought to be a dialogue between a priest attending the ark of the covenant as the ark and the army returns from a victorious battle (a battle that they probably should not have won and certainly would not have without God), and that of a priest attending the gates of Jerusalem.
7 Lift up your heads, you gates;
be lifted up, you ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.
8 Who is this King of glory?
The Lord strong and mighty,
the Lord mighty in battle.
9 Lift up your heads, you gates;
lift them up, you ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.
10 Who is he, this King of glory?
The Lord Almighty—
he is the King of glory.
The priest attending the ark shouts for the gates to be lifted up so that the King of glory (the ark) may enter. The priest attending the gates then asks who is the King of glory? This was asked not because the answer was unknown, but to allow for more glory to God for the victory. The response gives that by stating, “The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle.” The priest attending the ark responds again to lift up your heads. This is known throughout the Bible as a sign of joy and celebration as seen in Luke 21:28 as Jesus describes the signs of the end of the age, “When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” The priest attending the gate again asks, “Who is the King of glory?” The answer comes emphatically, “The Lord Almighty, He is the King of glory!”
Today, we as Christians may not be involved in warfare, but we are to put on the full armor of God because as it says in Ephesians 6:12, “our struggles(s) (are) not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” Psalm 24 encourages us as Christians that God will always be there to fight for those who believe, even in the midst of the dark valleys of life.
We see how Jesus is the King of Glory in what is called the “High Priestly Prayer of Jesus” in John chapter 17. In verses 1-5, Jesus is praying for Himself:
“Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you.
For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to
all those you have given him. Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the
only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. I have brought you glory
on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me
in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began."
One might think that this is a worldly way of praying, a theology of glory. After all Jesus is asking for God to glorify Himself. Yet if one were to take a closer look, Jesus is only asking this so that the Father will be glorified. We see here that Jesus was in glory in the very beginning, before the world began. He left His glory to come to this sinful world, to live a life that we could not, to win victory for us. John 7:18 helps us to understand this more: “Whoever speaks on their own does so to gain personal glory, but he who seeks the glory of the one who sent him is a man of truth; there is nothing false about him.” Jesus was not being selfish, but righteous in glorifying the One who sent Him.
Jesus then prays for His disciples in verses 6-19.
“I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were
yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. Now they know
that everything you have given me comes from you. For I gave them the words
you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from
you, and they believed that you sent me. I pray for them. I am not praying for the
world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. All I have is yours,
and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. I will remain
in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy
Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that
they may be one as we are one. While I was with them, I protected them and kept
them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed
to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.
“I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that
they may have the full measure of my joy within them. I have given them your
word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I
am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that
you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not
of it. Sanctify them by[d] the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the
world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify myself, that they too
may be truly sanctified."
We see in the book of John that John emphasizes the Father more than any other Gospel. In Matthew Father is used 64 times; Mark—18; and Luke—56. In John Father is used 137 times, with 122 referring to the Heavenly Father. To know Jesus is to know the Father and knowing God, Father and Son, is eternal life. Jesus does not pray for bigger buildings or greater offerings. He is praying for His disciples and for all people to know Him and thus to know the Father so that all will have eternal life. Jesus came to this sinful world with responsibilities to fill and now He gives us those same responsibilities, giving us the True example on how to fulfill them. In verses 6-7 He has revealed the Father to them. In verse 8 and then in verse 14 He has given the Father’s words to them, and God’s Word is the Truth. In verse 9 He has prayed for them. In verse 10 He has given them everything that He has. In verses 11-12, and again in 15, He has kept them safe, asking for them to be in unity with one another and with God the Father and God the Son. In verse 13 He gives us His joy. In verse 18 He has sent them into the world. In verse 19 He has set himself apart for their sanctification.
As God’s church we have these same responsibilities. Take those to God in prayer, asking for guidance in following His ways, seeking the Theology of the Cross and not the Theology of Glory. And when we get sidetracked and off course, ask God for forgiveness and be guided back to faithfulness. In the end it is not about what we have done or will do. It is all about who the King of Glory is: “The Lord Almighty—
he is the King of glory.” It is what Jesus has done for us on the cross. As a church let us go out into the world so that we can reveal God’s Word and His Truth to others. Let us pray for one another, giving everything that we can to show the love of Christ to others. Let us be in unity with God’s will, showing God’s joy in everyone’s life so that they may be sanctified through Christ. But above all else, let us realize that it will not be under our own strength and power, but through the love of Christ that we will succeed in our mission as Jesus’ succeeded in His.
In the Holy and Precious name of Jesus!
Amen!
May 26, 2019 Guest Pastor Roger Stuenkel
May 19, 2019 Grief to Joy
Grief to Joy
John 16:12-22
When I was in high school I remember telling my friends that there was always something better. That no matter how good you were at something, there was always someone better or that no matter how good things may be going that there was always something better. Now before you think, wow, he was talking about Jesus to his friends in high school, don’t! At that time I had no idea who Jesus even was. I never went to church. No offense to my family, but we just didn’t seem to have the time. Our priorities were a little mixed up! Little did I know that many years later I would come to understand that there truly was something and someone better. Yet many of us get caught up in worldly things, worldly joy, just as my family and I did when we were younger.
Today we are going to talk about how our grief will turn to joy. If you would have said that to me when I was younger, I would have taken that the wrong way--that things may not be going well now, but eventually things would change and I would have good things happen to me in my life, earthly things like money. I would not have taken it the way that Jesus meant it for my life.
Our Gospel reading today begins in verse 12: ““I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear.” We can understand this because up to this point Jesus has given some of His best messages to His disciples all in the span of a few hours. When you go back you can find that Jesus has been giving information since chapter 13. Chapter 13 through most of 17 occurs all in one night, Maundy Thursday, the day before Good Friday. As any great teacher would do, Jesus is trying to give them some important information before He has to go. Jesus washes the disciple’s feet, predicts His betrayal at the Last Supper, and predicts Peter’s denial, all in chapter 13. Jesus tells them that He is the way, the truth and the life and promises the Holy Spirit in chapter 14. He tells them that He is the vine and they are the branches and gives the mandate (Maundy Thursday) to love one another in chapter 15 (verse 12).
Then in the beginning of chapter 16 Jesus tells them, “All this I have told you so that you will not go astray.” This is said right after Jesus tells them that the world is going to hate them, because the world hated Him first. This is far from the thought of things in this life being great for them, the way I would have thought when I was younger. On the contrary, Jesus knew what the world would bring as He tells them in John 16:33: ““I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” In this world you WILL have trouble, so I am saying these things so that you won’t go astray because there is something so much better!
Jesus tries to explain to His disciples about what is going to happen when He says, “In a little while you will see Me no more, and then after a little while you will see Me.” Now at this point in time the disciples don’t have a clue what He is saying. I guess you can’t blame them after being overloaded with information over the last few hours. So Jesus explains it to them, “Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world.”
Where Jesus was going, they could not follow and they would not see Him for a short period of time. On Good Friday, they will experience an intense amount of grief. Their rabbi, their teacher, will be killed on the cross. They will be lost about what is going on, unsure of all they have learned up to this point. Their grief will be in loss and in confusion. The world will rejoice however, having the prince of this world thinking that evil has triumphed by killing Jesus. But as a woman goes through the pains of childbirth, her pains are soon turned to joy when she holds in her arms a beautiful creation of God. It is said that if a woman were to remember the pains of childbirth, then every mother would only have only child! But the pain is worth it to hold a new creation of God, just as their grief will be turned into joy as Christ rises from the dead!
Jesus is buried for three days, but Easter turns sorrow into Joy! The Good Shepherd has laid down His life for His sheep, but He has taken it up again! The disciples would not see Jesus for a little while, 3 days to be exact, but they would see Him again and their grief would turn into joy. Their understanding of all that Jesus had explained to them over the last few hours and last few years would finally be understood. As the song by Casting Crown says, “Living, He loved me! Dying, He saved me! Buried, He carried my sins far away! Rising, He justified freely forever, one day He's coming, oh glorious day, oh glorious day!
Today we also wait until we see Him again! For us, we also hear Jesus say, “In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me.” Some may say that it has been more than a little while, but we have to remember 2 Peter 3:8, “But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.” I know patience is not man’s strong suit, but it is God’s! What shall we do in the meantime, what does God call us to do?
Hebrews 12:2-3 tells us, “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. For the joy set before Him He endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” Therefore we look to Jesus and what is before us. Notice what was before Him—suffering, humiliation, and death by crucifixion. Yet he endured the cross, scorning its shame, to know the joy that was before Him was sitting at the right hand of God the Father, knowing that He has redeemed all who trust and believe in Him. In the world we will find trouble, but take heart, Jesus has overcome the world. Look to that joy that is set before you and endure the things of this sinful world giving thanks and praise when things are going well and when things are not going so well. Always look to the joy that is before us as written in Revelation 21:1-7:
Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven
and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.
I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven
from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.
And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling
place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will
be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He
will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or
mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!”
Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and
the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the
water of life. Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their
God and they will be my children.
It is done. These words are trustworthy and true. That is the joy that is set before us. Right now we may be going through grief. We may have or will experience grief, but take heart, Jesus has overcome the world and won victory for us. A new heaven and a new earth is the joy set before us. As we go through this life, we also have God’s Word to help us.
In John 14:27 Jesus says, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”
Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to his purpose.”
In John 15:11 Jesus says, “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.”
James 1:2 says, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”
That joy is before us! Trust in God’s promises, know His peace and His joy!
My wife and I had a student that unfortunately died in a car crash at an early age. I remember during his memorial, his dad saying that the last words that his son told him before the fatal event was “I will see you again soon.” At his memorial his dad said the same thing, “Son I will see you again soon.”
For all of us, John 16:22 tells us, “So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.”
Amen!
May 12, 2019 God's Sheep, the World's Wolves
God's Sheep, the World's Wolves
Acts 20:22-35 John 10:22-39
In October of this past year, I went as a chaperone with my son’s 6th grade class to the Grand Canyon. Believe it or not, having spent most of my life in Arizona, that was the first time that I had ever been to the Grand Canyon. It certainly is a beautiful creation of God! As we were walking along the path with his class, a few of the students decided to carve their initials in a tree. As they were doing so, it reminded me of the song by Casting Crown, “Only Jesus”. The specific part I was thinking about was, “I don’t want to leave a legacy. I don’t care if they remember me. Only Jesus.” As the song further states, “Jesus is the only name to remember!” Why then do we get so enamored about putting our initials in a tree? What we should do is put a cross in the tree. That then reminds me of a time in which I was camping with my family. My dad was cutting off a limb of a dead tree, and there at the end of the cut limb was a perfect cross. I wasn’t with them at the time and they called me over to see it. I honestly thought that one of them carved it in the tree and did not think much about it at the time. I later found out that they did not—it really did just appear! Jesus truly is the only name to remember!
That is what Jesus is trying to explain to the Pharisees in today’s Gospel reading. As we see throughout the book of John, Jesus is trying several different ways to help the Pharisees and others to understand who He is. In John 3:5, Jesus tells Nicodemus, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.” In John 4:13-14, Jesus tells the Samaritan woman, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” In John 6:53, Jesus tells the Jews, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.” In John 8:12 Jesus tells the Pharisees, ““I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
Some understood this language and others did not. So in chapter 10, Jesus tries to help the Pharisees to understand better by putting it in some more familiar language, that of a shepherd. Jesus understood that they knew Psalm 23 very well and wanted to point out to them that He was that Shepherd.
Psalm 23:1-4
“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, He restores my soul. He guides me along the right paths for His name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death (darkest valley), I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”
God cares for every human need: physical, emotional, and spiritual, as a Shepherd does with his flock. Our Shepherd provides us with food to eat and water to drink. Sheep cannot safely drink from a fast moving stream, thus God not only gives us what we need, He also gives it to us in the best possible way. Shepherds lead sheep along safe paths, to the proper destination. Jesus, Himself is the right way, the righteous path. Even in the midst of frightening situations in life (dark valleys), we can be confident of God’s presence in our lives. The Good Shepherd does not send His sheep into places He will not go; He leads and is always with us. His rod and staff guide us to where we need to go and they protect us from things that may try to harm us.
Jesus wants the Pharisees in John chapter 10 to know that He is the Good Shepherd.
John 10, beginning at verse 1:
“Very truly I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them.
Our Shepherd goes ahead of us. He calls us by name and those who listen will follow Him, those who do not, choose instead to listen to the world. The Pharisees did not want to listen and thus they did not understand, but Jesus tried to help them by rephrasing it.
Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”
On our Tuesday Bible study we were discussing Matthew 7:13-14: “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” The Pharisees did not want to understand this language. They did not want to believe that Jesus was that gate. They wanted something much larger, not accepting this narrow gate. Thus Jesus changes His wording.
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.”
Jesus says that He is the gate and the shepherd. This can be understood more by looking at the sheep who lived more in the city vs in the countryside. In the city there would be a more pronounced pen that would have a gate. We read in John 10:3 that the watchman opens the gate for the shepherd. The watchman was like a security guard watching the pen and only letting the shepherd in. In the countryside, however, there was no pen and no gate. Instead it was an area with rocks as a wall and an open area to go into it. The shepherd would lie down in that opening and thus be the gate and the shepherd. Jesus is both our Shepherd and the gate, and the opening is small, and we can only enter it through Jesus. Jesus tells them that He is going to die for His sheep. Those who are not willing to die for their sheep don’t truly care about the sheep and are thus only hired hands that run at any sign of danger. Psalm 23 teaches us that God is always with us even through the bad times. The world’s wolves skip out at any sign of danger!
On our Wednesday Bible study, I asked the question “Who put Jesus on the cross?” We often say that it was Pontius Pilate being forced by the people and coerced by the religious leaders. That certainly was the means by which it happened. But the true answer to the question is Jesus. We read in John 10:18: “The reason my Father loves Me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”
Unfortunately the Pharisees did not listen and did not understand. We then read in our verses for today:
“Then came the Festival of Dedication at Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was in the temple courts walking in Solomon’s Colonnade. The Jews who were there gathered around him, saying, ‘How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly’.”
We are now 2 months later from Jesus trying to tell them that He was the Good Shepherd. Now it is winter during the Festival of Dedication, or what we would call Hanukkah. The Jews got desperate and straight to the point, if you are the Messiah just tell us!
Jesus answered, “I did tell you, but you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify about me, but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.”
The people wanted Him to tell them plainly and He certainly did—I did tell you but you did not believe because you are not My sheep! If they were, then they would have listened to His voice and followed Him. Since they don’t believe, they can’t accept His last statement—I and the Father are one.
“Again his Jewish opponents picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus said to them, ‘I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?’ ‘We are not stoning you for any good work,’ they replied, ‘but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God’.”
We read many times that the Jews or the religious leaders wanted to arrest Jesus or stone Him, but they never did, because as we read, it wasn’t His time. Remember that Jesus was in control and He chose to do what He did. Jesus tries to help them understand.
Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I have said you are “gods”’?” If he called them ‘gods,’ to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be set aside—what about the one whom the Father set apart as His very own and sent into the world? “Why then do you accuse me of blasphemy because I said, ‘I am God’s Son’? Do not believe me unless I do the works of my Father. But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.” Again they tried to seize him, but he escaped their grasp.
The irony of this comes in John chapter 9. Jesus heals a man that was born blind, and thus was blind for his entire life, until Jesus restored His sight. This man tells the Pharisees in John 9:30-33 after they claimed that they didn’t know where Jesus came from: “Now that is remarkable! You don’t know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly person who does his will. Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” A man blind most of his life saw the truth, but the Pharisees who could see all of their life, were blind.
Are you God’s sheep or the world’s wolves? Matthew 7:15-19 warns us: “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”
In Acts 20:28-31, Paul warns us to watch out for wolves in the church: “Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood. I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. So be on your guard!”
In the beginning of the song “Only Jesus” by Casting Crowns, we see the difference between God’s sheep and the world’s wolves. “Make it count, leave a mark, build a name for yourself. Dream your dreams, chase your heart, above all else--make a name the world remembers.” That is the worldly way of going about our lives, because as the next verse states, “But all an empty world can sell is empty dreams.” Unfortunately we often give into listening to another voice, instead of our Shepherd. “I got lost in the lie that it was up to me--to make a name the world remembers.” Don’t get lost in that lie because “Jesus is the only name to remember”.
When we are God’s sheep we hold on to His promises, even through those valleys. In Revelation 7:9-17 we see these promises:
“After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice:
‘Salvation belongs to our God,
who sits on the throne,
and to the Lamb.’
All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying:
‘Amen!
Praise and glory
and wisdom and thanks and honor
and power and strength
be to our God for ever and ever.
Amen!’
Then one of the elders asked me, ‘These in white robes—who are they, and where did they come from?’ I answered, ‘Sir, you know.’ And he said, ‘These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore, they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence. Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat down on them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; He will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes’.”
For the only name to remember is our Good Shepherd and the Gate to get into Heaven. Listen to His voice not to the world’s emptiness. Trust and Follow Only Jesus!
Amen!
May 5, 2019 Our Sin, His Grace
Our Sin His, Grace
Psalm 30 John 21:15-25
Today we are going to look at how, even though we sin every day, God’s grace is ours. As Psalm 30:5 states, “His anger lasts only a moment, but His favor lasts a lifetime.” David wrote this Psalm after giving into a sin himself. We read about this in 2 Samuel 24. At this time in his life, David is getting older. He is not able to fight in the battles anymore as he get too exhausted (2 Samuel 21:15). There are battles still going on with the Philistines and he is frustrated with things going on, even with his family.
Thus 2 Samuel 24:1-2 states, “Again the anger of the Lord burned against Israel, and he incited David against them, saying, “Go and take a census of Israel and Judah.” David loses track of God, relying instead on the number of men he has to try and defeat his enemies. Thus God allows the devil to tempt David into counting his men. Even Joab, the leader of his army, questioned him “why does my lord the king want to do such a thing? (2 Samuel 24:3).” Joab understands this is wrong and he is less faithful than David! “So the king said to Joab and the army commanders with him, “Go throughout the tribes of Israel from Dan to Beersheba and enroll the fighting men, so that I may know how many there are.” David goes along with this census and eventually realizes his sin.
“David was conscience stricken after he had counted the fighting men, and he said to the Lord, “I have sinned greatly in what I have done. Now, O Lord, I beg you, take away the guilt of your servant. I have done a very foolish thing. (2 Samuel 24:10)”
Often in our lives, temptation from whatever source, leads us to sin. The key for David and for us is to realize that sin, and repent, asking God to forgive us. Yet we also have to realize there are consequences to our actions!
2 Samuel 24:11-15
“Before David got up the next morning, the word of the Lord had come to Gad the prophet, David’s seer: “Go and tell David, ‘This is what the Lord says: I am giving you three options. Choose one of them for me to carry out against you.’” So Gad went to David and said to him, “Shall there come on you three years of famine in your land? Or three months of fleeing from your enemies while they pursue you? Or three days of plague in your land? Now then, think it over and decide how I should answer the one who sent me.” David said to Gad, “I am in deep distress. Let us fall into the hands of the Lord, for his mercy is great; but do not let me fall into human hands.” “So the Lord sent a plague on Israel from that morning until the end of the time designated, and seventy thousand of the people from Dan to Beersheba died.
David then builds an altar to make sacrifices to God for his sins. 2 Samuel ends by stating in verse 25, “Then the Lord answered his prayer in behalf of the land, and the plague on Israel was stopped.”
We can see the pattern of how temptation leads to sin, sin to suffering, suffering leads to repentance, and repentance to sacrifice. Thus this event, it is believed, led David to write Psalm 30:
You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent. Lord my God, I will praise you forever.
We see in the Gospel reading today that Peter got caught up in his doubts and sin as well. Yet God, who is faithful and just, cleansed Peter and brought him away from that sin and into God’s grace. We read in John 13:37 about Peter’s boldness: “Peter asked, “Lord, why can’t I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.” We read in Luke 22:33: “But he replied, “Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death.” In Matthew 26:33: “Peter replied, “Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will.” Peter was bold in his convictions, yet still gave into his doubts and self-preservation as we read in John 18.
Peter’s First Denial (John 18:15-17) Simon Peter and another disciple were following Jesus. Because this disciple was known to the high priest, he went with Jesus into the high priest’s courtyard, but Peter had to wait outside at the door. The other disciple, who was known to the high priest, came back, spoke to the servant girl on duty there and brought Peter in. “You aren’t one of this man’s disciples too, are you?” she asked Peter. He replied, “I am not.” It was cold, and the servants and officials stood around a fire they had made to keep warm. Peter also was standing with them, warming himself.
Peter’s Second and Third Denials (John 18:25-27) Meanwhile, Simon Peter was still standing there warming himself. So they asked him, “You aren’t one of his disciples too, are you?” He denied it, saying, “I am not.” One of the high priest’s servants, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, challenged him, “Didn’t I see you with him in the garden?” Again Peter denied it, and at that moment a rooster began to crow.
What happened to the brave and confident Peter listed above? He along with all of us get trapped into sin. Now it was time to restore Peter and give him direction. These 3 love questions parallel Peter’s 3 denials.
Jesus first asks Peter in John 21:15, “Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?” First we see that Jesus addresses him as Simon son of John, not as Peter. We go back to John 1:42 when Jesus calls His first disciples and changes Simon’s name to Peter. Here we see that Jesus is taking that disciple that He met 3 years before and is restoring him to be the rock, Peter, that he was meant to be for God’s church. Second we see that in the NIV version, “do you truly love me?” The truly in this case represents the agape, unconditional God-like love that Jesus has for us. Perhaps this goes along with the question of more than these, going back to the boasts that Peter had before. Peter responds, “you know I love you.” Notice there is no truly in this case as Peter responds more with the a love of a dear friend. Jesus responds, “feed my lambs.” This feeding is probably meant to tell Peter to continually feed God’s people the Gospel of Christ.
Jesus asks Peter a second time in verse 16, “Simon son of John, do you truly love me?” Notice the truly, agape love that Christ has for us is used again. Peter responds, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Notice the lack of truly used, meaning again Peter used the dear friend kind of love. Jesus responds, “take care of my sheep.” Not only was Peter to feed the lambs, he was to take care of them and be their shepherd.
Jesus asks Peter a third time in verse 17, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Notice the lack of truly, meaning that Jesus used the dear friend kind of love that Peter has been using. It is like Jesus said, fine you won’t do the agape kind of love that I am asking, will you do the dear friend kind of love? Peter responds, being hurt of the questions, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.” Unlike the boasting that Peter did before, he gives the truth of the matter, God knows all things! He was hurt because at this moment he realized what Jesus was doing, asking three times brought back his three denials. Peter’s sin was God’s grace! Jesus is Worthy of every song we could ever sing. Worthy of all the praise we could ever bring. Worthy of every breath we could ever breathe. Jesus is the name above every other name. Jesus is the only one who could ever save. Build your life upon that strong foundation.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen!
April 28, 2019 Doubts to Faith
Doubts to Faith
Have you ever doubted anything? I know I have! The definition of doubt is to have a feeling of not being completely confident or sure of something. Going off of that then there are many times in my life I am not sure about things. My wife will say I can’t even make up my mind about where we want to go eat or even what I want to eat when we get there! There are many things that I don’t understand in this life. As a believer, are there things I’m not sure about in the Bible? Absolutely! God does not give us everything, does He? As we will see in today’s message, it is ok to have your doubts, but let those doubts lead you to trust in God even more so. Let your doubts lead to an increase in your faith! We can see this theme throughout the Psalms. David, who wrote a good amount of the songs, can be seen praising God, but also throwing out some complaints and petitions to God. Though David may not like the situation he is in and says that to God, he still ends the Psalm with a trust in God through whatever he may be going through. It is a good lesson for all of us, and I encourage you to read the Psalms each day to see this pattern.
We can see doubt throughout the Bible. In the very beginning we see that the devil has tried to put doubts in our minds since the Garden of Eden. The point for the devil is to cause our doubts to lead us away from God instead of towards it. In Genesis 3:1-5, the devil asks Eve: “Did God really say, ‘you must not eat from any tree in the garden?’” Eve responds with the truth and a little extra, “God did say, you must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.” God never said the touching part. It is amazing how we like to add our own parts to a story, especially when we are in moments of doubt. The devil continues his lure of doubt, “you will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
We can read that Abraham and Sarah laughed when they were told they were going to have a child in their old age.
In Exodus 3:10-14, we read the doubts and excuses of Moses.
“So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.” But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” And God said, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.” Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?” God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’”
The excuses continue in Exodus 4:1-15
Moses answered, “What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you’?” Then the Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” “A staff,” he replied. The Lord said, “Throw it on the ground.” Moses threw it on the ground and it became a snake, and he ran from it. Then the Lord said to him, “Reach out your hand and take it by the tail.” So Moses reached out and took hold of the snake and it turned back into a staff in his hand. “This,” said the Lord, “is so that they may believe that the Lord, the God of their fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has appeared to you.” Then the Lord said, “Put your hand inside your cloak.” So Moses put his hand into his cloak, and when he took it out, the skin was leprous[a]—it had become as white as snow. “Now put it back into your cloak,” he said. So Moses put his hand back into his cloak, and when he took it out, it was restored, like the rest of his flesh.
What amazing things Moses witnesses! You would think he still would not have doubts, yet he continues: “Pardon your servant, Lord. I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.” He continues Moses said, “Pardon your servant, Lord. Please send someone else.”
Moses, one of the most important figures in God’s Word, had His moments of doubt. Numbers 13 and 14 tell us of the doubts that the Israelites had about entering the Promise Land. Numbers 13:31 says, “We can’t attach those people; they are stronger than we are.” God brought them to the land, yet the Israelites had doubts that God could help them win this land since it was filled with giants! That doubt caused that generation not to enter the Promise Land! We see these same stories throughout the Old Testament.
In the New Testament we read about Peter denying Jesus three times due to his own doubts and fears. And Peter is the rock in which we build our church (Matthew 16:18)! We read in John 19:25-26 that the only disciple at the crucifixion was John. Where was everyone else?
Today we read about “Doubting Thomas.” John 20:19-23 tells us that Jesus visited the disciples in the evening on Easter Sunday.
On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”
Notice how Jesus showed them His hands and His side, proving to His disciples that it truly was Him and no one else, theirs and our Risen Savior. Yet Thomas was not there. Why he wasn’t there it does not say. We read in John 20:24-29
Now Thomas (also known as Didymus[a]), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”
It seems that Thomas gets a little chastised here for not believing. On one aspect I can see this being justified when Thomas chooses not to believe his fellow disciples. It’s not like he heard this story from just anyone. But go back to when Jesus was first in the room. Jesus shows the disciples His hands and His side. Why—to prove to them He was who He said He was. Thomas is just asking for the same thing isn’t he? Perhaps Thomas takes it too far, but don’t we all have moments like this? Don’t we all have our moments of doubt? Don’t we all have the moment of saying I’ll believe when I see it?
Did the doubts stop there—no! The Great Commission, Matthew 28:16-17, says: “Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshipped him; but some doubted.” This is after the crucifixion and resurrection! After all the wonderful things that Jesus showed them, and they still doubted!
God knows we have doubts. God’s story is full of people who had doubts! But look at how each of them dealt with the doubt. Abraham may have laughed, but he still obeyed when God told him to sacrifice that son they once laughed about. God stopped Abraham and provided a replacement sacrifice, but his obedience was credited to him as righteousness. Moses made excuses, but he still obeyed God and did what he was told. The disciples may not all have been at the crucifixion, but they all went to spread the Gospel. Thomas may have doubted, but he explains “My Lord and my God!” It says in the Great Commission that some doubted, but they still worshipped Him!
We all have our doubts and uncertainties, even when we read God’s Word and know of His promises, we can still have moments of doubt. We see many examples of that throughout the Bible. I suppose it is part of our sinful nature. Just don’t let those doubts lead you astray, giving into the lies of the devil and the sins of this world. Instead, when we have those moments may we still obey like Moses, worship like the disciples, and proclaim like Thomas, “My Lord and my God!” so that our doubts lead to an increased faith!
Take the advice of Hebrews 11:1: Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.
Hope for God’s promises and be certain that He will fulfill them. When the doubts come, let them lead you to a stronger faith and trust in God!
Amen!
April 21, 2019 Easter Sunday A New Day
A New Day
Old Testament reading: Is. 65:17–25
Gospel reading: John 20:1–18
If we were to go ask people “What is Maundy Thursday or what is Good Friday,” how many people do you think would know the answer? How many people do you think even care about its significance in their lives? What if we asked them “What is black Friday?” Do you think more people would know that answer? What about the true meaning of Easter? Would it be more about the Easter egg hunt and the candy or the resurrection of Jesus? Why is it that we get attracted to the irrelevant? Why is it we are more attracted to the dark than the light? Is it to hide things? Why are we so distracted away from God’s Word like the dog in the Disney movie “Up”—“Squirrel!” Why are we like the seagulls in the Disney movie “Finding Nemo”—“Mine, Mine, Mine!” Why do we choose to give into a worldly way to view the world instead of the Godly way to view it?
A Christian would see this simply as sin, with us going against God’s commands and purpose for our lives and the exact reason that Jesus came to die for us.
A non-Christian would see it as the survival of the fittest, a belief in earning what is yours and living life as you see fit. I suppose it depends on your beliefs.
For example the song from “The Greatest Showman” called “Never Enough” states:
All the shine of a thousand spotlights
All the stars we steal from the night sky
Will never be enough, Never be enough
Towers of gold are still too little
These hands could hold the world but it'll
Never be enough. Never be enough For me
The song continues emphatically to pronounce—“NEVER!” Again one could look upon Black Friday as being more important to your life than Good Friday, but they will NEVER be satisfied. When we live with a worldly point of view, we want more and more and thus, it is NEVER enough! NEVER! NEVER!
Then we look at the beginning part of the song, and what you believe makes a big difference to the rest of the song:
I'm trying to hold my breath
Let it stay this way
Can't let this moment end
You set off a dream in me
Getting louder now
Can you hear it echoing?
Take my hand
Will you share this with me?
'Cause darling without you
If we look at this with a worldly point of view, we can see that there are moments in our lives that we want to last forever. In the movie she is referring to the main character in this song, PT Barnum, a married man. She falls for him and wants to forever be with him, and if she can’t then nothing will be good enough.
What if we looked at it from a Christian point of view? What if the moment being sung about is when we receive the love of Christ, understanding how important this day is in our lives and significant this whole week is? When we receive God’s love, He sets off a dream in us. A dream/hope of an eternal life with Him that we never thought possible! How can it be! How can a sinner such as myself ever be forgiven and loved by God? Yet God sent His One and only Son to die for me! Let this moment stay this way and not let this moment end! Our faith begins to grow, our hearts beat again, being dead to sin and alive in Christ. Can you hear it getting louder? Can you hear it echoing as God calls all who believe to share this love with others? Will you share this love of God with others? Then comes the ultimate understanding of the rest of the song: Cause darling without you nothing will ever be good enough—NEVER! For a Christian that you is our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!
For without this Holy Week, without the love of God the Father in sending His Son to suffer and die for us on the Cross and then rise again three days later on Easter morning, nothing else will ever be good enough—NEVER! NEVER! NEVER for me!
Paul talks about this in Philippians 3:7-11
"But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ.
What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth
of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider
them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness
of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the
righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. I want to know Christ—yes,
to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like
him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead."
This is a new day! Jesus has won victory for us over sin and death. Alleluia! We read in Isaiah 65 that we are promised a new heaven and a new earth. No longer will there be weeping and crying, no longer will there be the tragedies of this world. We will have a new Eden, where wolf and lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. Nothing will harm or destroy us!
We read in the Gospel today that the tomb is empty! The grave could not hold our Savior! Death where is your sting? We read how He calls Mary by name as He will do for all those who believe! We read that we are united with Him in His death and in His resurrection as brothers!
This day is the greatest moment in history! The old has gone and the new has come! Let us then go from here confident of His Words, obedient to His ways, loving to Him and to others, knowing that our sins are forgiven and trusting in the promise of a new heaven and a new earth as we await our last days or the day that Jesus comes back again.
It is finished is not just a simple, Jesus died for me. It is so much more! The entire story of the Bible is wrapped up in this week. From the moment of creation and the fall, the entire world past, present, and future has been waiting for this moment. All the promises that God has given us are put forth in this moment! The final promise we await on the day that Jesus returns and takes all who believe with Him to Heaven! Blessed is He who eats at the feast in the kingdom of God! But woe to him who puts worldly desires before God and trusts in the world and his own survival, for that will never be enough!
We see this in the opening of the song Living Hope by Phil Wickham:
How great the chasm that lay between us
How high the mountain I could not climb
In desperation, I turned to heaven
And spoke Your name into the night
Then through the darkness, Your loving-kindness
Tore through the shadows of my soul
The work is finished, the end is written
Jesus Christ, my living hope
Who could imagine so great a mercy?
What heart could fathom such boundless grace?
The God of ages stepped down from glory
To wear my sin and bear my shame
The cross has spoken, I am forgiven
The King of kings calls me His own
Beautiful Savior, I'm Yours forever
Jesus Christ, my living hope
Then came the morning that sealed the promise
Your buried body began to breathe
Out of the silence, the Roaring Lion
Declared the grave has no claim on me
Hallelujah, praise the One who set me free
Hallelujah, death has lost its grip on me
You have broken every chain
There's salvation in Your name
Jesus Christ, my living hope
Amen!
April 19, 2019 Good Friday It is Finished
It is Finished!
Good Friday Service 2019
Old Testament reading: Isaiah 52:13 – 53:12
Scripture reading: Hebrews 5:7-9
Gospel reading: John 19:16-37
In the explanation of the book of Hebrews, the Lutheran Study Bible states this story:
Frost glistens in the light as it melts from the backs of wooly lambs,
gleaming and shimmering and dripping as the animals doze. The lambs rise to
stretch. They shiver, steam wafting from their warm legs and bellies. They look up
expectantly toward a man standing near their gate. He leans on the edge of the
pen and looks the herd over carefully, wondering which lambs to feed and which
to choose for the morning sacrifice. It is a great and festive day—most holy. And
yet, tomorrow he will have to choose again, and so the next day, and the next.
The writer of Hebrews describes the glories of the old covenant but also reminds
his readers of how it is surpassed by the glories of the new covenant.
The annual cycle of sacrifice reached its consummation in one most holy
offering—the blood of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of all our sins. Jesus now stands as our High Priest, watching over the sheepfold of all who look to Him, the founder and perfecter
of our faith.
Today is not just some ordinary day, it is most holy! The Israelites had to give a sacrifice day in and day out in the Old Testament, but we now all receive the ultimate sacrifice for our sins, the blood of Jesus Christ. Our Scripture reading today from Hebrews tells us: “During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, He offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the One who could save Him from death, and He was heard because of His reverent submission.” Jesus trusted in God’s purpose. He trusted the Father through the suffering. He trusted that the Father would raise Him from death. Jesus gave us the example to follow as we live out our lives on this earth, through loud cries and tears, offer your prayers and petitions to the One who can raise you from the dead through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This was not going to happen by some simple means. Hebrews 2:10 says, “In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering.” The only way the sins of the world would be taken away forever, is through a suffering act, and not just a simple suffering act.
Isaiah gives us an understanding of the abuse that Jesus takes on for us in a vision. Isaiah 52:14 says, “Just as there were many who were appalled at him--his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any human being and his form marred beyond human likeness.” To the pain brings on a whole new meaning when Jesus takes it on in our place! And we call this Good Friday? We read later on in Isaiah 53:7, “He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.” He came into Jerusalem with shouts of Hosanna, only to be led to the cross with shouts of crucify! He could have opened His mouth and saved Himself, but He didn’t. (This same verse we read about in Acts 8:32 where Philip is called to testify to the Ethiopian eunuch about what Jesus has done for all of us.) In the Gospel reading for today, John 19:15-16 states, “But they shouted, “Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him! Shall I crucify your king?” Pilate asked. We have no king but Caesar, the chief priests answered. Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified.” This would be like an opponent of Trump standing up and saying that we have no leader but Trump! The chief priest said this! He was not a follower of Caesar. The church did not like Caesar, but isn’t it amazing how we give into the ways of the world when we are angered at someone for not giving us what we wanted, even though Jesus gave us what we needed. We recite in the Nicene Creed, “and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate” and in the Apostles Creed, “suffered under Pontius Pilate.” Pilate may not have been the one that wanted Jesus on the cross, but he was the one who allowed it to happen. Pilate hangs a sign on the cross in three different languages for all to read. The Jewish people protest once again, wanting it to say that this man claimed to be king of the Jews, not that He was the king of the Jews, although that was the Truth!
John 19:28-30 states:
“Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.”
It is finished is a powerful statement! Jesus did not simply mean that His life was over. He did not simply mean that His suffering was over. Both of those are true, but there was so much more to come! It is finished means that Jesus completed everything for us! The promise that was given in Genesis Chapter 3, is now complete. The veil that blocked us from our Heavenly Father is now torn. The chasm that existed and separated us from God is now bridged in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Our sin is taken care of, our debt is paid! Jesus gave us the example of how God meant for us to live. Even in the midst of His suffering He shows His love for others in John 19:26-27: “When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, “Woman, here is your son,” and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.” Jesus wanted to make sure His mom was taken care of in the midst of pain. Jesus was looking at the needs of others while He is dying for them!
Why is it that through all of this, the pain and suffering, do we call this Good Friday? We can find an answer to that as we continue to read in Isaiah 53:5-6:
But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
The punishment that brought us peace, and by His wounds we are healed! When you understand what He has done for us, it is not just a Good Friday, it is a Great Friday. Without this event, without the suffering and pain that Jesus took on for all of us, we would not have an eternal reward in Heaven! Yes I am completely ashamed of my actions that have caused my Savior to die like that for me! Yet His love for me is beyond anything that I could understand! For while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8)! While we love conditionally, Christ loves unconditionally. He did this for us, free of charge and without any return payment needed. That is His love for us! Crowder sums it up well in a song, “the cross meant to kill is my victory!”
Gospel literally means “good news.” It is the grace of God that revolves around one unique historical event: the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ on the Cross. The Gospel seems too good to be true because it does not depend on anything we do! It is all about what Christ has done for us! Christ was the eternal sacrifice. No longer do we need to perform daily sacrifices as in the Old Testament. In order to have an eternal reward, the Perfect Lamb in Jesus had to be sacrificed. His death breaks the veil that separated us from God the Father. The cross was God’s chosen way of salvation planned from the beginning of the world and the finite mind cannot even begin to imagine the extent of Christ’s suffering. For we raced from God in rebellion, yet God placed our guilt on the only One who stayed beside Him, Jesus Christ. One innocent Lamb remained, and that Lamb of God received the punishment of the flock that fled.
And as we go from here we can also note that the cross has two parts. The vertical part is our relationship with our Heavenly Father in our justification, where we receive freely the gifts from God. That part is finished! We also see the horizontal part which is our sanctification. It is our relationship with each other, where we give of our time, treasure, and talents. This part is not finished until we enter the church triumphant. We don’t do this to earn our way, that is solely in the death and resurrection of what Jesus has already done for us. Our sanctification is living the new life in Christ, as our old sinful selves are buried with Him in death, but our new selves rise with Him in His resurrection to live a new life (Romans 6:4).
In the precious name of Jesus!
Amen!
April 14, 2019 Entrance and Exit
Entrance vs Exit
John 12:20-36
Psalm 118:19-29
One thing I used to teach any of the teams that I coached was that we would leave the field, dugout, etc. better than we found it. As we went to Houston for our mission trip we certainly had that same philosophy in mind. Whatever house we were going to enter, we wanted to leave it in better shape that we found it. To the people we served, I know we did! It was truly a blessing to serve them! Yet we did not necessarily begin the trip that way. I know that I was not looking forward to the long drive and I did not want to have to leave my family for the whole week. Yet I was excited to see some of the people that I met on the trip the year before. Not all of us felt that way in the beginning. Three people of our group did not join us the year before, but did join us two years prior on our first Houston mission trip. On that trip there was not a lot of structure. It was my first mission trip and I did not know exactly what I was doing, but things got done and we had a lot of fun! They were looking at this new trip, wanting the first trip. They heard some of the stories from last year and seemed to only catch the bad points that occurred. The moment we got there, the structure and organization was noticed right away and that only added to their disappointments of what they thought was going to occur. They were frustrated and only hung out with each other those first few days, as they were surrounded by 80 strangers.
But as mission trips often do, things changed for them. We left Houston and no one really wanted to leave. Friendships were made from being strangers to strong friendships. Friendships that helped each of them grow closer to their relationship with Christ. People were even planning on visiting one another, some living in Arizona while others lived in Wisconsin. Attitudes changed from wanting the fun of the first trip to this one being more fun, structure and all!
Today is Palm Sunday and we understand how the entrance is quite different than the exit just like it was for us on the mission trip.
In order to understand where we are at in the story, we read at the beginning of John chapter 12 that Jesus was in Bethany for the Sabbath. The Sabbath occurred from Friday at dusk to Saturday at dusk, and then we read, “the next day the great crowd that had come for the Feast heard that Jesus was on His way to Jerusalem.” The next day, being Sunday Jesus arrives in Jerusalem and the people gather together to see this miracle worker come into town. They took palm branches and set them down on the streets, the reason we call it Palm Sunday! They shout, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” The people knew the Old Testament as they shout Psalm 118:25-26, “O Lord, save us; O Lord, grant us success. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.” The Hebrew word for save us can be translated into Hosanna. The Jewish people would sing this psalm during the Passover when the lambs were sacrificed. Yet instead of looking at Jesus as that Sacrificial Lamb, the people were looking at Jesus as being the earthly king that will triumph over all nations, that will save them and give them success. They were looking for Him to perform more miracles like He did with Lazarus. Yet they forget the part of the psalm that mentions the stone that the builders rejected will become the cornerstone. They forget to see that Jesus came in on a donkey and not a horse, coming into town humbly and not as a triumphant earthly king. Their excitement of what they wanted and what they expected soon went away.
We see this in our Gospel reading for today. In John 12:20 we read that some Greek Gentiles were looking for Jesus. They went to Philip, probably because his name was of Greek origin. Here we see the desire of the Gentiles wanting to see Jesus, wanting to know more about Him and His love for the world. But it is interesting to notice that Philip did not go straight to Jesus, he instead went to Andrew first and both of them went to Jesus. Jesus responds to them both and we never get an understanding of whether Jesus met with these Greeks or if Philip and Andrew went back to speak with them. We only see the focus of what Jesus is preparing Himself to go through for His disciples, for Israel, for the Greeks that wanted to see Him, and for the entire world past, present, and future. Jesus tells them, “the hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Jesus wants Philip and Andrew to understand the importance of this moment. This moment is much more than just going to talk to these Greeks. This moment was for everyone, and He wanted them to be focused on it as well. So He tells them, “I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds (and bears much fruit).” If one were to look at this from a strict scientific perspective they may say that a seed does not die, the embryo is still alive and that produces the plant. Jesus wanted them to understand the purpose of His death that was coming. He wanted them to know that it was to produce more seeds and bear fruit. Thus He helps them by giving them another way to look at it. “The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” Through His death we are to give up our old lives, our old Adams. We are to give that sinful life over to Jesus so that He can take it with Him to the cross and bury it, in order for us to rise again with Him in His resurrection. When we understand this and are alive in Christ, we too can go and bear fruit in helping others to know of God’s love and purpose for their lives.
Then Jesus says, “Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name.” We can see in this that Jesus knew what was going to happen, and He really did not want to go through it. Take this cup from Me, but not My will, but Yours be done! We can see in this that there may be a lot of things we don’t want to do, lots of struggles we don’t want to go through. Yet we see the example of Jesus, not our will but Yours be done! We are to trust and in that trust we are to glorify Him!
Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.” Everyone heard this, but not everyone understood it.” Can you imagine being there and hearing that? Then Jesus said, “this voice was for your benefit, not mine. Now is the time for judgement on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself.” Jesus knows that this world is full of sin. He knows what we go through because He went through it Himself. Here He reminds them of what was promised in Genesis 3, that Satan will be defeated. He then tells them how Satan will be defeated, when the Son of Man is lifted up on the cross to die.
But the crowd did not understand and were asking Jesus “Who is the Son of Man who will be lifted up?” They were not paying attention when Jesus said, “I, when I am lifted up” in the previous verse. They were looking at their Messiah, Son of Man as being from Daniel 7:13-14: “I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and language should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom, one that shall not be destroyed.” Their son of man would not pass away and be killed. Thus, if this was not the Messiah they were expecting then get rid of Him, and thus begins the change from excitement and praise to ridicule and death, the entrance vs the exit.
What they failed to see is that the only way that this kingdom is to reign forever and not pass away was through Christ’s death and resurrection. They failed to see that there must be a sacrifice. In the Old Testament the people sacrificed lambs to repent of their sins and make atonement. Those sacrifices were temporary and not eternal. The same would have to occur because a payment had to be made, but the lamb had to be someone who lived a life that we could not. This person had to not give into sin and instead follow God’s will perfectly. But who could that be? Who could break the seal and open the scroll (Revelation 5)? That person was Jesus!
The people of Israel had high expectations during the entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem. They were excited. But they did not get what they wanted. They wanted a king to destroy their enemies and to save them and give them success. Jesus did come to save them, but not the way they wanted, and thus their excitement turned to disappointment and frustration. As Jesus told them what was going to happen and the ways that they should act, they did not get the picture of the son of man in Daniel. That Messiah could not be killed, thus their exit was quite different. They did not understand what must be done for their sake and that Jesus is that Messiah, He will have an everlasting dominion. His kingdom will not pass away, but in order to get there, something else must be done, a debt has to be paid!
What about the entrance and exit from Jesus’ point of view. He entered knowing what was going to happen. He entered not wanting to go through all of this, even asking for the cup to be taken from Him. Yet Jesus did the Father’s will, not My will but Yours be done! Jesus knew what was at stake, regardless of the mixed emotions of the crowds from excitement to disgust. Jesus enters Palm Sunday on a donkey, showing His humbleness and service to the world, but leaves the next Sunday, Easter morning in all of His glory. Jesus certainly leaves it better than He found it!
May we walk in the light of Jesus in what He has done for us. May we find ourselves following God’s will for our lives in all circumstances! May we give our sins to Jesus to take to the cross! May we rise again in His resurrection to live a life bearing fruit!
All to His glory and in His name!
Amen
April 7, 2019 Something New
Something New
Isaiah 43:16-19
Luke 20:9-19
You gotta love the excitement of your children when they open up a new gift on Christmas day or on their birthday. Unless of course it is new underwear or other clothes and they don’t really care. But a new toy is exciting. You know they like it when they don’t care about the other presents that they have not even opened yet! Just as quickly as the excitement comes; however, it also goes away quickly and they are ready to join you to go to the store to get something new again!
The old things can also play a big part. Have you ever said, “they don’t make them like that anymore.” Today’s cars, appliances, etc. are not made to last as long. Perhaps that is due to our wanting new things so quickly. What about “the good ole days?” You know the days that you were care free and could do whatever you wanted. If you are there right now then enjoy it while it lasts!
We see today in the book of Isaiah that God is telling the Israelites about the old and about the new. The Israelites at this time have been in exile. They have not seen their homeland for a while and have probably wished for the old days in which God came in and defeated their enemies. So Isaiah tells them (Is 43:16-17):
"This is what the Lord says—he who made a way through the sea, a path through the mighty waters, who drew out the chariots and horses, the army and reinforcements together, and they lay there, never to rise again, extinguished, snuffed out like a wick."
God is basically telling them: hey do you remember when I saved you from slavery in Egypt? Remember how Pharaoh did not listen, so I sent plagues that inflicted the Egyptians but how I kept you safe! Remember how the last plague I passed over your house when you put the lamb’s blood on your doorposts, but I killed the firstborn of the Egyptians! Remember how Pharaoh finally let you go and you made it to the Red Sea and thought you were trapped and going to die when the Egyptian army was coming after you! Remember how I parted the Red Sea and allowed you to walk over on dry land, not even muddy land! Remember how the Egyptian army was coming after you and when I knew that you were all safe, I had the waters fall on the Egyptian army, killing them and having them not harm you again. Do you remember all of that? Good, now forget it!
What?????
To continue in Isaiah verse 18-19a, God tells the Israelites:
“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing!”
Wait! We are to forget those things. Well, yes and no. No you are not to forget them, you are to remember them and look back on your history of the things that God has done. But in this case, God is telling them that the way that He saved them before is not going to be the way He saves them now. How often do we get stuck in thinking that if we, or God, just does it the same old way, that all will be fine! New times calls for new ways!
God is basically telling them that the way that I saved you from the slavery in Egypt is not the way that I am going to save you now. Remember that Isaiah is speaking during a time of exile. God’s people have not seen their homeland in a while and they are similar to being slaves in Egypt. The people want God to save them the same old way He did before. Bring on the plagues and wipe out our enemy! Isn’t that how most of us want God to handle things today!! And many times God tells us no, just like He did with the Israelites in exile. God basically tells them that if I save you the same way, then what? Will you just get yourselves in the same mess that you are in now. Before it was the Egyptians, now it is the Assyrians and Babylonians, who will be next? In the end you chose not to listen to Me, so there are consequences to your actions! No, what you really need is not victory over earthly powers, you need victory over you sin and the death that comes as a result of that sin. So I am going to do something new! I am going to send My one and only Son as a ransom for your sins! He is going to live the life that you could not! He will be the ultimate sacrifice! The Name above all names! He will win the victory that you need! All you need to do is trust Me and believe in what I am telling you. That is what occurred throughout the Old Testament. Isaiah is telling them throughout His book to follow what God was telling them to do. In Jeremiah, God basically says if you repent and turn back to Me then you can stay in the land. But of course they don’t. When we don’t trust and don’t believe, bad things happen. The Israelites had to be patient to wait for this new thing and it didn’t even happen in their lifetime, they had to wait for over 400 years. Aren’t we in the same boat as we wait for the second coming of Christ,? And we’ve been waiting for about 2000 years. God certainly likes to teach us patience, doesn’t He! The question is do you trust in Jesus or not as we look to what God has done for us in the past, what He has done for us in the present, and the new that we will have in the future, a new heaven and a new earth when Jesus returns!
Jesus is trying to explain this to the Pharisees in our Gospel reading today by telling them the Parable of the Tenants in Luke 20:9-19. A man planted a vineyard and rented it out to some farmers and went away for a long time. Since the vineyard was His, some of the profits thus belong to Him, so He sent out some servants to collect the fruit of the vineyard. Yet the farmers treated them poorly, beating them and sending them away empty handed. So the landowner decided to send His one and only Son, certainly they will listen to Him. Yet the farmers believed that if they killed the one and only heir, that the land would become theirs. At the end of the parable Jesus asks, "What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others.” God is the landowner, we are the farmers that chose to take all that we could from His creation. We sin all the time, so God sent His one and only Son, and we killed Him. Yet His death is exactly what we needed to win victory over sin and death. The Pharisees did not realize that the something new from Isaiah was standing right in front of them. Instead they wanted something else! They did not trust in what Jesus was trying to tell them. Are we looking to something new or are we looking to what Jesus has already done for us? Do we trust in Him as we wait for His second coming? Are we giving back the first fruits of His creation or are we keeping them for ourselves?
I pray that we as individuals and we as a church can trust as we wait patiently in the times that God has us in now. May we give back our first fruits. May we serve His church for His purposes and His gifts that He has already given us. And may we do it to His glory!
In the precious and Holy Name of Jesus!
Amen
March 31, 2019 Lost and Found
We have all lost something, but have you ever noticed that it is what you lost that determines how active you will be in searching for it. Let’s say that I go to McDonalds, pay with cash, and then receive my change. As I go to put the change away I dropped some of it between my seat and the center console. How intent am I at going after what I dropped? If it was a penny—I don’t even care—a nickel, dime—nope. Now if it is a quarter, I do want to go after that, but probably put minimal effort into trying to find it. A dollar? 10 dollars? Now the higher the amount goes up the swifter I am going to be in retrieving it. I’ll even pull off into a parking spot and look for it right then and there until I find it!
Today we are going to talk about 3 parables of lost items in Luke 15. The second parable listed, but the first for us, as it relates to our opening story, is the parable of the lost coin. A woman has 10 silver coins and loses one. These coins can be assumed to represent a day's wages at the time and we can assume that this is a poor woman. After all if it was a rich man, one coin would be like losing a penny and not worth searching for. To this woman the coin is extremely important. So much so that she is willing to risk something to find it, so she lights a candle which costs her oil. Remember at this time they did not have windows, thus the house was dark. They did not have flashlights or electricity either. So the woman would have to use some oil to find the coin, but that was worth it to her. And when she finds it there is rejoicing with friends, family, and the angels in heaven.
Next we talk about the parable of the lost sheep. Luke 14:35 says, at the end of chapter 14, for those who have ears, let them hear. We then read in Chapter 15 that those who wanted to hear were the sinners and tax collectors, and Jesus eats with them. Interesting here to note that Jesus eats with the Pharisees (Luke 14:1) and the sinner! Jesus is talking to the crowd but seemingly focusing on the Pharisees that are hanging on the outside listening in. Jesus seems to look straight at them and asks, which of you if you had a hundred sheep and lost one would not go out to find it? Notice how he does not say if a shepherd loses a sheep, because the Pharisees did not do that lowly work of a shepherd, they were a higher class. No He made it more personal, which of you? Knowing the answer in their heart, although they would never admit it, He knew that each person would go after the sheep. The shepherd in this parable knew that the sheep would never find their way back on their own, and would probably get into a lot of danger, and perhaps die. The shepherd is risking his time, energy, and perhaps his life to find this sheep—but it is worth it to him. Thus the sheep is worth finding to the shepherd. But what about the other 99? Are they just left to be on their own? At the time the custom was that a shepherd typically watched up to 30-40 sheep. Thus if it was a 100 sheep, more than likely there was someone to help watch as the shepherd went in search of the lost one. We’ll get back to these 99 in a little bit. When he finds the sheep there is the same rejoicing with friends, family, and angels in heaven.
We see in these two parables that God is actively seeking us, and we are worth it to Him, being priceless in His eyes. Jesus then explains the parable of the prodigal son and how we can easily get lost as people. Here we see a young man wanting to receive his inheritance. This was against the culture of the time, as one did not receive anything until the passing of the parents. We also know that the older son was going to receive most of the things, so the younger one wanted out. We see the inward change of the person not trusting in his father and what he had to provide, and instead wanting to do things his way. He takes his money and goes out and lives a worldly life, enjoying things that would not last. We can easily see the comparison of this with many people today, especially young people.
We then go to our Old Testament reading in Psalm 32:
1 Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven,
whose sin is covered.
2 Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity,
and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
Blessed is the man that trusts in the Lord. Those that know God and know they are sinners in need of a Savior and in need of forgiveness. We are blessed as we confessed our sins and received God’s forgiveness earlier in the service. Blessed are the 99 sheep who know God. But for those who don’t know God, who are silent to Him as the prodigal son, Psalm 32 states:
3 For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away
through my groaning all day long.
4 For day and night your hand was heavy upon me;
my strength was dried up[b] as by the heat of summer.
Life is difficult and so it was for the younger son as he spent all his money, lost all of his so called friends, and wound up working and eating with pigs. Remember pigs were considered unclean. An Israelite could not eat them. This was the low of the low. Not knowing the law, the younger son had no need of the Gospel. He kept silent to the Lord as he was loud to the world. It sometimes takes people to get to their lowest in order for them to finally see their sin and need of Jesus. Thus Psalm 32 states:
5 I acknowledged my sin to you,
and I did not cover my iniquity;
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”
and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah
6 Therefore let everyone who is godly
offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found;
The younger son had an inward change that leads him to go back and ask his father for forgiveness. We see that God knows our heart as the father runs out to meet him, hugs him, gives him a cloak, gives him a ring, gives him sandals, showing that he is forgiven for all that he has done without having to confess it. We see here that God is always watching the road and actively seeking the lost.
What about the older son? He complains and tells the father I have stayed and done everything you have said. This older son is like the Pharisees. They are based on following the law. They need to know the truth of the Law and then receive with great Joy the Gospel. This older son is like some who question going after one when there are already 99. This son lives in a country club mentality of the church. Just like the Pharisees, he invites only his friends, when Jesus tells him to invite the poor as well.
It is interesting to see how some people start off as the younger son, living life as they see it. They then come to know the truth of God, repent and come to church. As they get older they become more and more pious and turn into the older son, being jealous of new comers and complaining that they have been there longer and deserve more.
Are we as a church actively searching for the lost or are we a country club? Are the lost people a penny that we don’t care about, a quarter that we will look for later, or are they worth more? To Jesus we are priceless. Jesus actively seeks and finds the lost. God tells us in Psalm 32:10: steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the Lord. If you are the 99, rejoice that God’s love surrounds you and desire to have others be a part of that family as God desires it. Celebrate when a lost child is added to the kingdom of God as a family celebrates the birth of another child!
I pray that we are a church that actively seeks and cares for the lost!
March 24, 2019 Sense in the Face of Nonsense
Sense in the Face of Nonsense Based on Luke 13:1-9 Message given by Rev. Roger Stuenkel
March 17, 2019 A Mother Hen Really
A Mother Hen: Really? Based on Luke 13:31-35 Message given by Rev. Roger Stuenkel
March 10, 2019 Temptation
Have you ever had one of those days? You wake up tired and crabby already because you did not get much sleep. You go to get something out of medicine cabinet and hit something with the side of your hand and it knocks into other items that fall into the sink so you have to clean up the mess. You then go to make some breakfast and spill food all over the counter, having to clean up that mess. Your kids come in and you express your frustration in words you should not have said. Then on your way to work it feels that everyone and their brother is out. You seem to catch every red light and the driver in front of you is the slowest driver in the world so you have bad thoughts about the slow driver in front of you. You get to work and the stress of the amount of work you have to do gets the best of you and you slam something down and break it. Before you know it you need to confess what you have done in word, thought, and deed!
But who do you want to confess to? Who do you want to put your hope and trust in? Who do you want your Savior to be? Do you want someone who lived a perfect life, everything given to him or one who lived the life that you live, full of temptation, yet living the example for you in how you are to live to overcome those temptations?
Hebrews 4:15-16 "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need."
We see this in the temptation of Jesus in Luke 4:1-13. Jesus gets baptized and is taken by the Spirit into the desert, spending 40 days and nights without eating anything. A person can last at the most 30-40 days without eating before he dies. So Jesus is at that point when the devil comes to tempt Him. The devil tempts His hunger by saying turn these stones to bread. Notice how the devil waited till Jesus was the most vulnerable. The devil likes to tempt us when we are at our weakest and even when we are at a high, bringing us down and causing us to turn away from God. Most of us would give in. Esau did for a bowl of stew in Genesis 25:29-34. Esau came in from working in the countryside and he was so famished that he easily sold his birthright to his brother for a bowl of stew. We see the Israelites constantly complained about food when wandering in the desert, even desiring to go back to Egypt.
Jesus responds to every temptation by quoting Scripture, a lesson for all of us to learn. When we are confronted with temptation we need to turn to God and His Word and His ways for our life. Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 8:3: “And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.”
The devil then tempts Jesus by saying that he has been given this world and that he will give it to Jesus if He will worship the devil. First, how is it that the world belongs to the devil? Unfortunately we basically gave the devil the keys, and do each time we give into sin. In John 12:31 Jesus states “Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out.” Jesus is talking about how the devil will be judged and how Jesus will win the day! The devil likes to tempt our pride! We want to be king, we want to have success. The devil tempts us to give into our pride saying he will give us all of that, if we simply bow to him. Jesus again responds by quoting Scripture, this time Deuteronomy 6:13.
The devil then tempts Jesus by telling him to jump from a high place. The devil is clever as he uses Jesus’ tactics and quotes scripture himself. Isaiah 91:11-12 is a protection Psalm that many people misinterpret. Why are their bad things in the world when God promises to protect us? That is exactly the devil’s tactic, confusing us to misinterpret and thus doubt God’s Word. Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 6:16 to show us all that we should not test God. We should have faith in God’s promises.
We know that our Savior is someone who was tempted as we are. We know that our Savior is someone who suffers like we do. Whatever things we are going through, Jesus did as well and yet He did not sin! He shows us the way to combat temptation: Look to the Word of God and His plan for your life, letting Scripture interpret Scripture and not manipulating God’s Word to fit your life, but how your life fits into God’s Word. Romans 10:8-13, “For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and with your mouth that you confess and are saved.”
Jesus gave that example for us to see in order to resist temptation. Let your life be led by that example.
March 6, 2019 Know Who You Are
1 Peter 3:15 states, “But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.” On this day we have a great opportunity to give the reason for the hope that we have when we leave this service today. People will look at us funny and some might even ask, “why do you have a cross on your forehead?” Express to them the reason! Some may want to hear and some may not. In any case give them the reason if the opportunity arises, but do so with gentleness and respect!
Some may not know what Ash Wednesday is, or even what the season of Lent is? Some may even say that it isn’t even in the Bible so why celebrate it? They are right about it not being in the Bible, but that does not make it unimportant. In the movie “A Few Good Men” the prosecuting attorney (played by Kevin Bacon) ask a corporal on the stand if he can find where it says “code red” in the marine outline for recruit training as well as the book for his location in Cuba. He replies that there is no book that states anything about “code reds.” As he sits down, believing that he has proven a point, the defense attorney (played by Tom Cruise), takes the book from his hand and gives it back to the corporal. This time he is asked if he can turn to the page that talks about the mess hall. It is not in the book either. The point is, just because it is not in there does not mean it is not a good tradition to follow. God tells the Israelites of many festivals to celebrate: Passover, Feast of Weeks, Day of Atonement, etc. Lent probably came about in the 6th century when the early church fathers realized the importance of remembering what Jesus had done for them. The season of Lent is the time in which we look toward Holy Week and the Passion of Christ, and to His resurrection on Easter morning.
So why ashes? In the Old Testament people would show their mourning and repentance by tearing off their clothes and putting on sackcloth and ashes. We also look to Genesis and see that God created man out of the dust of the earth. God put man in the garden to take care of it and to not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If they do they will surely die. Unfortunately Adam and Eve gave into the temptation of the devil, doubted God, and thus ate from the tree. The curse put upon Adam in Genesis 3:17-19 states that we will return to the ground in which we came from, “for dust you are and to dust you will return.”
So why a cross? The cross is a symbol of God’s love for us in the sending of His Son. Jesus died for us on the cross to win victory over the two things that we cannot, sin and death. Upon our baptism, we receive the sign of the cross on our head and our hearts. The cross symbolizes our baptism. As we truly look at our sins, we daily crawl back to God in our baptism, knowing what He has done for us on the cross.
Throughout the Lenten season, look to your baptism and look to the saving works of Jesus on the cross! The proclamation of Law and Gospel on the Lord’s Day, and in special Lenten services, is intended to remind us of our need to renew our repentance and grow in our faith, and be the merciful people Christ has prepared us to be. Observe this season of Lent by self-examination and repentance; by prayer, by reading God’s holy Word.
March 3, 2019 Inside Out
The Disney/Pixar movie “Inside Out” originally had up to 26 emotions that were thought of to be possible characters in their movie. Some of them that did not make the cut were: Envy/Greed, Irritation, Guilt, Gloom, Despair, Depression, Shame/Embarrasment, Love, Pride, Hope. Looking at this list it seems that most of our emotions seem bad, yet we are highly influence and controlled by our emotions. If you think about it there is good and bad to every emotion. If we utilize them as God intended then they are good, but unfortunately we abuse them so very often. Take Pride for example: it is good to be proud of who you are, you are a child of God. Yet our proud gets in our way in this life as we are too proud of ourselves, too proud to admit our faults. We often confuse Joy with happiness.
Elise M Boulding states:
“For the real difference between happiness and joy is that one is grounded in this world, the other in eternity. Happiness cannot encompass suffering and evil. Joy can. Happiness depends on the present. Joy leaps into the future and triumphantly creates new present out of it."
Happiness is fleeting; it is what is occurring in a given moment. One moment things may be going great and I am happy, while the next moment things are not going well and thus I am not happy. True Joy and True Hope are based in the promises of God and they are eternal. Our salvation is won for us because God sent His one and only Son to die for us (John 3:16). Jesus suffered and was buried, taken our sins with Him to the grave. He rose again on the third day (Easter morning) to win victory over sin and death and giving us a new life in Christ. That new life is hanging deeply on the promises of God that we will be with Him in Heaven. That Joy and Hop overcomes the suffering and evil of this world and leads us into a new reality of Christ. Understand that that does not mean we will always be happy. We must take up our cross and follow Jesus. Just ask Paul and the disciples if they were always happy in the things they had to go through! When we live our lives from the outside in we are looking only at our happiness, concerning ourselves with worldly matters. When we live our lives from the inside out, we are letting that Joy and Hope of Jesus shine through us. 1 Peter 3:15 states, “But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.” When we are living our lives from the inside out people see this hope and joy and we can share with them our story and witness to what Christ has done for us.
Living outside in is trying to fit God’s story into our lives
Living inside out is showing how we fit into God’s story!
Matthew 23:25-28:
“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.
Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness."
We are called to live from the inside out. We are to clean our insides and then our outside will be clean. Yet, just like the teachers of the law, we are so concerned about how we look on the outside, how we appear to others, how respected we are in the world. We lose track of our joy and hope and start living our lives from the outside in.
We are to shine our light from the inside. Jesus showed what was on His inside during the Transfiguration. Read Luke 9:18-36. Peter confesses that Jesus is the Christ (verse 20) and then Jesus shows His true glory and divinity in verse 29. Jesus explains what He must do in verse 22 and then Moses, Elijah, and Jesus talk about this in verse 30. Jesus tells us that we must take up our cross to follow Him and God tells Peter, James, and John to listen to His one and Only Son in verse 35. Jesus asks who people think that He is in verse 18-19. Jesus then stands with Moses and Elijah to show His disciples that it is what Peter confesses and not who people think He is. Jesus is God’s Son and we are to listen to Him.
It wasn’t the time for everyone to see this event, that is why only three disciples went up the mountain with Jesus. Only after the resurrection would the disciples truly understand the then be able to be the witness for Christ. Peter confesses this in 1 Peter 1:16-21. As we understand and listen to the Words of God, understanding what Jesus has done for us, we then come to understand the true hope and joy that is in Christ Jesus. We then live our lives with His purpose, with His life, as we live our lives from the inside out, shining the light of Jesus for others to see.
February 24, 2019 Living the Contrast
Based on Luke 6:20-38 given by Guest Speaker, Rev. Dr. Mike Gibson, President Pacific Southwest District
February 17, 2019 Trust in God for He Knows Better than I
Have you seen the sticker on the back of a vehicle that says HE > I? What we can’t forget to notice is that the HE is all caps and the i is in lower case. Life is certainly not about us! It is about what God has already done for us in the sending of His Son! We are sinners and can in no way repair the relationship that we broke in our sin with our Heavenly Father. We need a savior to win victory of sin and death! Praise be to God for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!
Jeremiah 17:5-10 Thus says the Lord: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength,[a] whose heart turns away from the Lord.
He is like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see any good come. He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land.
“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord.
He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.”
Jeremiah tells us that our trust, when it comes to our salvation, needs to be in the Lord and not in man. When we trust in man, in the things of this world such as material things or even our reputation, we will be lost and living in a place that we don’t want to be. But Blessed be the man whose trust is in the Lord! For when your salvation is upon the Rock of Jesus Christ, not storm can knock it down. We do not have to fear when the heat comes. When trials and struggles occur, and they will, we don’t have to fear because nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.
So when you are struggling, listen to these words: You Know Better Than I (From the movie Joseph King of Dreams)
--I thought I did what’s right. I thought I had the answers, I thought I chose the surest road, but that road brought me here.
--So I put up a fight and told you how to help me. Now just when I have given up, the truth is coming clear
--You know better than I, You know the way. I’ve let go the need to know why, for You know better than I
--If this has been a test, I cannot see the reason, but maybe knowing I don’t know is part of getting through
--I try to do what’s best, and faith has made it easy, to see the best thing I can do, is put my trust in You --For You know better than I, You know the way. I’ve let go the need to know why, for You know better than I
February 10, 2019 Excel in Your Gifts
Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 14:12 "Since you are eager to have spiritual gifts, try to excel in gifts that build up the church." So how do you excel in those gifts? In order to excel and be your best at anything you need to practice! Listen to advice and do the fundamentals! The fundamentals for church practice can be found in this acrostic poem:
Pray Read the Bible Action Center your life on God Team Intentional Character Educate
Pray:
"What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear! What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer."
Read the Bible:
The Bible is the playbook that guides us on how to live our lives!
Action:
God's Word is a word of action. It does not just say it, it does it!
Center your life on God:
In order to see God's truth, your life should be centered on God and not the world!
Team:
Know that we are all in this together!
Intentional:
We need to do all these things with God's purpose in mind!
Character:
We need to develop the character that God would want us to be, doing things right (by what God says is right) no matter what!
Educate:
Receive the blessings and the love of God to help others to know that same love and how we are supposed to live our lives!
February 3, 2019 What’s the Difference
Would you rather win or lose? Would you rather win at all cost or lose playing the right way? Would you rather lose on purpose because it is the right thing to do?
I have seen many coaches cheat just to win a game. I have seen players cheat to win. In the end aren’t we supposed to give it our best and try to win, but not at the cost of hurting someone or doing something against the rules. We have to realize that we can’t win everything and it is good to lose because we can learn a great deal from it. It is also good to lose on purpose because it is the right thing to do. After all if I am playing my four year old daughter in basketball and I truly give it my best, I am not sure she would have much fun in the game!
Would you rather Learn a hard lesson or make excuses not to learn?
How often do we make excuse for things to bounce the blame from ourselves? Where does that get us? It usually makes things worse and causes us to go through more trials because we did not learn our lesson the first time.
So what’s the difference in these examples? Heart! In the movie “The Replacements” with Keanu Reeves, the coach is asked in the last game what it will take for the team to come back in win the game. His response was, “heart, lots and lots of heart.” God tells us in 1 Samuel 16:7 that man looks on the outside, things that we have or how physically appealing we are, but God looks at the heart.
We can see in Luke 4: 31-44, that even the evil spirits know who Jesus is. Each example in the Bible of an evil spirt has the evil spirit confessing that Jesus is the Son of God. Yet many of us don’t see that or refuse to! Yet each time the spirits speak in the verses in this Luke passage, Jesus rebukes them for saying it. You would think that having them confess Jesus as the Son of God would be beneficial. Yet in these cases, Jesus knows that the evil spirits don’t have the purpose of God in mind. Instead they are trying to change the plans of God, thus Jesus rebukes them. This is similar to Jesus rebuking Peter in Mark 8:33, “But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”
The difference is confessing Jesus as God and knowing and doing the purposes of God can be found in the heart. Do you have the heart of God to love God and love your neighbor? Paul gives us a great description of Godly love in 1 Corinthians 13. He lists out to the Corinthians what Godly love is, what Godly love is not, and what Godly love does!
Remember God sees the heart!
January 27, 2019 We are One Body
After we understand our gifts, we are now to understand that we are now new creatures in Christ, here to live out His will for our lives, using our gifts together to help others know of the love of God for them in the sending His Son.
Jesus prays for our unity in the Garden of Gethsemane in John 17:20-23”
“I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.”
1 Corinthians 12:24b-27 states, “But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.”
Philippians 1:27-28 states: “Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the gospel without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved—and that by God.”
Romans 12: 4 For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them
Ephesians 4:3-6 states: “There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call—one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”
Hebrews 10:23-25 states: “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”
Psalm 133:1 states: “How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!”
January 20, 2019 What is Your Gift
My wife bought my kids a Kendama for Christmas. We had no idea what it was as we pulled it out of the package. It is an interesting looking toy and seems self-explanatory on how to play it, try to catch the ball that has a hole in it and is hanging from a string on to the wooden handle that has a spiked end. I tried it a few times and did not even come close! As with many things in life that are hard, we say the words—“This is impossible! This is Stupid!” So I quit and did not try it anymore until my wife picks it up and gives it a try. She has just as much trouble as I did, yet she did not give up. She kept trying and eventually was thrilled when she succeeded. Of course I could not let her do something that I couldn’t, so I picked it up again, determined to succeed! As I practiced, I noticed little tricks to the game. I eventually got it and discovered new aspects about it! It was challenging, but a lot of fun!
How often do we look at the Bible and say the same thing- “This is impossible! This is Stupid!” In John 2:1-11 Jesus shows His disciples that the impossible is possible as He turns water into wine. Verse 11 states: “This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him.” The Bible is not stupid! It is God’s Word for us. It is our playbook in how to live our life according to the purpose that God has for us. In that purpose God has given us gifts. 1 Corinthians 12:4-6 states: “Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone.” These words are seen in the Apostles Creed that we confess!
Apostle’s Creed
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
God does not stop there, but instead gives each of us unique qualities to help build His kingdom. Romans 1:12 states: “that is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith, both yours and mine.” Let us all know the gifts that God has given us and then show others that the impossible is possible through God!
January 13, 2019 A Light to the Gentiles
Based on Luke 2:25-35 Message given by Rev. Robert Feller.
January 6, 2019 I had an Epiphany
Epiphany is season of light. It progresses from bright star guiding the Magi, to the shining dove at the Baptism of Jesus, to the mission of the church being a shining light in a dark world, and ending on the glory of the Transfiguration.
Paul has his own epiphany in Acts 9:3-6:
Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. 6 But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.”
Peter has his epiphany in Acts 10 and 11 in the story of Cornelius the centurion. Peter is shown how Jesus came for all people, Jews and Gentiles (those who are not Jewish). Ephesians 3:6 says: “This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.”
Matthew chapter 2 tells the story of the Magi visiting Jesus. In this story we have 3 characters: the Magi, the religious leaders, and King Herod. The Magi, being Gentiles and not knowing the past history of the Israelites (that is the Old Testament), willingly leave their homeland and travel on a far journey to see this amazing event that has happened. The religious leaders know the prophecies of the Old Testament but yet they don’t go and see what has happened. Herod is just looking for this Baby King because he wants to kill him. So which of the people in this story are you most like?
--Are you like Herod?
Are you happy to play along with the Christmas celebrations as long as you can continue to rule in your own world?
--Are you like the chief priests and scribes?
Knowing the Christmas stories but never owning them?
--Are you like the magi?
Not knowing all the answers but desiring to find out more?