SERMON: THE STORY OF THE PRODIGAL

THE STORY OF THE PRODIGAL:
FIRST-PERSON NARRATIVE OF THE PRODIGAL SON
NAYLOR UMC HOMECOMING
27 September 2009

I. Introduction (Luke 15:11-32)

11. Jesus continued: "There was a man who had two sons.
12. The younger one said to his father, `Father, give me my share of the estate.' So he divided his property between them.
13. "Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living.
14. After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need.
15. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs.
16. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.
17. "When he came to his senses, he said, `How many of my father's hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death!
18. I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.
19. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.'
20. So he got up and went to his father. "But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.
21. "The son said to him, `Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. '
22. "But the father said to his servants, `Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.
23. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let's have a feast and celebrate.
24. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' So they began to celebrate.
25. "Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing.
26. So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on.
27. `Your brother has come,' he replied, `and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.'
28. "The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him.
29. But he answered his father, `Look! All these years I've been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends.
30. But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!'
31. "`My son,' the father said, `you are always with me, and everything I have is yours.
32. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.'"

II. Narrative of the Prodigal Son

-- Stupid -- stupid -- how could I have been so stupid -- there I was, living in the lap of luxury -- and look what I traded it for -- I guess I just didn't know how good I had it
-- back then they called me prodigal -- excessive -- wasteful -- I didn't think I was any of that -- so what if I liked the finer things of life -- so what if I enjoyed wearing fine robes and drinking fine wine? -- so what if I enjoyed spending time in town with my friends -- feasting and having fun? -- is that prodigal? -- is that excessive? -- how is that different from any other young man of means? -- how is that different from you?
-- it's not like we couldn't afford it -- it's not like we were poor -- Father had worked very hard in life -- he had accumulated great wealth -- our villa was the largest in our town -- our family the most respected -- we had great flocks of sheep and goats -- we had a large vineyard -- groves filled with olive trees -- Father was a leader in the synagogue -- when he stood on the Sabbath and read from the Holy Scriptures, everyone would listen to his word
-- he also had a place at the gate of the city -- which, as you know, meant that he was a judge for our people -- we were a family of means -- we had money -- we had position -- we had prestige -- so why not enjoy it? -- how does enjoying what God has blessed us with make me a prodigal?
-- my brother didn't call me prodigal -- he had another name for it -- he called me spoiled -- well, maybe I was to some extent -- so what if Father did treat me a little better? -- so what if he was a little more lenient with me than Brother? -- it's understandable, isn't it? -- after all, our mother died giving birth to me -- I'm the baby -- I'm the memory of Father's first love -- when he looks at me, he remembers our mother -- and so maybe that did make him spoil me a little -- but what's wrong with that? -- like I said, it's not like God hadn't blessed us -- so why not enjoy it?

-- but, no -- neither of them would -- every day both Father and Brother would get up at dawn and head to the fields and work like common slaves -- I just couldn't understand that -- it just wasn't right -- it just wasn't seemly for men of our position to work in the fields with the servants -- isn't that what we had servants and slaves for in the first place? -- why should we lower ourselves to their level?
-- our role was to be the leaders -- the rulers -- the reapers of the wealth -- surely God didn't bless us this way just to bind us in hard labor -- surely God didn't intend for us to get our hands dirty -- after all, didn't our great King Solomon write in his book, Ecclesiastes, that such labor was meaningless?
-- in Ecclesiastes 2:22-26, he wrote, "What does a man get for all the toil and anxious striving with which he labors under the sun? -- All his days his work is pain and grief; even at night his mind does not rest. This too is meaningless. -- A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work. -- This too, I see, is from the hand of God, for without Him, who can eat or find enjoyment? -- To the man who pleases Him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God. -- This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind."
-- see what I mean? -- Solomon says that it is the sinner who has the task of toiling and striving under the sun -- but God blesses those who please Him -- obviously, God was pleased by our family -- He had blessed us so much -- so why continue to toil in the field? -- why continue to work? -- why not take our rightful place and enjoy the good things of life that God given? -- why not eat and drink and be merry and enjoy life?

-- my arguments didn't matter -- they fell on deaf ears -- Father would make me go to the fields, too -- but my heart wasn't there -- I was no good at manual labor -- I was no good tending sheep or goats or picking grapes -- I knew I was wasting my time -- I knew that God had called me to better things -- that's fine if Father and Brother wanted to do it -- but my heart was elsewhere for I had heard the siren call of the town
-- that was the one thing I enjoyed more than anything else in the whole world -- I enjoyed walking into town wearing my best robe -- with the sound of gold coins jingling in my pocket -- young men calling out to me as I passed -- older men nodding in respect as I went by, knowing that I would one day take my father's place at the gate and at the synagogue as the leader I knew I was -- that was what I was made for -- that was what I lived for
-- but, still, that wasn't enough -- after a while, I had tasted all the pleasures our little town had to offer -- it was the type of place that you would say rolls up the sidewalks at night -- of course, we didn't have sidewalks -- but you get my meaning -- the vendors would fold up the tents at night and the town would just go to sleep -- but I dreamed of more -- I dreamed of going to a place where the fun and excitement didn't end at sundown
-- I had been to Jerusalem with Father and Brother to celebrate the Passover -- now that was a place of excitement -- when we were there to celebrate the great feast, Jerusalem was filled with pilgrims -- with people from every land under the sun -- the celebrations lasted all night long -- you've never seen such a sight -- that was the type of place where I belonged -- not here in some backwoods villa -- and certainly not here working in the fields like a slave -- no, I needed more -- I needed better
-- I kind of felt like your prophet Howard Hughes, who was the richest man on earth for a time -- he had everything -- he had tasted all that life had to offer -- but when they asked him how much more money he needed to be happy, he said, "Just a little more -- just a little more"
-- that's all I wanted -- just a little more -- just the opportunity to live in a place of excitement and opportunity -- I place where I could go and make a name for myself -- but I had two problems -- first, I still lived in Father's household -- I was still under his rule -- I was still bound to follow his ways -- and he would never allow me to leave
-- and, secondly, I didn't have enough money -- the allowance that Father gave me was enough for here -- but it wouldn't be enough for Jerusalem -- I needed freedom and I needed money -- if I just could make my own decisions without anyone else telling me what to do -- if I could just be financially independent -- then things would be so much better -- then I would be free
-- but how could I make that happen? -- I spent days and weeks and months thinking about my dilemma -- I moped around the villa -- I just couldn't be happy -- the old sights and the old sounds and the old thrills around town just weren't enough -- I needed more, but I didn't know how to get it
-- and, then, a thought crossed my mind -- a bold plan -- an ambitious plan -- all of a sudden, I realized that I didn't need more money -- I already had it -- it was my share of Father's villa -- my inheritance -- this was a vast amount of money -- this was more than enough money to go and live in Jerusalem
-- in fact, if I had my inheritance today, I could go anywhere -- I could even go to Antioch -- or Ephesus -- or Athens -- or, for that matter, I could even go to Rome -- yes, that's where I should go -- it was said that all roads lead to Rome -- the heart of the civilized world -- the center of culture and government
-- in Rome, I could become someone -- in Rome I could fulfill my calling -- a young man of means and ambition could rise to power and influence and prestige -- God had gifted me with so much talent and intellect that surely this is what He wanted -- He didn't want me to be stuck here on this villa in the middle of Judea -- He wanted me to go to Rome and to be a leader among leaders -- why, with the money from my inheritance, I could rise in power -- I could buy my Roman citizenship -- I could even serve in the Senate or in the courts of Caesar himself
-- the only problem was, I couldn't get my inheritance until Father died -- according to our law, it was only at that time that Father's estate could be divided among Brother and me -- unless.... unless I did the unthinkable -- unless I asked for it now
-- but, of course, that would mean rejecting both Father and the law of Moses -- it would be the same thing as telling Father that I wished he was dead -- it would be telling him that I would be better off if he wasn't around
-- if I did this -- if I asked for my inheritance now -- I was cutting all ties with my family -- I was rejecting all of the relationships I had -- I would no longer be worthy of being called a son -- I would be separated once and for all time from Father and could never come home again
-- but, wasn't it worth it? -- wasn't my happiness here and now of more importance? -- why discipline myself and follow Father's rules and obey his wishes and serve him by working in the field all in the hopes of a future reward? -- why not live for life now and not worry about the future?
-- who knew how long it would be before Father died and I would receive my inheritance? -- and, if he did, Brother would get two-thirds of the estate anyway -- why not just get what could now and get out? -- I knew it would hurt Father -- but surely he would understand over time
-- and, so that's what I did -- and so that's how I ended up here -- living in a pig pen in a foreign land

-- oh, it didn't start like that -- it broke Father's heart, but he divided the estate among Brother and me -- and I took my share and I headed out to Rome -- I saw the sights of Jerusalem -- I visited the brothers in Antioch -- I bought fine robes and fine wine and passed by the temple of Artemis in Ephesus -- I listened to the Greek philosophers of the Areopagus teach at the place where Paul would later argue with them about God -- and then I made my way to Rome
-- oh, it was just like I imagined -- the city was thronging with people from every land under the sun -- Roman soldiers in their burnished armor and their chariots passed by -- Senators with their robes of purple brushed by on their way to Caesar's court -- I saw with my own eyes the Coliseum and the Pantheon -- I enjoyed a bath -- a hot bath with running water -- with other young men eager for fame and fortune just like myself -- Rome had gymnasiums and libraries and shops
-- oh, the shops -- they never closed and they had everything imaginable -- gold from Cush -- you know it better as Ethiopia -- spices and fragrances from the east -- food from every land in the known world -- it was just like I imagined
-- and there I was, striding into town with the finest robes and with the sound of my inheritance jingling in the pouch at my waist -- it was so easy to find friends there -- it seems like I had no sooner walked through the gates of the city than men and women flocked to my side -- eager to make my acquaintance -- we had such a good time together -- we laughed -- we played -- we drank -- we attended parties at the best estates -- everyone wanted to be my friend -- until the day I reached in my pouch and felt only a few copper coins at the bottom
-- how was that possible? -- where did it all go? -- I had nothing to show for it -- just a rented room around the corner -- just a few belongings -- I turned to my friends for help -- as much as I had lavished on them, surely they would be willing to lend a hand to me in my need -- but my friends were gone -- they had moved on to the next dreamy-eyed man from a foreign land who had walked through the gates of Rome looking for fame and fortune
-- I sold my robes -- I sold the few possessions I had managed to scrape together -- I eventually had to move out of my room -- I couldn't afford it any more -- I started living on the streets -- begging for hand-outs from those I had counted as friends not that long ago -- and, then the famine hit -- and I got hungry -- the hand-outs dried up as everyone was affected -- no one had anything to share -- they took what they had and just took care of their own family -- but, I no longer had a family -- I had taken care of that
-- finally, I had no choice -- I sold my services to a local farmer who sent me to his fields outside of town -- and, so here I am -- in the worse place a young Jewish man could ever be -- standing in a pig pen -- serving that which God called unclean and told us to avoid at all costs -- it's even reached the point where I would be happy just feeding in the pig's trough -- but no one even cares enough about me here to give me a pod from their swill
-- it's funny how life looks so different from this side of things -- before, I chafed under the rule of my Father -- before, I didn't think I had enough -- before, I longed for freedom -- for the right to make my own decision and to live my own life just as I pleased
-- I didn't realize just how good I had it -- I didn't realize that all of those rules and all of that service and all of that discipline was for my own good -- to protect me from my own stupid choices
-- I've really made a mess of things -- I've completely separated myself from my father -- I put up barrier after barrier between us -- I let my pride and my anger and my hurtful words come between my father and me -- I made an idol out of money and power and position -- I worshiped at the altar of "having a good time" -- I coveted and I lied and I stole just to get by -- but, worse than anything else, I dishonored my father and my God by totally rejecting him and walking away
-- now what can I do? -- it was stupid to leave -- but it's just as stupid to stay here -- as your prophet Forrest Gump would say, "Stupid is as stupid does" -- just because I ended up here in a pig pen because of my sin doesn't mean I have to stay here -- even if I was to just go back and live on Father's villa as a servant -- as a common slave even -- I would be so much better off than here -- for even a servant in the house of my Father has more than I have now
-- there's no way that I could ever go back to where I was before -- there's no way that I could ever earn Father's love again -- but maybe if I just turned around -- if I repented -- if I returned to him, he would let me live off the crumbs that fall from his table -- that would be something -- that would be better -- that would actually be more than I could hope for at this point
-- pride and sin brought me here -- I can't let pride keep me from going home

-- and, so, I made up my mind -- I would return home and throw myself at my father's mercy -- I would ask that he would not give me what I deserved but would instead give me what I didn't deserve -- even though I had rejected him -- even though I had turned away -- I would just beg him to pour out his mercy and grace in my life so I could just live as a hired hand on his estate
-- it's been months now since I headed home -- it took a lot longer to get home than it took to leave -- where before I had ridden in chariots and on ships -- now I had to walk -- and with every step, I repented in my heart -- with every step I practiced what I would say when I saw his face -- if he would let me see his face after I had rejected him the way I did
-- "Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. -- I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.' -- Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. " -- every step -- every cadence brought the words to my lips -- "Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you"
-- and, so here I am -- back where I started -- that's the villa over there -- I'm on my father's land now -- the servants in the field saw me coming and ran to tell him -- what will he do? -- what will he say? -- will he reject me just as I rejected him? -- will he throw me out and refuse to see me?
-- another step -- another recitation -- "Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you."
-- what is that ahead? -- who is coming? -- is Father sending the servant back out to me? -- whoever it is, he's running hard -- he's coming down the lane -- it's --- it's Father! -- but that can't be -- men of his stature don't run -- men of his position don't do that -- but, it's him -- it's really him
-- can it be? -- can he really be humbling himself and leaving his position of power to come here? -- to come to me?
-- here he is -- now, just like I practiced -- "Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. -- I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.'"
-- what is he doing? -- why is he picking me up? -- what's going on?
-- you've been waiting for me? -- you've been looking for me? -- you're giving me your robe -- your best robe -- the robe you wear when you stand at the gate -- when you serve in the synagogue -- Father, no! -- I'm not worthy
-- your ring? -- you're giving me your ring? -- you're letting me back in the family again? -- no, this is more than I deserve -- just make me a common slave and that will be enough
-- sandals? -- you're putting sandals on my feet? -- slaves don't wear shoes -- you're saying that I am not a slave -- you're saying that I'm your son?
-- you mean all I had to do was to come home? -- all I had to do was return to you? -- I have nothing to offer -- I have nothing to give -- I'm not worthy of any of this -- but still you welcome me back with loving arms?

-- well, it's been one week and all is good -- I have been restored to my position -- everything that was lost has now been found -- everything that was dead -- my life -- my soul -- my heart -- my relationship with Father -- everything has been made new again
-- prodigal -- they called me prodigal -- they called me excessive -- but, it turns out that I wasn't the truly excessive one in the family -- Father was -- his excessive love has poured out on me -- his excessive mercy and grace has showered on me and I have been made new -- I have been restored -- I am his son again

-- but, what about you? -- where are you at with your Father who is heaven? -- as Christians, we all sin -- we all put barriers and obstacles between us and our Father -- as the Apostle John says in 1 John 1:8, "If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us."
-- how many of us have wandered away from our Father? -- how many of us has sinned allowed barriers to come between us and our God? -- maybe you're not in a pig pen like I was, but maybe you are in a distant land -- far away from home -- far away from God -- far away from Abba Father
-- but, if anything, my story should tell you this -- Father God is prodigal with His love and grace and mercy -- and as John wrote in 1 John 1:9, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." -- if we just turn around and head home, God will run to meet us and put the robe of righteousness around our shoulders -- He'll put the ring of family on our hands -- He'll put the sandals of justice on our feet
-- but, we have to take that first step -- we have to repent -- we have to turn from our ways -- and turn home -- and, if we do that, He promises to meet us there

-- what distant land are you in this morning? -- what pig trough of pride and idolatry and sin are you feeding at today?
-- Father is waiting here for you -- if you will only come, He will make all things new -- if you will only come, He will welcome you with open arms

-- let us pray

SERMON: WHAT ABOUT HIM?

WHAT ABOUT HIM?
13 September 2009

I. Introduction
- turn in Bibles to John 21

18. I tell you the truth, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go."
19. Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, "Follow me!"
20. Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them. (This was the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and had said, "Lord, who is going to betray you?")
21. When Peter saw him, he asked, "Lord, what about him?"
22. Jesus answered, "If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me."

-- for the last 25 years or so, the world has been on the brink of complete and total destruction -- and very few people have even been aware -- despite the fact that scientists and other concerned experts have been crying out and trying to get public attention to this impending environmental catastrophe, no one seems to have noticed -- probably because it involves an animal no bigger than the size of your thumbnail
-- starting around 1972, wild honeybees began to disappear -- a colony here -- a colony there -- and no one -- outside of scientists and a few beekeepers -- even really paid any attention -- I certainly didn't -- it wasn't until someone drew my attention to it did it even register that we had fewer bees in the wild than we had back in the 70s -- but now that I knew about it, I could see it
-- I remember as a kid we used to get a jar and catch the bees feeding on the azaleas around our house -- the flowers always just seemed alive with bees -- they were everywhere and you had to be careful or you would get stung -- but lately, we didn't see many bees feeding in the azaleas -- in fact, thinking about it, they were pretty rare -- you just didn't see bees anymore -- but, so what? -- it was just a bee, right?
-- but by 2006, scientists worldwide started to get concerned -- by 2006, all of the wild honeybees in the world had virtually disappeared -- they just weren't there any more -- no matter where you looked, you couldn't find them
-- and, then, in late 2006, we started seeing the same thing happen with commercial bee colonies -- complete colonies of bees -- beehives with thousands of bees went to zero almost overnight -- the bees just disappeared -- there were no piles of dead bees -- there was no indication of what might have happened -- one day, a beehive would be filled with worker bees going about their business -- and the next, the hive would be empty
-- scientists across the world began comparing notes, and found out that this was a worldwide phenomenon -- as of right now, over half of the United States has been affected by these disappearances -- now called "colony collapse disorder" or "honey bee depopulation syndrome" -- Canada, France, Belgium, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Spain, Greece, Slovenia and the Netherlands all have experienced the same thing -- with some commercial beekeepers losing over 40% of their hives in one year alone -- recently, colony collapse disorder has been reported in South America and Asia -- it is truly becoming a worldwide epidemic
-- now you might be asking yourself, "So what? -- So what if bees disappear? -- What does that matter to me? -- What does one little insect have to do with me?" -- well, it turns out it has a lot to do with you
-- everyone here knows about the symbiotic relationship that bees have with plants -- plants put out showy flowers to attract bees -- the bees come and feed on the flowers -- and in the process, they get covered with pollen, which they carry to other flowers, pollinating them and helping the plants to reproduce
-- this relationship has reached the point with some plants that these species are totally and completely dependent on the presence of honey bees for their existence -- if the honey bee was to disappear, then these plants would not be able to reproduce and would eventually die out
-- a good example of this is almonds and avocados -- both of these plants are dependent on honey bees for pollination -- if the bees were to disappear, we are very likely to lose both of these plants forever -- beyond the environmental effects, can you imagine the economic disaster that would result?
-- fully one-third of the food we eat depends primarily on bees for pollination -- in addition to almonds and avocados, this includes such species as peaches, soybeans, apples, pears, cherries, raspberries, blackberries, cranberries, watermelons, cantaloupes, cucumbers and strawberries
-- can you imagine south Georgia without watermelons and cantaloupes? -- that's what we're talking about here -- that's the extent of this environmental disaster that the world is facing -- and all because of one little animal no bigger than your thumbnail -- one little insect that most of us overlook in our daily lives -- but the honey bee is one little insect that has a vital part to play in agriculture and in the environment as a whole -- and if it's not there -- if it's not doing it's job -- then the world is going to suffer -- we're going to suffer
-- I think this is something that we're just now starting to really understand -- as a whole, we're just starting to grasp the importance of these little parts of the environment that we once overlooked -- when we look at nature, we've always just kind of assumed that we can do without certain animals and it won't really matter -- but now, we're finding out that if you take away one little part -- like the honey bee -- the whole ecosystem can collapse, resulting in world-wide environmental effects
-- back in the 1930s, Aldo Leopold published a series of essays in a book called "The Sand County Almanac" -- in that book, writing on the complexity of nature and how the environment is like a living organism made up of many important parts, Leopold said, "The last word in ignorance is the man who says of an animal or plant: "What good is it?" If the land mechanism as a whole is good, then every part is good, whether we understand it or not. If the biota, in the course of aeons, has built something we like but do not understand, then who but a fool would discard seemingly useless parts? To keep every cog and wheel is the first precaution of intelligent tinkering."
-- if there's anything that we know for certain from our experience with colony collapse disorder and the effect of the disappearance of honey bees worldwide, it is that every part of the environment -- no matter how small or insignificant it might seem -- has a job -- and that every part of the environment is needed

-- we can say the same thing about the church, as well -- you know, a lot of times, we tend to think of the church as an organization -- as a bunch of people who just get together once a week to sing and praise God and go home -- but, the Bible tells us that this isn't what the church is at all -- it's not an organization -- it's not a club -- it's a body -- it's one organism made up of many parts -- and if every part is not there, doing their job, then the whole body suffers -- then the whole body ceases to function
-- we're all familiar with Paul's teachings on this -- how many of you have never read or heard what Paul has to say about the church being a body -- in 1 Corinthians 12:12, Paul wrote, "The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body"
-- hold your place here and flip over real quick to 1 Corinthians 12 -- let me just remind you of what Paul said here -- look at verse 15

15. If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body.
16. And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body.
17. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be?
18. But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.
19. If they were all one part, where would the body be?
20. As it is, there are many parts, but one body.

-- there's nothing here that you haven't already heard -- Paul is telling us that the church is a body made up of many parts -- and that God has put us where He wants us to be -- He has decided what our role and our function in the body is to be -- whether that's a foot or an ear or an eye
-- but, if that's the case and we all know that -- then why do we continue to compare ourselves with others? -- or, even worse, why do we continue to compare others to ourselves?

-- flip back over to John 21 and let's talk about this for a minute -- here in the last chapter of the gospel of John, we read of Jesus' final words to Peter -- Peter, as you know, was the Lord's staunchest defender during His ministry -- right up to the point where Jesus was taken prisoner by the high priest and carried off to trial -- it was then that Peter wavered and denied that he even knew who Jesus was
-- now, after Jesus had died on the cross and has risen from the dead, He comes back to Peter and restores him to fellowship again -- Jesus lets Peter know that he is important -- he is part of the body of Christ -- and he has a job to do -- "Feed my lambs," Jesus told him -- "Take care of my sheep -- Feed my sheep"
-- and now He leaves Peter with these final thoughts

-- look back at verse 18

18. I tell you the truth, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go."
19. Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, "Follow me!"

-- John tells us here what Jesus meant verse 18 -- Jesus was referring to how Peter was going to die -- we know that Peter was martyred -- we know that he died for his faith -- legend has it that he was crucified in Rome upside-down at his request instead of right-side up, because he felt unworthy of dying in the same way that Jesus had died
-- but, I think verse 18 means something more, as well -- in context, I think Jesus was telling Peter that he no longer was his own man -- now, he belonged to Jesus -- in other words, when Peter was younger, he decided what he was going to do -- how he was going to dress -- where he was going to go -- but now, he's part of the body of Christ -- and Jesus was placing him in the body where He wanted him to be -- Jesus would tell him what to wear and where to go and what to do -- Jesus was, in effect, giving Peter a job -- telling him where he fit in the body of Christ

-- look back at verse 20

20. Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them. (This was the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and had said, "Lord, who is going to betray you?")
21. When Peter saw him, he asked, "Lord, what about him?"
22. Jesus answered, "If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me."

-- as Jesus is telling Peter all of this -- as He's telling Peter what he's going to do and even how he's going to die, Peter looks back and sees John following them -- he turns to Jesus and says, "Lord, what about him?"
-- how many times have you said those same words to Jesus? -- how many times have you felt the same way as Peter -- "Lord, look at what I'm doing -- look at how I'm serving you -- I'm here every Sunday -- I lead worship -- I teach Bible study -- I go on missions -- I'm doing it all -- but look at Jim over there -- what about him? -- look at Jane -- what about her? -- they're not doing anything -- they're not helping at all"
-- when you think like this, it can lead to a lot of problems

-- it can affect our personal walk with Christ
-- depending on what you are called to do in the church, it can make you feel prideful about what you are doing for the Lord -- in other words, it can cause us to think more highly about ourselves than we ought to
-- William Morris was the head basketball coach at La Salle University from 1986 to 2001 -- one year, LaSalle was having a pretty good season and everyone was talking about them -- one morning, Coach Morris was shaving when the phone rang -- His wife answered it and called out to
him that Sports Illustrated wanted to talk to him.
-- Coach Morris was excited -- here he was, getting a call from Sports Illustrated to interview him because of what a great job he was doing with La Salle's basketball program -- he got in such a hurry to finish shaving and get to the phone that he cut himself with his razor -- so, covered with blood and shaving cream, he took off running downstairs to answer the phone -- he ended up tripping and actually fell down the stairs -- but, finally, bleeding and bruised, he made it to the phone and breathlessly said, "Hello"?
-- The voice on the other end asked, "Is this Speedy Morris"? -- "Why, yes it is -- how can I help you this morning?" -- the voice continued, "Mr. Morris, for just seventy-five cents an issue, we can give you a one-year subscription to Sports Illustrated."
-- needless to say, Coach Morris' ego deflated rather quickly -- it's not uncommon for us to find out that we're not really as important as we think we are
-- in Romans 12:3, Paul wrote, "For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith."
-- just because we may be in a more visible role in the body of Christ doesn't make us any better than anyone else -- it just means that God has decided to put us there and we need to just do our job the best we can with His help

-- the same goes true for those people that God has put in the less visible roles -- those people who serve behind the scenes -- those people that we don't think are important, but who play a vital part in the overall health of the church just like honey bees play a vital part in the overall health of our environment
-- Peter asked Jesus, "What about him? -- What's he going to do? -- Why isn't he doing what I'm doing?"
-- and Jesus said, "Don't worry about him -- worry about yourself -- worry about what I have called you to do -- your job is to follow Me"

-- God places us in the body of Christ where we are needed -- He puts us where He wants us -- and He gives us the talents and the tools and the resources that we need to succeed in that place
-- we should never look down on someone because they don't seem to be serving God in the way we think they should -- we should never look down on someone because their job in the church seems menial or unnecessary in our eyes -- we should never feel bad if we aren't the ones leading Bible study or preaching or teaching or doing any of the other more visible acts of service in the church
-- God has puts us where He wants us -- and if we are serving God where He has placed us -- whether that's as a janitor or a dish washer or a Sunday School teacher -- then we are just as valuable and worthy in His eyes as Billy Graham or Bishop King
-- my favorite quote from Martin Luther King, Jr talks about this -- he wrote, "If you are called to be a street sweeper, sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry -- Sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, 'Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.'"
-- the important thing is that we are serving God where He wants us serve -- God has called all of us to work in His body -- we all have a role to play -- some roles are visible -- some roles are less visible -- but they all are important
-- as the old saying goes, "there's not any small parts -- only small actors" -- when someone writes a play, they write every role for a reason -- Every role, regardless of stage time or number of lines, is important, otherwise it wouldn't have been written
-- what this is telling us is that in the body of Christ, there are no extras -- there are no unnecessary parts -- everyone is vital and important to the kingdom of God

-- finally, these words of Christ in response to Peter's question tells us that we are to be ourselves -- we're not to try to be anyone else
-- a lot of times in the church, we tend to fall into the trap of uniformity -- in other words, we try to make copy-cat Christians and copy-cat pastors and copy-cat churches -- we expect everyone in church to look and act just like everyone else -- we expect every pastor to look and act just like the pastor next door -- and we expect every church to look and act just like the church down the road
-- and so we tell people, "You need to be doing this or you need to be doing that -- or you should quit doing what you're doing"
-- or we look at the church down the road and say, "Look at what they are doing -- why aren't we doing that -- we need to do that, too"
-- but God made us diverse -- He made us different -- He made us different parts -- and the miracle of the church is how God puts all of us together and forms this wonderful body that is capable of doing eternal work here on earth
-- every one is not called to do everything -- every one is not called to teach Sunday School or to preach or to do a certain ministry or get involved in a certain function just because every one else is doing it
-- every church is not called to do everything -- we're not all called to minister to the homeless -- to have a massive youth program -- to send missionaries around the world -- or to run a clothes closet
-- instead, we are called to do what God tells us to do -- what I do as a follower of Christ may not be what you are called to do -- what we do as a church may not be what the church down the road is called to do -- but together -- when we are doing what God has called us to do -- we are doing kingdom work and making an eternal difference in this world

-- it all comes down to Jesus' final words to Peter in this passage -- "You must follow Me" -- our focus should be on following Christ -- on doing what He has called us to do
-- we shouldn't spend our time trying to make everyone look the same and having them do the same thing -- we shouldn't worry about whether others are doing as much for the Kingdom as we are -- and we certainly shouldn't think too highly of ourselves or that we are doing more than someone else
-- every part is needed -- every member is needed -- every church is needed

-- Peter asked Jesus, "What about him?" -- but that's not the question we need to be asking
-- the question we should be asking is, "What about me?"
-- What does Jesus want you to do for Him? -- Where is He calling you to serve today?

-- if you are not actively involved in serving God in this church in some way, then as we close in prayer, I would invite you to ask God to show you what He wants you to do -- I want to invite you to ask God to put you where He wants you to be
-- if you need advice -- if you want to talk about how you can serve God in this church -- then just let me know and I'll be glad to set up a time to meet with you and help you get plugged in

-- as we go to the Lord in prayer, just remember this -- every member should be involved in ministry -- every member should be a minister -- because every member is needed

-- let us pray

SERMON: THE SALT OF THE EARTH

THE SALT OF THE EARTH
6 September 2009

I. Introduction
-- turn in Bibles to Matthew 5

13. "You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.
14. "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.
15. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.
16. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

-- I'm not sure how much you know about the process of becoming a pastor in the Methodist Church, but one of the things that a new candidate must do is to have a psychological profile conducted before they appoint you to a church -- I guess the Methodist Church must know that anyone that God calls to be a pastor must be out of their mind -- but, anyway, it is a requirement -- so about 10 years ago I went over to Columbus to the psychologist assigned by the Conference and took a battery of psychological tests including the Myers-Briggs Personality Test
-- when the tests were over and the psychologist was going over the results with me, I was highly surprised that he said that my results showed that I was a rebel in regards to authority -- that just did not sound like me -- I am a very compliant person -- I tend to do whatever the authority above me tells me to do -- I do what my boss says -- I dutifully fill out all the paperwork that the Methodist Church sends me -- I follow the rules -- the last word I would use to describe myself would be "rebel"
-- but, lately, I've started wondering if this test wasn't more accurate than I first believed -- I have found myself at odds with my doctor and I have made the decision that I am just not going to do what he has told me to do
-- several years ago, I was diagnosed with high blood pressure and high cholesterol -- my doctor put me on medicine for both and told me to lose weight -- and I've been trying to do that but obviously not making much progress -- but, here's the thing that I'm just not going to do -- my doctor told me that I needed to cut salt out of my diet -- and, honestly, I tried -- I bought salt substitute and I tried eating my food without salt -- but I quickly decided that this was not for me
-- I kind of felt like Mark Twain -- one time Twain decided that he should quit smoking and drinking -- but it only lasted one hour -- Twain said that after one hour he came to the conclusion that life just wasn't worth living if a man couldn't have a cigar and a glass of wine from time to time -- he said he would rather die first -- and that's kind of how I feel about salt
-- have you tried to eat grits without salt? -- how about corn on the cob -- or mashed potatoes -- or eggs -- you just can't do it -- those foods are inedible without salt -- they have no taste -- it's like eating sawdust -- and I quickly decided that I was just going to rebel against my doctor on this one -- I would take my medicine -- I would try to lose weight -- but I was not going to cut salt out of my diet -- that was just not going to happen
-- and, honestly, I think Jesus understands -- He knows the value of salt -- He knows how necessary salt was in a person's life
-- you know, in Jesus' day, salt was even more valuable and necessary than it is in our own day -- we use salt primarily to season our food today -- to enhance the flavor of the food we eat -- to bring out the quality of the food -- salt just makes things taste better
-- but, in Jesus' day, salt was necessary for life -- in a time without refrigeration, salt was used to preserve food and to store it for long periods of time -- kind of like we do now to some extent with salt-cured ham and pickles -- but in Jesus' day, it was the only way to preserve food -- if you didn't have salt, you had no way to store food for winter or to keep food in your pantry during the lean times of the year
-- the people in the first century AD used salt for a variety of purposes -- in addition to preserving food and enhancing flavor -- salt was used to purify and cleanse wounds -- it was used to line the bottom of their clay ovens to keep mold and mildew and germs from growing inside -- farmers would add salt to their soil as a type of fertilizer
-- in fact, salt was so valuable that some Roman soldiers were actually paid with salt instead of money -- that's where we get our English word "salary" from -- it comes from the Latin "salarium," which literally means, "an allowance of salt given to a Roman soldier" -- it's also where we get the phrase, "not worth his salt" -- if a Roman soldier was derelict in his duties, the centurions would refuse to pay him because he was "not worth his salt"
-- people needed salt -- they couldn't live without it -- I think that's one reason why Jesus used salt as a metaphor here in verse 13 to describe Christians
-- so, let's take a few moments this morning and consider what Jesus was trying to get across to us in this passage about salt and light

II. Scripture Lesson (Matthew 5:13-16)
-- these verses come in the context of the sermon on the mount -- the synoptic gospel writers -- Matthew, Mark, and Luke -- tell us that early in Jesus' ministry that he went up on a mountainside in Galilee -- more likely just a tall hill -- and sat down and delivered this sermon to teach what it meant to truly follow Him as His disciple
-- it's in the first twelve verses of the sermon on the mount that we get the Beatitudes -- the short teachings from Jesus that start "Blessed are those who" or "Blessed are the poor in spirit or the meek or the pure in heart"
-- the Beatitudes are about character -- about how a follower of Christ is to think and believe and live in their hearts
-- but here in verses 13-16, Jesus shifts from character to the influence of character -- He shifts from talking about "those who" to specifically saying "you" -- before, Jesus described what the character of a Christian should look like -- now, He shows us how the character of a Christian is supposed to influence and change the world around us
-- He does so by giving us two word pictures in these verses that illustrate the same point -- salt and light -- things that were both necessary for life -- things that both were needed and that both had a purpose -- things that we just couldn't live without -- rather than looking at both salt and light, let's take a few moments and consider what Jesus was teaching us by comparing us to salt

-- look back at the first part of verse 13

13. "You are the salt of the earth.

-- now, this is important -- this is something that you can easily overlook if you read this passage too quickly -- Jesus says here that we are the salt of the earth -- we are -- we're not being made salt -- we're not in the process of becoming salt -- Jesus says if you are His disciple -- if you have received Him as Lord and Savior -- if He has forgiven you of your sins -- then you are the salt of the earth
-- this simple statement carries with it a couple of profound thoughts -- to say that we are the salt of the earth tells us who we are and what we should be doing
-- first, it tells us who we are -- we are the followers of Christ -- we are Christians -- that word, "Christian" literally means "little Christ" -- it implies that we are imitators of Christ in character and behavior and action -- it implies that we possess all of those characteristics that Jesus listed in the Beatitudes -- it implies that our lives are salted with His presence -- that is who we are -- not who we are becoming
-- this reminds me of a little game that I play with Brooke -- do you remember what it was like to be a teenager? -- do you remember how hard it was? -- how your self-esteem and your self-worth was based more on what your peers thought of you than reality? -- well, when Brooke's having a normal teenager day and she's not thinking very highly of herself, I like to turn to her and ask her this question, "Who are you?" -- and then I give the answer -- "You are a princess -- you are the daughter of the King -- you are God's beloved creation -- and that is how you should live"
-- that's the same thing that Jesus is doing for us here in this passage -- He's reminding us of who we are -- when the world gets us down -- when things and people and bosses and jobs and everything is just stomping on you and telling you that you are worthless -- Jesus says "Who are you? -- You are the salt of the earth -- you are the very imitation of Me -- you have within you My Spirit and My presence -- you are valuable beyond measure -- you are the heirs of the kingdom of God -- now live like the royalty you are"

-- which brings us to the second thought from this statement -- when Jesus says that we are the salt of the earth, it tells us what we are to do
-- as I mentioned earlier, salt was extremely valuable in Jesus' day -- it was used as a preservative and to flavor food and to purify and cure disease -- and all of these are the same functions that Jesus is calling us to perform in our lives today
-- as the salt of the earth, Christians are to preserve and flavor the world around us -- the Scriptures tell us that apart from Christ, this world and the people of this world are rotting and decaying -- they have no life -- they have no hope -- they are on a path that is leading them straight to Hell and eternal separation from God
-- it is our job, as Christians, to preserve and flavor the world -- we are to be for them the very presence of Christ -- we are to be His hands and His feet that reach out and point the world around us to life and salvation and eternity through Jesus
-- we are to carry the good news of the death and resurrection of Christ to this world -- to let them know that there is hope -- that there is salvation -- that there is forgiveness of sins and restoration of the soul through the body and blood of Jesus
-- as Christians, we are to live in such a way that we have an impact on our world and flavor it with the presence of God

-- look back at the second part of verse 13

13b. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.


-- Luke carries this teaching a little farther in his gospel -- in Luke 14:34-35 he records Jesus as saying that when salt has lost its saltiness, it is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile -- those are harsh words, indeed
-- what does Jesus mean here? -- what point is He trying to get across?
-- Jesus has been talking about the impact that a Christian should have on the world around them -- they are to season and preserve and flavor this world with the gospel of Christ -- but now Jesus asks the question, "What happens if the salt loses its saltiness? -- what happens if the salt doesn't do what it is supposed to do? -- What value does it have then?
-- any housewife -- for that matter, any cook or any scientist -- will tell you that salt doesn't lose it's saltiness -- sodium chloride -- table salt -- is such a stable compound that it is very difficult for it to be broken apart and lose its character and its flavor -- in other words, salt just doesn't lose its saltiness
-- Bible scholars have suggested that the salt in Jesus' day was different -- it wasn't pure table salt -- instead it came from the Dead Sea -- it was often mixed with impurities, making it less salty -- and that there were conditions in which the salt could be leached out or made less effective -- possibly through exposure to water or the air -- excessive sunlight -- or even other chemicals
-- and the scholars say that when once the salt content had dissolved or drained away, the residual mineral would be salt that had lost its savor -- and it was good for nothing other than being thrown away and trampled by men
-- but that's really missing the point that Jesus was trying to make here -- the issue isn't whether salt can lose its saltiness or not -- the issue is whether the salt is fulfilling the purpose for which it was made -- is the salt being made available to this world to preserve it and season it and purify it?

-- not too long ago, I knocked our saltshaker off the cabinet and broke it -- Kim went out and bought a new saltshaker -- this was one was made out of aluminum so I wouldn't break it
-- shortly after she bought it I was cooking supper and the dish needed more salt -- so, I grabbed up the saltshaker and shook it over the dish and tasted it again -- still needed more salt -- so, I grabbed the shaker again, shook it over the dish, and tasted it -- no difference -- nothing had changed -- I tried one more time -- and then I noticed something
-- this saltshaker has a plastic cap that covers the holes on the top -- it didn't matter how hard I shook it -- until this cap was removed, no salt was coming out -- it was unavailable -- it was not fulfilling its purpose

-- when we're trying to understand this verse, let's not get caught up on semantics or argue about whether salt can really lose its saltiness or not
-- the point that Jesus is trying to make here -- the question that He's asking us this morning is, "Are My people actively involved in the affairs of this world to the point where they are having an influence on the people around them?" -- or, to make it more personal, "Are we living out our character in such a way that we are preserving and seasoning and purifying those we come into contact with?
-- are we available to the world around us or have we lost our saltiness?

-- remember what this verse is all about -- Jesus isn't challenging us to become salt -- He's not saying that if we follow Him that eventually we will become salty in our nature -- no, Jesus says that we are salt and that we are either fulfilling or failing to live out the responsibility that goes along with it
-- either you are living a salty life by preserving and seasoning and purifying everything and everyone that you come into contact with or you are not -- there is no middle ground -- and Jesus offers harsh words for those who have lost their saltiness
-- what good are those who have lost their saltiness -- who have made themselves unavailable to the world -- Jesus says they are not good for anything

III. Closing
-- in one of his messages, John Stott quoted Robert Bellah, a sociologist who teaches at the University of California at Berkeley -- Bellah's focus of research is on the influence of religion on a community -- in other words, can a community of faith have an effect on those around them?
-- In an interview in Psychology Today Bellah said, "We should not underestimate the significance of the small group of people who have a new vision of a just and gentle world -- the quality of a culture may be changed when [just] 2 percent of its people have a new vision."
-- we have more than 2 percent of the population in our community represented here this morning -- so, why aren't we having more effect? -- why aren't we having more influence?
-- any cook will tell you that it just takes a little bit of salt to change the entire flavor
of a dish of food -- if we are salt, as Jesus says we are, then why aren't we having more of an impact on the world around us?
-- have we lost our saltiness? -- are we keeping our salt in the shaker away from the world that we are called to minister to?

-- we need to start thinking of this sanctuary as a salt shaker -- we can come in here once a week -- we can fellowship with all the other salt -- we can worship together and have a good time and think that our job is accomplished -- but really, we're just sitting in a shaker with the cap on
-- God wants us to be available to this world -- He brought us together in this place as His salt so He could shake us out on the world around us -- He wants us to be an influence for Jesus -- He wants us to preserve and season and purify this community for Him

-- the question that I want to leave you with this morning is this -- have you lost your saltiness? -- is your Christianity only lived out inside this salt shaker of a sanctuary?
-- salt sitting in a shaker has lost its saltiness -- it can't fulfill its purpose -- it will never exert its preservative and curing effect until it is shaken into the world around it
-- Jesus called us salt -- He wants us to permeate and penetrate every level of society and to season this world -- but you can't do that sitting in a shaker and just coming to church every Sunday and doing nothing more
-- as I close in prayer, think about these questions -- are you sitting or are you shaking? -- have you lost your saltiness or are you living as the salt of the earth?

-- let us pray

SERMON: MIRACLES

MIRACLES
30 August 2009 (Naylor UMC Only)

I. Introduction
-- turn in Bibles to 2 Corinthians 1

8. We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life.
9. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.
10. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us,
11. as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many.

-- When a hurricane hit South Florida several years ago, Norena's home was one of many that was severely damaged -- The elderly woman got money from her insurance company to fix the damage and immediately hired a contractor to fix her home -- but, she ran out of insurance money before all of the repairs were completed and her contractor quit working -- leaving her with an unfinished home with no electricity -- and ever since, Norena lived without power in her home
-- now what makes this story truly amazing is that the hurricane that damaged Norena's home was not Katrina, but Andrew -- if you remember, Hurricane Andrew hit south Florida back in 1992 -- Norena lived in the dark for over 15 years -- so, think about what that means -- this elderly woman had no heat when the temperature dropped in the winter -- she had no air conditioning to help when summer rolled around -- no hot showers -- no refrigerator -- no freezer -- the only thing she had was one small lamp and single burner on her stove
-- Norena never complained to anyone -- her neighbors didn't know that she didn't have power -- and because no one knew, no one could help -- finally, in 2007, someone found out about Norena's problem and got word to the mayor of Miami -- just a few hours later, an electrical contractor hired by the city was able to get power hooked up to her house
-- CBS News said that Norena plans to let the water get really hot, and then take her first bubble bath in a decade and a half -- "It's hard to describe having [the electricity]…to switch on," she said. "It's overwhelming." 1

-- can you imagine someone living without power for 15 years? -- can you imagine someone going day after day after day with no power simply because they refused to ask for help -- because they refused to let someone else know that they needed a hand -- because they felt like they could make it on their own?
-- if you had to point to the one character flaw in the church in America today, it would be this -- for way too many years, the church in America has been living without power -- we've just been getting by like Norena -- looking good on the outside but totally dark and devoid of power on the inside
-- if you read the account of the early church -- if you read of the miracles that God did through them -- if you think about how God magnified their ministry and grew their numbers -- allowing them to flourish under the reign of the evil dictator Caesar Nero -- you can't help but be astonished
-- some people read the stories of the apostles and the early church in the Book of Acts and they try to explain it away -- sure, that's what God did then -- that's what God did when He was getting His church established -- but He doesn't act that way now -- that's why we don't see that in our churches -- it's not because of anything that we're doing or not doing -- it's simply because God doesn't work that way anymore
-- but, is that true? -- the Bible tells us in Hebrews 13:8 that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever -- that means that Jesus' ministry has not changed -- the same Jesus who did the miracles in the gospels -- the same Jesus who calmed the sea and the wind -- the same Jesus who called Lazarus from the grave and raised the dead -- the same Jesus that made the blind see and the lame walk -- the same Jesus who cast out demons and wept for His friends -- this same Jesus is still the God of our church and still works in this way

-- if this is the case -- if the Bible is true when it says that Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever -- then there are a couple of principles that we can discern from this statement
-- first, miracles did not cease when the Bible was written -- in other words, if Jesus is the same today as He was yesterday, that means that Jesus is still working today as He did then -- that means that miracles should still be taking place throughout the world and throughout the church just like they did in the gospels and in the New Testament -- that means that the power has not gone away but should be evident in the midst of His people
-- and, secondly, if we're not experiencing God's power -- if we're not seeing Him work in our midst in this way -- then the problem doesn't lie with Jesus -- it has to lie with us -- just because Norena didn't have power in her home for 15 years after Hurricane Andrew didn't mean the problem was with the electric company -- the problem was with her -- she simply wasn't connected

II. Defining Miracles
-- so, let's take a few moments and think about this topic a little more -- let's start by defining what a miracle is -- that word gets thrown around a lot and not just by Christians -- we tend to use it in our normal, every day communication -- "It was a miracle that I made it to work on time" -- "It was a miracle that Georgia beat Florida" -- "It was a miracle that my lights came on just in time to watch that movie tonight"
-- but are those really miracles? -- what is the biblical definition of a miracle? -- Baker's Dictionary of the Bible defines a miracle as "an event in the external world brought about by the immediate agency or the simple volition of God." -- in a similar vein, Kris Samons wrote that "Miracles are those acts that only God can perform" 2
-- a couple of years ago, Dr. Daniel Sulmasy looked at miracles from a scientific and theological standpoint in an article in the Southern Medical Journal and came up with a six part definition of a miracle:
1. A miracle must be a real, individual event that can be documented and verified -- in other words, to have a real miracle, you have to have proof to show that something really happened
2. A miracle must be something that is not normal or that has never happened before -- like someone getting healed from cancer without medical intervention
3. A miraculous event must evoke widespread wonder.
4. A miracle is something that can only be freely given by God and cannot be conjured -- in other words, we don't reduce God to a vending machine -- miracles come through Him and Him alone and not because we pushed the right buttons or said the right prayers
5. A miracle always is recognized as a special sign from God and always communicates a spiritual message -- in other words, there are no quiet miracles -- when God acts in our lives in such a way, He does so to get attention and to spread His word -- God does miracles so He gets the glory
6. A miracle must be affirmed as a miracle by the community of believers and the message of the miracle must be addressed to more than one member of that community, at least indirectly -- what this means is that when God does a miracle, we'll all recognize it as a miracle and we'll all be touched by the message of the miracle 3

-- so, that's what a miracle is -- a verifiable event -- the direct, supernatural intervention by God in a person's life to influence a situation that is impossible or unsolvable in human terms and that demonstrates the power and presence of God for an entire community
-- examples of miracles are easy to find, even today -- Dr. Sulmasy gave one example in his article of a 60-year-old Franciscan monk who had developed pneumonia -- but, even when the pneumonia was cured, the x-rays showed a mass in his chest -- the doctors did more tests and suspected it was cancer and decided to do surgery to confirm
-- the night of the surgery, the monk gathered with his fellow friars for a healing service -- he was anointed with oil and his brothers prayed for him -- The following day, he goes in for the surgery but it gets canceled because his routine preoperative chest x-ray -- taken that morning -- showed no lesion to be removed -- they did a CT scan and confirmed that the mass in his lungs -- which had been there for at least six months and had been seen 10 days before on x-ray -- was no longer there -- there was no need for surgery because the monk had been healed

III. Experiencing Miracles
-- so, we know what a miracle is -- we know why God does them -- but how do they come about? -- how can we experience the power of God in our churches and in our individual lives in this way today?

-- well, first, we need a situation that is impossible by human measures -- look back at verse 8 here in 2 Corinthians 1

8. We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life.
9. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death.

-- Paul and Timothy were ministering in the province of Asia -- Paul said they had suffered great hardships -- elsewhere in the scriptures he tells us about the persecution they endured -- being flogged and beaten and stoned -- the shipwrecks he experience -- being subjected to cold and heat -- being hungry -- being naked -- being harassed by robbers and thieves -- being thrown in prison
-- it reached the point, Paul writes here, where the sufferings and hardships were beyond their ability to endure -- they saw no way out -- they saw no deliverance coming -- they thought they would die
-- that's the first step in experiencing the power of God in our lives -- and it's here that the church in America is truly failing -- rarely do we try to do things in our churches today that are bigger than us -- rarely do we attempt to do great things for God
-- usually, what we do is come up with an idea for ministry on our own -- we see if we've got the money in the budget to cover it -- we see if we've got enough people to do it -- and then, and only then, do we go forward
-- when's the last time that you tried something that you couldn't do on your own? -- when's the last time that this church has tried something that we couldn't do on our own? -- when's the last time that we did something that put us totally and completely dependent on God and His power or else we knew we were facing total failure?

-- you've done that here before -- you did that with the roof before I got here -- you didn't have the money -- you didn't have the resources -- but you needed the roof fixed and you finally got to the point where you trusted God to do it -- and what happened? -- the roof was fixed and you ended up with more money than you started with
-- what happened when Jerry came up with the vision to put a Bible in every home in Naylor? -- that was an impossible feat for our church -- at the time we had about 12 people here in the congregation -- most of them in their 50's and 60's -- and not a lot of money -- it was impossible by human standards -- it was something that we couldn't do on our own -- it was a vision greater than us -- and what happened?
-- God made it happen -- the money just showed up -- all of you got out and gave out the Bibles -- and a church of 12 people was used by God to do the impossible
-- but that was in the past -- we can't live on tradition -- we can't live on the past -- God is asking us the question, "What have you done for Me lately?"
-- what have we tried lately that is impossible without God? -- what situation have we faced -- what ministry have we attempted that is greater than our checkbook and greater than our people and our resources can handle? -- miracles only come in response to situations that are impossible and too great for us to handle alone -- if we can do it on our own, then we don't need God -- if we can do it on our own, then it's probably not something that God is calling us to do

-- the next step in experiencing a mighty move of God is to reach the point where you totally depend on Him and Him alone for deliverance and action
-- look at the second part of verse 9

9b. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.


-- miracles only come when we quit relying on ourselves and rely on God instead -- I just finished reading a fantastic book -- a true story -- the autobiography of Brother Andrew -- Brother Andrew was a missionary from Holland -- he had no support from any mission agency -- he had no salary -- no staff -- no car -- no money -- no resources -- but he felt called to minister to the Christians behind the Iron Curtain in the 1950's and began to carry them Bibles and other Christian literature
-- when Brother Andrew began his work, it was illegal to carry any literature -- Christian or non-Christian -- into these countries -- they would stop you at the border -- search all your belongings -- and arrest you if you were trying to smuggle items across
-- Brother Andrew writes in his book, "God's Smuggler," that there was no way to get Bibles across the border -- there was no way to keep customs agents from searching his suitcase and his belongings -- there was no way to keep them from searching the car that he finally had given to him for his ministry
-- so he didn't even bother to hide the Bibles -- he just put them in the back of the car and asked God for a miracle -- he asked God to make seeing eyes blind to the presence of the Bibles -- and to make hearing ears deaf to the messages he delivered to the churches -- he didn't rely on his own strength or his own cunning or his own ingenuity to get the Bibles and the word of God across the border but totally depended on God and God's providence -- and with a ministry that spanned over 20 years to the communist countries, not once did he ever get detained the border -- not once did the border agents see or discover the literature and the Bibles he carried

-- look at verse 10

10. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us,
11. as you help us by your prayers.

-- Paul was totally dependent on God -- he trusted God -- he says that God had delivered him in the past, and God would deliver him in the future -- Paul says, "God does deliver -- I have no doubt"
-- do you trust God to deliver? -- can you depend on Him to work when all hope is gone?

-- finally, the purpose of a miracle -- God doesn't do miracles just to make your life comfortable -- He doesn't do miracles to make things easy for you -- He does miracles so that He will get the glory -- so that His name will be magnified -- so that His message will go out and change hearts and transform lives
-- look at the second part of verse 11

11b. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many.

-- many will give thanks for what God has done -- when miracles occur -- when God acts -- it will be seen by many -- it will be experienced by many -- and God will get the glory -- God's message will be seen and felt -- and God's church will be strengthened -- that is the reason God works in this way -- that is the reason for miracles

IV. Closing
-- when you think about it, it all comes down to trusting and depending on God -- it all comes down to faith -- as Abraham Lincoln pointed out, "Faith is not believing that God can, but that God will!"
-- faith is believing that God will deliver -- that God will work -- that God will do a miracle in response to our total trust and dependence on Him -- that we can do the impossible through Him
-- as Francis Asbury, one of the first Methodist Bishops in America said, "We live by faith in a prayer-hearing, soul-converting, soul-sanctifying, soul-restoring, and soul-comforting God."

-- so, as we close this morning, let me ask you -- can you say you live by faith in this way? -- can you say that you truly trust God -- that you truly depend on Him in your life? -- can you say that your power is on?
-- to live a life of faith is to live a life of adventure -- to live a life of faith is to dare to dream great dreams -- to reach out for the stars -- to try to do the impossible in the name of and for the name of Jesus
-- what impossible trial are you walking through right now? -- what impossible mission is God sending you and this church on? -- what is He calling us to do?

-- you have seen and experienced the power of God in your lives -- you've seen the miracle of God manifested in this very room -- among this very people -- but that's not good enough -- don't you want to see it again?
-- it starts with a vision and with faith and with trust in a God who will make it happen
-- as we close in prayer, let's ask God to challenge us again -- let's ask God to give us a mission that is greater than ourselves -- something that we can't do -- something that is impossible apart from Him -- and let's ask Him for the faith to see it through
-- let's pray



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1 KUTV, "Woman Turns Lights on After 15 Years in the Dark," KUTV.com (2-17-07); submitted by John Beukema, Chambersburg, Pennsylvania to Preaching Today.com

2 "What is a Biblical Definition of Miracle?" by Kris Samons, Probe Ministries, http://www.probe.org/site/c.fdKEIMNsEoG/b.4222629/k.EE2A/What_is_a_Biblical_Definition_of_Miracle.htm, Accessed 30 August 2009

3 "What Is a Miracle?", Sulmasy, Daniel P. OFM, MD, PhD. Southern Medical Journal. December 2007 - Volume 100 - Issue 12 - pp 1223-1228. http://journals.lww.com/smajournalonline/Fulltext/2007/12000/What_Is_a_Miracle_.15.aspx, accessed 30 August 2009

SERMON: BE PREPARED -- THE END IS NEAR

BE PREPARED -- THE END IS NEAR
23 August 2009

I. Introduction
-- turn in Bibles to Luke 16

1. Jesus told his disciples: "There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions.
2. So he called him in and asked him, `What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you cannot be manager any longer.'
3. "The manager said to himself, `What shall I do now? My master is taking away my job. I'm not strong enough to dig, and I'm ashamed to beg--
4. I know what I'll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.'
5. "So he called in each one of his master's debtors. He asked the first, `How much do you owe my master?'
6. "`Eight hundred gallons of olive oil,' he replied. "The manager told him, `Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it four hundred.'
7. "Then he asked the second, `And how much do you owe?' "`A thousand bushels of wheat,' he replied. "He told him, `Take your bill and make it eight hundred.'
8. "The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light.
9. I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.


-- what would you do if you knew that the end of the world was coming? -- what would you do if you knew that on such and such a date in the future, the world would be destroyed? -- not necessarily the blowing up of our planet but the end of life as we know it -- how would you prepare for such an event? -- what would you do?
-- that is a question that our society and our culture seems to be increasingly worried about -- I recently watched the trailer for the new movie "2012" based on the Mayan prophecy that the world will end on December 21, 2012 -- the trailer opened with the question flashing on the screen, "How would the governments of our planet prepare six billion people for the end of the world?" -- a moment later, the words came, "They wouldn't"
-- if you accept the premise that our books and our movies and our television shows reflect the worries and concerns of society, then you would have to say that we are living in a society focused on the end of the world
-- we have always had movies and books about cataclysmic events -- remember "The Poseiden Adventure" -- "Earthquake" -- and "The Towering Inferno" -- but recently, we've been inundated with movies and books where these cataclysmic events destroy life as we know it
-- movies like "The Day After Tomorrow" -- "I am Legend" -- even the animated movie, "Wall-E" that came out last year -- all focused on the aftermath of the end of the world
-- 2012 is just one of a new wave of apocalyptic movies set to come out this year -- Denzel Washington has another one coming out in January called "Eli" about surviving in America after a devastating war destroys civilization and the environment
-- and it's not just our movies -- a couple of years ago CBS had a short-lived t.v. series called "Jericho" about Americans surviving in the mid-west after a nuclear attack by terrorists -- NBC is releasing a similar new series in March called "Day One" about a handful of neighbors trying to survive a cataclysmic event that destroys the world's infrastructure -- and there have been a handful of books out on what would happen and how we would survive if something were to shut down the electrical grid world-wide -- whether a natural event or an EMP -- an Electromagnetic Pulse weapon

-- people are worried about the future -- they are worried about what is going to happen -- more specifically, they're worried about what is going to happen to them
-- if you stop to think about it, it's understandable -- we live in probably the most chaotic and unpredictable time in history -- in the past decade, our country and our world have been rocked with wars and rumors of wars -- with terrorist bombings -- with hijacked planes -- with increased violence and crime world-wide
-- we've seen our economy crumble and watched as Wall Street almost came to its knees over the mortgage crisis and the failure of banks -- we've watched American cities inundated by killer hurricanes -- destroyed as rivers overflowed their banks -- devastated by earthquakes and wildfires
-- we saw the horrific images of the 2004 tsunami and the 2008 earthquake in Pakistan -- we watched in disbelief as hundreds of thousands of people were either killed or displaced by these and similar events
-- we hear the dire predictions of a nuclear Iran and a nuclear North Korea -- of the likelihood of a biological, nuclear, or EMP weapon being unleashed in America -- of the potential for an asteroid to slam into the planet -- of global climate change that will destroy life as we know it
-- is it any wonder that we're worried? -- is it any wonder that people are concerned with the future?

-- now, I've said all this to make a point -- not to scare you or worry you -- but to focus your attention on the overwhelming fact that the people around us are worried about the state of the world -- and to ask you the question, "What should be our response as Christians?"
-- in light of this chaotic time that we live in -- in light of the worry around us -- what should we be saying and doing as Christians? -- how can we speak life and hope into a world worried about the future? -- what should be our response?

II. Scripture Lesson (Luke 16:1-9)
-- the answers to these questions can only be found in scripture -- look back with me, if you would, at Luke 16 at the parable of the dishonest manager
-- this has always been a difficult passage of scripture to understand -- it's rarely taught on because on the surface it seems to go against what Jesus stood for -- how could Jesus praise the actions of a man who was dishonest and who cheated his employer? -- what is His point? -- what is He trying to say here? -- let's find out

-- look back at verse 1

1. Jesus told his disciples: "There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions.
2. So he called him in and asked him, `What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you cannot be manager any longer.'


-- Jesus begins this parable by telling us about a manager who has not been taking care of his master's possessions -- he had been given a position to manage the resources for a rich man -- his master -- but he's been a poor steward
-- he has wasted the master's money -- he has squandered the master's possessions -- he has taken what the master has given him, but has not produced any return on the man's investment -- instead, he has cost the rich man money
-- finally, the rich man has had enough -- he calls the manager and says, "I want to have a meeting with you -- I want to know what has happened to my money -- I want to know what you have done with my possessions"
-- and once he finds out, the manager is summarily dismissed -- in other words, the manager is fired -- let go -- laid off -- out-sourced -- out of work -- not too an uncommon an occurrence in our day and age
-- now, understand what has just happened to the manager -- his world has been rocked -- his life has been changed -- here he was living the high life -- managing someone else's money and possessions -- living high on the hog on their dime -- but now, he faces an uncertain future
-- he doesn't know what is going to happen -- he doesn't know what he's going to do -- he's worried about tomorrow -- sound familiar?

-- verse 3

3. "The manager said to himself, `What shall I do now? My master is taking away my job. I'm not strong enough to dig, and I'm ashamed to beg--
4. I know what I'll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.'
5. "So he called in each one of his master's debtors. He asked the first, `How much do you owe my master?'
6. "`Eight hundred gallons of olive oil,' he replied. "The manager told him, `Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it four hundred.'
7. "Then he asked the second, `And how much do you owe?' "`A thousand bushels of wheat,' he replied. "He told him, `Take your bill and make it eight hundred.'


-- when the manager realized what was coming, he knew he had to get ready -- he knew he was about to be out on the street -- he knew he had no where to go -- and so he made preparations to get ready for what was about to happen
-- he went to the rich man's debtors and had them change their bills so that they would only have to pay back a fraction of what they really owed -- in essence, he cheated his former master -- he was dishonest -- he was a crook -- but he did it for a reason
-- he made up fake bills and changed invoices so that these debtors would owe him a favor -- he did it so that when his boss threw him out on the street with no money and no job, these debtors would take him in and give him a hand
-- it was wrong, but it worked

-- verse 8

8. "The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light.


-- the master commended the dishonest manager -- not because he had stolen from him and cheated him -- but because the dishonest manager had finally taken initiative and looked ahead and managed his resources for the future
-- this was exactly why he was hired in the first place -- he was hired to take the rich man's money and possessions and to use them in such a way that they would increase in value in the future -- he was hired to look ahead to what was coming and to do what was necessary to make sure the rich man was taken care of in the future
-- the rich man commended the dishonest manager for finally doing his job -- even though he had done it to better himself instead of the rich man like he should have in the first place -- if had acted like this all along, he never would have lost his job

-- verse 9

9. I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.

-- here Jesus summarizes His parable -- He doesn't praise or condone the dishonesty of the manager but He does praise the manager's forethought -- look ahead to the future and use the resources that you have been given to help you and others
-- God has given you tools and resources to work with -- don't waste them -- but use them -- not in dishonest ways -- not selfishly -- but use what you have been given for your benefit and for the benefit of those around you so that in the future you will be taken care of -- so that in the future, your destination will be secure -- so that in the future you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings

III. Be Prepared
-- earlier I asked you a question -- in light of this chaotic time that we live in -- in light of the worry around us -- what should we be saying and doing as Christians? -- what should be our response?
-- Jesus' answer from this parable is, "Be Prepared"

-- now, that answer has two parts -- first, we are to be prepared for the chaos of this life -- in John 16:33, Jesus said that in this world we would have trouble, so get ready for it -- everyone agrees, our lives are filled with trouble -- most of it is minor, day-to-day things that just cause us a little distress -- but, occasionally, times of extreme trouble can come our way
-- this is what the world worries the most about -- those extreme troubles like hurricanes and floods -- like earthquakes and global climate change -- like war and nuclear disaster and EMPs and terrorists -- like the loss of a job or economic collapse
-- Jesus says, "Don't worry, but be prepared"

-- lately, I guess I've gotten caught up in this apocalyptic craze that's sweeping the country -- they've been accusing me of being a doom and gloom prophet at work because I've been talking about the potential for a major catastrophe to hit America
-- but, you see I'm not really worried about it -- it may or may not happen -- my focus is not so much on this world but on the world to come -- but, I do think we need to heed Jesus' message in this parable -- I do think we need to be prepared for what might happen -- not just for ourselves, but for those around us
-- this past week we had our first named storms of the hurricane season -- right now, Hurricane Bill is churning out in the Atlantic headed towards the northeast -- how many of you have made preparations for hurricane season? -- how many of you are prepared for any natural disaster?
-- both the Georgia Emergency Management Agency and the Federal Emergency Management Agency say that people should be prepared to survive for three days without access to food, water, or electricity -- they say we should have a stockpile of food and water and supplies to get us through the initial emergency period
-- I went on GEMA and FEMA's webpages and printed off a list of recommended items that everyone needs in their disaster supply kit -- I've got copies at the back for you as you leave -- Jesus says, "Be prepared" -- and I think that we should follow His command -- that we should prepare for whatever troubles might come our way
-- that is exactly what Jesus was commending the dishonest manager for in this passage -- the dishonest manager had the foresight to look ahead to what was coming and to get ready for it -- as Christians, we need to do the same, not only for ourselves, but for our neighbors as well

-- but, Jesus' command to be prepared not only means to be prepared for the chaos of this life -- it also means to be prepared for entry into the next life -- In John 16:33, after Jesus tells us that in this world we will have trouble, He comforts us by saying, "But take heart! I have overcome the world."
-- as Christians, our focus should always be on the eternal -- on what happens after our time has ended -- on what happens after we die

-- if you would, flip over to Luke 6:46 and we'll end there

46. "Why do you call me, `Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say?
47. I will show you what he is like who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice.
48. He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built.
49. But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete."

-- once again, Jesus gives us a parable of preparation -- we know that the storms of life are going to come -- we know that we will have trouble in this world -- but Jesus says that the only way to truly be prepared is to have a strong foundation built on the rock -- He's talking, of course, about salvation and the forgiveness of sins that He made possible through His death and resurrection
-- it doesn't matter how prepared you are for the troubles of this life if you're not prepared for what comes next -- the fears and the worries of our society about potential cataclysmic events really mask their real concern -- what will happen when they die? -- where will they go? -- where will they spend eternity?
-- they focus on surviving a catastrophe in this world so they don't have to think about what comes next

-- as Christians, it is our responsibility to help others prepare for eternity -- we are called by God to go forth and make disciples of all nations -- to baptize others in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost -- and to teach them all the things that Jesus commanded us to do
-- it is our responsibility to speak hope to the fears and concerns of those around us -- to let them know that even if the world were to end today, that life goes on -- that Jesus died on the cross for their sins -- that He rose from the dead on the third day to prove His victory over sin and death -- and that if they would only believe in Him -- if they would only trust in His word -- then they would have eternal life -- they would lay a strong foundation on the Rock -- they would be prepared for eternity

IV. Closing
-- the message for today is to be prepared -- prepare first for the storms of life that we will face -- get ready for them so that when they come, you will be able to take care of the physical needs of yourself and your neighbor

Tears of the Saints featuring Leeland and Delirious

I just finished reading one of the most inspiring books on evangelism and missions I have ever read -- "God's Smuggler" by Brother Andrew. It shames me to think how small my faith really is and how little I do to make a difference in my world today. How many dead people do I walk past every day without noticing? How many people do I pass who are on their way to Hell simply because I don't say a word?

My admiration goes out to the men and women who are on the front lines of the battle -- the men and women who are actively engaged in the fight as missionaries for Christ, whether abroad in foreign lands or at home with their neighbors and friends and family. I felt this video was a stirring tribute to them and a call to action for us.

SERMON: PURSUING HOLINESS: SELF-CONTROL

PURSUING HOLINESS: SELF-CONTROL
16 August 2009

I. Introduction
-- turn in Bibles to Titus 2

11. For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men.
12. It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age,
13. while we wait for the blessed hope--the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ,
14. who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.

-- this morning, we are finishing up our series on pursuing holiness -- for the last eight weeks, we have looked at the fruit of the Spirit that Paul listed for us in Galatians 5:22-23 -- it's kind of like we were given this wonderful fruit basket, filled with fruit of all different kinds just for us to take out and enjoy -- and we've gone through the basket -- pulling out a different fruit every week
-- but now we're at the bottom of the basket, and the only thing left is that one fruit that we really don't want -- that one fruit that we wish God had never put in the basket to start with -- of course, I'm talking about self-control
-- you know, we've enjoyed the other fruit -- we've liked taking them out and partaking of them -- who doesn't want more joy and peace in their lives -- no one has a problem with being more kind or gentle or good -- more loving -- more patient -- more faithful -- but self-control? -- that doesn't even look like it belongs in the basket to start with
-- in the Spirit's fruit basket, self-control is the lemon -- it's that fruit that people put in because it looks good in the basket -- it adds color -- it adds variety -- but no one really expects you to eat it, do they? -- no one really expects you to take it out and do something with it, do they?
-- yeah, self-control is the bitter fruit in the Spirit's basket -- but of all the fruit, this is the one that determines our success as men and women of Christ -- this is the one that determines whether we will become mature Christians -- this is the one that determines if we will truly become holy as God is holy

II. The Problem with a Lack of Self-Control
-- we have a problem with self-control in our culture today -- we can't seem to control ourselves or our actions -- we just don't seem capable of saying the word, "No" -- it's a disease -- an epidemic -- that is insidious and infectious
-- and because of our inability to control ourselves and our actions -- because of our inability to say "No" to anyone or anything, we find ourselves busier than ever before -- we find every minute of every day planned out in our lives so much that we don't have time for ourselves or our God -- we run around from place to place -- staying busy and doing things -- running the rat-race without ever considering the cost
-- because of microwaves and gas grills that cook our food in a fraction of the time -- because of instant news and movies on demand -- because of fast food drive-thru's and 24-hour megastores, we've become accustomed to getting what we want at the moment we want it -- instant gratification for all our wants and desires -- but, it's left us wounded and weary
-- everyone here knows about our country's current economic condition -- many of us have been affected by it in one way or the other -- you can blame the last administration -- you can blame your politician of choice -- you can blame the war or global warming or whatever you choose -- but, the bottom-line is that this crisis was caused because of a lack of self-control -- it was caused because we just couldn't say, "No."
-- we wanted bigger and more expensive houses, but we didn't want to wait -- so when our banks offered us sub-prime mortgages and dangled the keys in front of us, we said "Yes," instead of "No" -- when we were faced with a plethora of choices and new technologies lining the shelves of our stores, we didn't want to wait to get them, and so we said, "Yes," to higher and higher interest rates on credit cards -- it was always "Yes" and never "No"
"Yes" to car loans for cars we couldn't afford -- "Yes" to new and bigger homes -- "Yes" to that next appointment that over-filled our calendar -- "Yes" to that coworker that flirted just a little too much -- "Yes" to that extra drink -- "Yes" to that recreational drug -- "Yes" to that e-mail that promised sexual gratification without any strings -- "Yes" to that extra dessert -- "Yes" to just one more helping -- "Yes, Yes, Yes"
-- and so we talk today in our culture and in our media about the mortgage crisis -- the marriage crisis -- the credit crisis -- the obesity crisis -- the pornography crisis -- all because we refuse to exert any self-control over our actions -- all because we refuse to say "No"

-- it's funny that we would do that -- our culture is so focused on success -- we are so focused on getting ahead and being successful in life that you would think we'd do whatever it took to get there -- do you know what the key indicator of future success is? -- self-control
-- anyone in here ever heard of the marshmallow test? -- back in the 1960s, Walter Mischel tested a group of four-year-old children for self control -- he gave each kid a marshmallow and he told them that they could eat it anytime they want -- but if they waited 15 minutes, they would get another marshmallow -- so Mischel left the room and left the kids alone with their marshmallow
-- and they tried so hard -- they fidgeted -- they looked at the marshmallow -- they looked at the clock -- and some of them just couldn't stand it -- they said, "Yes" and just dove in and ate it right away -- others made it the whole 15 minutes and then got their reward of another marshmallow when Mischel came back
-- Mischel then followed this group of kids for the next few decades -- and what he discovered was that the kids who said, "No" -- the kids who exerted self-control and accepted delayed gratification did better in life -- they were more successful -- as a whole, their SAT scores were higher -- the boys had fewer problems with authorities and with getting in trouble -- the girls were less likely to get pregnant
-- a few years ago, Dr. Roy Baumeister of Case Western Reserve University repeated this study -- and his results were the same -- he concluded that self-control predicts success in life over a very long time -- in an interview on 20-20, he said, "If we're concerned about raising children to be successful and healthy and happy, forget about self-esteem. Concentrate on self-control."

III. Scripture Lesson (Titus 2:11-14)
-- while Dr. Baumeister was talking about secular success, we could say the same thing about the spiritual realm -- if we want our spiritual lives to be successful, healthy, and happy -- if we want to be mature in our walk with Christ -- if we want to do more than be Sunday Christians who just warm pews for one-hour a week -- then we must concentrate on self-control -- we have to learn to say "No" to some things so that we can say "Yes" to better things
-- that's exactly the message that Paul was giving to his protege Titus in this passage -- look back at verse 11 with me and let's see what we can learn from Paul's instructions to Titus

-- verse 11

11. For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men.


-- "for the grace of God" -- God's gift -- God's power and blessing given to us so that we might experience salvation -- saved -- not just from our sins -- not just from death -- but from the world and the kingdom of the world
-- that's the thing we need to keep in mind as we look at self-control -- this is a fruit of the Spirit -- self-control is not will-power -- self-control doesn't mean us controlling ourselves -- it's not something that we're doing on our own
-- self-control means allowing the grace of God through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit to control us -- to control our self -- our flesh -- so that we live for the Spirit and not for us
-- in other words, on our own we just seem incapable of saying "No" -- we just don't have the power to do that -- but as we develop and grow this fruit of the Spirit in our lives -- as we let the Holy Spirit work within us -- God gives us the ability to say "No" to the things of the world -- He gives us the power and He expects us to use this power to exert control over our self

-- verse 12

12. It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age,
13. while we wait for the blessed hope--the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ,

-- it's the divine marshmallow test -- God's grace -- His Spirit within us -- teaches us to say "No" to the world -- to say "No" to ungodliness -- to say "No" to sin -- because we are waiting for a greater reward
-- God's grace teaches us that if we wait just a short while that we will be rewarded with an even greater blessing
-- notice what Paul says here to Titus -- he's not telling Titus to say "No" to everything -- that's not what God wants -- Jesus said that He came that we might have life and have it to the full -- but having a mortgage or a car payment that we can't pay -- having a calendar that's busting at the seams -- having sin and ungodliness running rampant is not what Jesus meant by having a full life
-- Jesus meant a life filled with the goodness that comes only from Him -- with the things that yield eternal value -- what is truly important? -- at the end of your life -- when you stop and take account of all that you have -- of all that you have done -- of all that you have experienced -- what is going to be the most important? -- what are you going to take with you?
-- when you're laying on your death bed, having that expensive house is just not going to mean a whole lot -- having that shiny new car in the drive isn't going to matter -- having the latest gadgets or having just seen the hottest new movie or the hottest new show isn't going to count for much
-- the most important things of life aren't really things at all -- they are family and friends who love -- they are the lives of people that you have touched along the way -- they are the way you lived and carried yourself in this world -- your character -- your integrity -- your legacy
-- so, Paul says here, "Say 'No,' to worldly passions -- say 'no' to ungodliness -- say 'no' to things that are keeping you from the important things of life"
-- self-control isn't just about saying "no" -- it's more about saying "Yes" to the right things

-- verse 14

14. who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.

-- Paul reminds us again right here that this is the reason Jesus came -- this is the reason Jesus died on the cross -- He died to redeem us -- to buy us back from the world and from the broken system and value of the world -- to give us His power to say "No" to the things that lead to death -- to purify us and make us holy -- to separate us out from the world and to make us part of His kingdom -- a people who are eager to do good
-- I really like the KJV translation of this verse -- it says that Jesus came to "purify unto himself a peculiar people" -- as Christians, we are nothing if we're not peculiar -- that means we're different from those around us
-- we don't follow their pattern -- we don't follow their lead -- we don't have to give in to the rat-race -- we don't have to trade our clunkers for new cars -- we don't have to go in debt up to our ears to keep up with the Jones' -- we don't have to trade our integrity and character for instant gratification that never really satisfies
-- I'm a big Dave Ramsey fan -- the Christian financial guru -- and I like what Dave says, "We live different from everybody else now so that we can live different from everybody else later" -- in other words, we don't follow the world because their path leads to destruction -- we follow Christ and live for Him because His path leads to a different and better life

IV. Closing
-- self-control -- the lemon in the Spirit's fruit basket -- but, you know what you can do with lemons, don't you? -- make lemonade
-- we need to learn to develop self-control in our lives -- we all do -- there are certainly areas in your life, just like mine, where we need to rely on the Spirit's power to control our appetites and our desires
-- for some of us it may be time management -- for others it might be our spending -- for others, our diet -- perhaps for some, it is a nagging sin or other ungodly behavior that is controlling your life
-- perhaps you've tried to gain control of your life in the past -- that's really what we do every New Year's Day when we make resolutions -- but, if you're like most of us, you probably failed -- because you were relying on your own strength -- your self -- instead of God's strength

--- the good thing about self-control is that it can be learned and applied in everyone's life -- studies have shown that kids can be taught patience -- they can be taught to wait for a reward -- they can be taught to say "No" now so they can say "Yes" to something better later
-- so, how do we develop self-control in our lives? -- well, since this is a fruit of the Spirit, the first thing we have to do is plant the seed and water it and let it start to grow
-- we start by believing that saying "No" is possible -- granted, we probably can't do it on our own -- but, if we can get in our head the idea that "No" is the right answer, then we have won most of the battle
-- the first step, then, is to examine our wants and our wishes -- is this something that is Godly? -- is this something that will build us up and help us be more like Christ? -- or is this something that will take away from our relationship with Him or our relationship with our family?
-- for instance, ask yourself, "If I buy this car -- this CD -- this stereo -- this whatever -- what will it take to pay the price? -- Will I have to work more and longer to pay for it? -- Will it take time away from my family? -- Will it take time away from my God? -- Will this become the focus of my life, at least for a little while?
-- simply asking those questions is the first step in self-control -- if you don't get anything else from this sermon, get this -- "Yes" is not always the answer

-- next, acknowledge that you are responsible for your choice -- we have free will -- God is not going to make the choice for us -- we can choose to say "Yes" and follow the world or we can choose to say "No" and follow God -- that choice is up to us and no one else
-- Flip Wilson's Geraldine used to say, "The devil made me do it" -- but that's not true -- yes, the devil and the world and our own flesh influence us and lead us to make the wrong choice, but ultimately, it is you and me that make that decision -- acknowledge that you are responsible for the choices you make

-- third, once you have decided that "No" is possible and that "No" is your choice, don't go it alone -- ask God to give you His strength to move forward with the right choice -- this is where a lot of us fail -- we try in our strength -- we try to use will-power and self-force -- but the Bible says self-control is a fruit of the Spirit -- it only comes through the power of God manifested in our lives -- we have to ask God to give us His grace and power to say "No" and mean it

-- finally, we have to learn to take baby steps -- you can't overcome a lifetime of saying "Yes" in one moment -- just like you learned to walk -- taking just one step at a time and picking yourself up when you fell -- you have to do the same thing with self-control -- you are going to fall and fail -- you're going to find yourself giving again and again to the same old want and wish -- but, as you learn to rely on the Holy Spirit -- as you learn to say "No" in His strength -- you should experience more and more victories in your life
-- remember that holiness is a process -- it's not an instantaneous event -- it is something that you have to work at -- the goal is to move forward towards Christ rather than moving backwards towards the world -- it's o.k. to fall and fail so long as you pick yourself up and move forward again -- and over a lifetime of trusting God in this way, you will see His image reflected in your own

-- in the movie, "The Family Man" with Nicolas Cage there's this scene where Nicolas Cage walks into a store to get a cup of coffee -- the girl in front of him buys something that costs ninety-nine cents -- she hands the clerk a dollar
-- the clerk takes nine dollars out of the cash register and counts it out to her -- giving her way too much change -- she sees that he is handing her too much money, yet she picks it up and puts it in her pocket without saying a word
-- as she is walking out the door, the clerk stops her to give her another change -- he asks her if there is anything else she needs -- she pauses for a moment and shakes her head no and walks out
-- the clerk looks over at Nicolas Cage, and says, 'Did you see that? She was willing to sell her character for nine dollars. Nine dollars!'"

-- what is the price of your character? -- is it saying "Yes" to every sin and worldly passion that comes your way? -- is it having an overflowing dayplanner -- a stack of unpaid bills -- secret sins that you hide from the world?
-- every day, the Holy Spirit gives us the chance to turn around and do the right thing -- every day, the Holy Spirit tells us, "If you'll just say 'No,' I'll give you the power to move on" -- every day, God calls us control our selves so that we might live for Him
-- the choice is up to us -- the lemon of self-control is in the basket -- will you pick it up and make lemonade or will you just ignore it and let it go away?

-- let's pray

SERMON: PURSUING HOLINESS: GENTLENESS

PURSUING HOLINESS: GENTLENESS
9 August 2009

I. Introduction
-- turn in Bibles to 1 Thessalonians 2

1. You know, brothers, that our visit to you was not a failure.
2. We had previously suffered and been insulted in Philippi, as you know, but with the help of our God we dared to tell you his gospel in spite of strong opposition.
3. For the appeal we make does not spring from error or impure motives, nor are we trying to trick you.
4. On the contrary, we speak as men approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts.
5. You know we never used flattery, nor did we put on a mask to cover up greed--God is our witness.
6. We were not looking for praise from men, not from you or anyone else. As apostles of Christ we could have been a burden to you,
7. but we were gentle among you, like a mother caring for her little children.
8. We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us.
9. Surely you remember, brothers, our toil and hardship; we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you.
10. You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous and blameless we were among you who believed.
11. For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children,
12. encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory.

-- have you ever thought about how the meaning of common words has changed over time? -- recently, I've undertaken a challenge to read all of the Pulitzer Prize winning novels -- and, as I have been going through that challenge, I have had occasion to read writers who were popular back in the 1920s and 1930s -- and, as I have read their novels, it struck me how words that we use today have totally different meanings for us than they did for our parents and grandparents
-- for instance, I read a Faulkner novel a few months ago, and he described this military officer in the book as a "gay old gentlemen" -- when I mentioned that part of the book to my friends at work, they were shocked because the word "gay" now means something entirely different -- back then it mean light and happy and carefree -- but now it refers almost exclusively to homosexuals
-- the words "wicked" and "bad" used to mean evil or things that were not good -- but when our young folks use them today, usually they're referring to something that is outstanding -- something that is really great or desirable
-- years ago, the word "silly" used to mean "blessed" -- it used to be a virtue -- now, silly means ludicrous and foolish
-- "gaudy" used to refer to joyful praying -- but now it's definition has been changed to mean tasteless or tacky ornamentation
-- we could go on and on with words like this -- words that had one meaning for the person who wrote them down but have an entirely different meaning for us today

-- well, this morning, we're going to look at a word that has changed meaning over time just like this -- we're continuing in our sermon series on pursuing holiness through the fruit of the Spirit -- and this morning, we're looking at the characteristic of gentleness -- or, as the King James puts it -- "meekness"
-- this is a word that has definitely changed meaning over time -- the Bible tells us that gentleness is a virtue -- it describes Jesus Himself as meek and gentle -- but, when we read that now we tend to think of someone who is mild and weak -- someone who is a push-over -- someone who could never stand up for themselves
-- whenever I hear Jesus called "gentle" in the Bible, I instantly think of the song, "In the Garden" -- it brings to mind a sense of peace and calm and softness -- it doesn't have a strong connotation -- it's not something that you would associate with masculinity or the image of a strong leader
-- but, that is not what this word means in a biblical sense -- contrary to our image of gentleness or meekness as being mild and weak the biblical meaning is actually "strength under control"

-- the Greek word for this is praiotes -- it was commonly used in Jesus' day by doctors to refer to soothing medicines or by sailors as a gentle breeze or by farmers as a colt that had been broken
-- each of these cases is describing a situation where a great power is under control -- whether it's the power of disease or the power of the wind or the power of a horse
-- I think most of us remember President Theodore Roosevelt's great proverb, "Speak softly and carry a big stick." -- that is exactly what we're talking about here -- during Roosevelt's tenure, America was able to work its will among the nations of the world, not because we bullied them into submission, but because we could speak to them gently -- putting forth a soft face -- because in back of the softness was the strength and power of the U.S. military
-- When Jesus said, "Blessed are the meek -- blessed are the gentle -- for they shall inherit the earth," he was not speaking of armies and foreign policy, but the principles are the same -- Jesus was telling us how to relate to those around us -- He was pointing out that in back of the softness that we portray -- in back of the gentleness and meekness that we put forth -- we have within us the strength and power of God
-- and so we shouldn't bluster and try to force our will on others -- we shouldn't be forceful and domineering -- instead, as Roosevelt said, we should speak softly -- we should be gentle and humble as we relate to those around us -- even those who oppose us or who are persecuting us

-- we see a good example of gentleness and meekness in action here in this passage in 1 Thessalonians 2 in how Paul handled sharing the message of Christ to a sometimes hostile crowd -- let's look at this in a little more detail and let's see what we can learn about being gentle and meek in our own lives

-- look back at verse 1

1. You know, brothers, that our visit to you was not a failure.
2. We had previously suffered and been insulted in Philippi, as you know, but with the help of our God we dared to tell you his gospel in spite of strong opposition.
3. For the appeal we make does not spring from error or impure motives, nor are we trying to trick you.

-- here we are reminded of the difficulties that Paul faced in his call to be the evangelist to the Gentiles -- Paul faced a tough road -- he suffered from the natural hardships of traveling thousands of miles in desolate areas -- but, more importantly, he suffered at the hands of men -- Paul was persecuted by both the Jews and the Gentiles -- he was followed from town to town and harassed and insulted by those who opposed him and his message
-- how do you respond when others insult you? -- what do you do when someone opposes you or belittles you in front of someone else? -- do you get in their face? -- do you yell back? -- do you just walk off? -- what do you do? -- what does God expect you to do?
-- when Paul experienced suffering and insults in Philippi -- when he faced strong opposition to his preaching and teaching -- he had a choice to make -- he could react strongly and harshly -- he could push back at his opponents and beat them with his big stick -- he could just keep quiet and leave and not do what God called him to do, letting the bullies win -- or he could respond with grace and gentleness -- displaying in his meekness the true character and nature of God
-- never forget that Christianity is more about relationship than anything else -- relationship with God, of course -- but also relationship with others -- that's why we like to say that the cross has two components -- it has the vertical component that reminds us, first and foremost, that we are to be in a right relationship with God -- but, secondly, it has this horizontal component -- that reminds us that Christ also came to restore our relationships with others
-- remember what Paul's mission was -- he came as an emissary of Christ -- he came as a representative of Jesus -- and how he acted -- how he responded -- would translate into how the people around him would view Jesus
-- I think that's one reason for Paul's statement in Ephesians 6:12 when he reminds us that our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against the spiritual forces of evil -- in other words, we're not supposed to struggle and fight against people -- but against the spiritual forces that are engaging these people -- instead, we are to approach people with humbleness and meekness and gentleness -- and that is what Paul did

-- verse 4

4. On the contrary, we speak as men approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts.
5. You know we never used flattery, nor did we put on a mask to cover up greed--God is our witness.
6. We were not looking for praise from men, not from you or anyone else. As apostles of Christ we could have been a burden to you,
7. but we were gentle among you, like a mother caring for her little children.
8. We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us.

-- here we see a working definition of gentleness -- being gentle or meek towards someone doesn't mean that we give them what they want -- it doesn't mean that we just roll over and let them have their way -- it doesn't mean that we flatter them and tell them what they want to hear
-- no, responding to someone with gentleness and meekness means you tell them what they need to hear -- you just do it with grace and love -- responding to someone with gentleness and meekness means that you give someone what they need -- not necessarily what they want
-- Paul uses the analogy of a mother caring for her little children here -- anyone in here who has had kids or been around little children know what horrible creatures they can be from time to time -- the most selfish person on earth is a new-born baby -- little children demand their own way -- they demand that their needs be met -- they demand all the attention -- and if they don't get their way, they get upset and throw fits and tantrums
-- well, a good mother doesn't give in to the fit -- she doesn't let the toddler have their way -- she stands firm and disciplines them -- gently instructing them and giving them what they need rather than what they want -- telling them how to act rather than letting them get away with murder -- and she does it just like Teddy Roosevelt said, she speaks softly and carries a big stick
-- I remember when I was a child, I learned early on just how big a stick my mother carried -- I didn't get spanked much, but just like all kids, I did get spanked from time to time when I demanded my own way or did something wrong or threw a fit -- and after that, I learned -- when I started cutting up in a store, my mother didn't have to raise her voice -- all she had to do was softly say, "You need to stop now" -- and I knew what that meant -- I knew the power that she had -- and I knew that if I didn't stop, that I would get it when I got home

-- Paul says here that he was gentle with the Thessalonians just like a mother caring for her little children -- Paul had a big stick -- he had the power of God with him -- he had been called and anointed by God and had been entrusted to carry the message of God to the Gentiles -- and that was what he was going to do
-- when people opposed him -- when they insulted him and harassed him -- Paul didn't use flattery to win them over -- he didn't put on a mask and become what they wanted him to be -- Paul remained true to his word and to his calling -- he spoke the truth in love and pointed to Christ instead of himself
-- he gave himself for them -- in verse 8 he says that he shared his life with them -- he gave of all he had so that the Thessalonians would get what they really needed -- this is the essence of gentleness and meekness -- humbling yourself so that Christ can be exalted -- not responding to suffering and insults in kind -- but putting aside your discomfort so that Christ's message can go forth

-- verse 9

9. Surely you remember, brothers, our toil and hardship; we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you.
10. You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous and blameless we were among you who believed.
11. For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children,
12. encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory.

-- even though Paul possessed a great power within, he always responded to others -- even to those who opposed him, with gentleness and humbleness and meekness -- his power was under control -- rather than exalting himself as an apostle, Paul lived with the Thessalonians -- working with them night and day -- letting them see holiness in action -- letting them see how a man of God truly lives and carries himself in the work place and at home
-- through his example, Paul encouraged the Thessalonians to turn to Christ -- he exhorted them and charged them to live lives worthy of God and of the calling they had received -- and he reminded them of the power that they had within them

-- such is the power of gentleness -- gentleness is not a bonus that we give to the deserving -- it is a debt that we owe everyone -- even people who oppose us
-- as Maxie Dunnam said, "The gentle are courteous and kind -- they exercise restraint -- they practice reticence in speech, knowing that words can wound and silence may be more affirming than chatter -- they do not intrude into another's life but are available to and responsive to other's needs."
-- gentleness takes incredible inner strength, self-control, and resilience -- In the Bible, we are told to combat harshness, violence, insults, suffering, and severity with gentleness and meekness
-- to be gentle means that you understand human frailty and that you support, help, encourage, exhort and counsel others with patience until they become strong and mature, just like Paul did with the Thessalonians
-- to be gentle means that you are aware of the power that you have but you choose to wield it in a way that will build up rather than destroy
-- a great illustration of gentleness as power under control is the alligator -- a few years ago, I stumbled on an alligator nest while I was cruising timber -- all the baby alligators that were in the water scrambled for the far bank as I came up on the pond and they started grunting -- moments later, mama showed up -- and she opened up her mouth and the babies crawled in and she carried them off
-- the crushing power of an alligator's jaw is immense -- an alligator can exert up to 3,000 pounds of pressure per square inch -- it can easily break bone -- I have seen alligators bite through truck fenders -- but this mother alligator -- rather than wielding her power -- kept it in control and gently took care of her young

-- that is what we are called to do as Christians -- we have this great power within us, but we have to take care how we use it -- Dwight D. Eisenhower once said, "You don't lead by hitting people over the head - that's assault, not leadership" -- as Christians, we are not to hit people over the head with the gospel message -- we are not to hit people over the head with our religion
-- instead, we are to respond to them with gentleness and meekness just as Jesus did and just as Paul did -- instead of responding to hostility and opposition and persecution with similar actions, we are to respond from a point of power with humility and gentleness

-- as Chuck Swindoll reminds us -- gentleness is not weakness -- it is not being soft -- it not being virtually spineless -- "Gentleness includes such enviable qualities as having strength under control -- being calm and peaceful when surrounded by a heated atmosphere -- emitting a soothing effect on those who may be angry or otherwise beside themselves -- and possessing tact and gracious courtesy that causes others to retain their self-esteem and dignity"

-- gentleness or meekness is a virtue that can only come through the power of the Holy Spirit within us -- gentleness is the wise application of power in the life of someone else to help them become more like Christ -- it is willingly removing ourself from a situation so that Christ can be exalted -- in a very real sense, gentleness combines and applies all of the other fruits of the Spirit so that others can come to a saving knowledge of Christ

-- let's pray

SERMON: PURSUING HOLINESS: FAITHFULNESS

PURSUING HOLINESS: FAITHFULNESS
2 August 2009

I. Introduction
-- turn in Bibles to 1 Corinthians 4

1. So then, men ought to regard us as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the secret things of God.
2. Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.
3. I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself.
4. My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me.
5. Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men's hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God.

-- the story is told about the great missionary, Hudson Taylor, who founded the China Inland Mission in the 1800's -- one stormy night in Birmingham, England, Taylor was supposed to speak at a meeting at the Seven Street schoolroom -- but, because the storm was so fierce and so strong, his hostess told him there was no need to go out -- nobody would attend on such a stormy night -- but Taylor insisted on going -- “I must go even if there is no one but the doorkeeper.”
-- As it turned out, less than a dozen people showed up, but the meeting was marked with unusual spiritual power -- God moved within that small crowd of dedicated and committed believers, and half of those present either became missionaries themselves or dedicated their children as missionaries -- all of them became faithful supporters of the China Inland Mission for years to come
-- that night, Hudson Taylor demonstrated the quality and depth of character that has made him a continuing inspiration for Christians for almost 200 years now -- Taylor was committed to serving God "regardless of names (who showed up) or numbers (how many showed) or the nature of the situation (stormy conditions)"1 -- he was faithful to God and God honored and rewarded that faithfulness by increasing the ministry of the China Inland Mission

II. The Faithful and the Summer Sermon Series
-- we are continuing in our summer sermon series on pursuing holiness through the fruit of the Spirit -- and today, we are discussing the attribute of faithfulness -- that characteristic of God that we must have in our life if we are to fulfill our calling as the people of Christ
-- I don't know if I've ever actually mentioned this in here or not, but the reason I started doing a summer sermon series was because of this very topic of faithfulness -- you see, it took me a while, but I have finally learned something that all of you probably already knew years ago -- namely, that churches are comprised of different groups of people depending on the season and the day
-- Rick Warren, in his book, "The Purpose Driven Church," talks about three such groups -- first, there's the crowd -- the group of people who only come to church on the major holidays -- Christmas -- Easter -- and Mother's Day
-- then, there's the congregation -- this is the group of people who come to Sunday morning worship on a regular basis -- they're not present every Sunday, but they're there most of the time although they tend to miss church more during the summer months
-- but then, there's the committed -- this is the core of a church -- the group of people who are serious about their faith and about their God -- these are the people who are there every time the door is open -- by and large, and this is generalizing of course, but these are the ones who carry the ministry of the church -- the rest of the congregation may join in, but it is this group who has the vision and the drive to develop and implement ministries in the church
-- these are the people who are the like the ones Hudson Taylor spoke to on that stormy night in England -- who come regardless of the season -- who come regardless of the weather -- who come regardless of what else may be going on in their lives
-- now I know we don't, but a lot of churches have Sunday night services -- if you want to know who the committed in a church are, visit on a Sunday night -- the few who show up -- and I would say this is about 10-20% of the congregation of any given church -- are the group that Warren calls the "core" or the "committed"
-- in his book, Warren suggested that a church focus its ministry and its message to the audience that would be in a given service -- and I've tried to adopt that philosophy -- for instance, if my goal is to preach an evangelistic message to reach people who are unsaved or unchurched, then I know I have to do it at Christmas, Easter, or Mother's Day, because that is when this group of people are in the church
-- and that's why I started the summer sermon series -- you might have noticed that these summer sermon series tend to be a little deeper and a little more challenging than most of the messages that I preach -- for instance, I normally don't use Greek and Hebrew words in my messages, but I do quite frequently during the summer message -- and that has been intentional -- because I know that the audience at church in the summer is primarily the core and committed group of believers who are trying to become more mature in their relationship with God and who are actively pursuing holiness in their lives
-- it's the same way with the Bible studies I lead -- they are designed for mature believers in Christ who are ready to really dig deep into God's word and get the most out of the scriptures

-- it comes down to this concept of faithfulness -- this fruit of the Spirit that we are trying to acquire in our lives -- faithfulness is a commitment to something that we hold important -- I have heard it described as faith in action -- acting in accordance with what you believe and are called to do
-- Webster defines faithful as "maintaining allegiance; constant; loyal; marked by or showing a strong sense of duty or responsibility; conscientious; accurate; reliable; exact." -- The American Heritage Dictionary goes one step farther and defines faithful as, "Consistent with truth or actuality -- [as in:] a faithful reproduction of a portrait.”
-- the Greek word that we find translated as "faithful" or "faithfulness" in the list of the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23 is pistis -- you'll also see it translated in your Bible as "trustworthy," "steadfast," or "loyal"
-- in regards to the Christian life, these definitions carry with them two important concepts related to faithfulness -- commitment and copy
-- commitment to the message and ministry of Christ -- dedication to completing the task that Christ assigned us -- and, copy -- the faithful reproduction of Christ in us -- in other words, becoming more and more like Jesus in our attitude, our motives, our behavior and our lives so that when others look at us, they see a picture of Jesus

III. Scripture Lesson -- 1 Corinthians 4:1-5
-- this idea of commitment and copy can be seen in these verses from the epistle of Paul to the church at Corinth -- Paul was dealing with a church that had divisions because some people were listening to Paul and others would only listen to Peter while others would only listen to the teachings of Apollos -- similar to what we see today as people tend to have their favorite preachers or favorite authors
-- the problem with the church at Corinth, though, was that these new Christians were putting their faith into the teachers rather than into the message -- they were becoming faithful and committed to the wrong thing -- they were following men rather than God
-- and so Paul reminds them here of their calling as Christians and gently points them back to the only message and only person they should be committed to

-- if you would, look back with me at verse 1 in 1 Corinthians 4

1. So then, men ought to regard us as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the secret things of God.

-- we see here in this first verse the concept of commitment and copy -- like I said, the Corinthians were putting their faith and loyalty behind individual human teachers -- so the first thing Paul does here is remind the Corinthians of who they are -- they are servants and ministers of Christ -- they are the ones entrusted with the mysteries and the secrets of God Himself
-- Paul is telling them, "Stop committing yourself to men -- stop putting your faith and trust in me or Apollos or Peter -- instead, you should be committed -- you should be faithful -- to the One who has appointed you His servant and His minister -- your commitment and your loyalty should be to Christ"
-- secondly, Paul points out the concept of copy to the Corinthians -- "I want you to be so committed to Christ -- so faithful to His call and His charge to you -- that when men look at you -- when they regard you -- they don't see you but they see Jesus"
-- what Paul is talking about here is the essence of what we have been going over this summer in this sermon series -- Paul wanted the Corinthians to imitate Christ -- to copy Christ in their attitude and behavior and motives so that they would become mature believers -- so that they would be holy as Christ is holy
-- "Reach the point," Paul is saying, "where people look at you and see Jesus in your life."

-- verse 2

2. Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.

-- here Paul emphasizes that concept of commitment and faithfulness -- as Christians, we have been given a responsibility -- verse 1 tells us that we are not just people who are called to sit on the pews on Sunday morning -- but that we are people who are called by God to be His servants -- or, as the King James Version puts it, His ministers
-- this implies that we have a calling -- that God has given us a job to do -- just as there can be no Lone Ranger Christians who are not part of a community of faith -- there can be no passive Christians who just sit in the pews and do nothing
-- in verse 1, we read that we have been entrusted with the secret things of God -- the King James Version says that we are "stewards of the mysteries of God" -- Paul is referring here to the message of the gospel -- the good news that Jesus died on the cross for our sins and that He rose on the third day to prove His victory over sin and death and give us the promise of eternal life
-- Paul call this a mystery or a secret thing -- in the Bible, mysteries are things that have been hidden, but that are now being revealed through the power of the Holy Spirit -- the Bible tells us that the natural man cannot understand the things of God unless they are taught by the Spirit -- and that's where we come in
-- Paul is saying that we should be a copy of Christ -- that we should be His hands and His feet and His voice -- and that we should be committed -- faithful -- to the trust that we have been given by spreading the message of the gospel to those around us that can't understand it on their own
-- that's the purpose of the church -- that's why we exist -- to tell others about Jesus and His message of hope -- we are faithful only to the point that we fulfill this trust that we have been given

-- now, this doesn't mean that we have to be successful -- our call is to faithfulness -- not success
-- Senator Mark Hatfield tells the story in his book of touring Calcutta with Mother Teresa and visiting the so-called “House of Dying” -- this was the place where sick children were cared for in their last days -- and this was the clinic where hundreds of poor and lower caste people would line up for medical care
-- Hatfield spent several days watching Mother Teresa minister to these people, feeding and nursing those left by others to die -- he was overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of the suffering she and her co-workers face daily -- “How can you bear the load without being crushed by it?” he asked -- Mother Teresa replied, “My dear Senator, I am not called to be successful, I am called to be faithful.”1

-- to be faithful means that you go where you are sent and you do what you are told regardless of the outcome -- to be faithful means that you go out in a pouring rainstorm to give a message to only 12 people like Hudson Taylor because that is what God calls you to do -- to be faithful means that you minister to the sick and dying like Mother Teresa even though in human eyes it makes no difference -- to be faithful means that you serve God and minister to others where He had placed you -- giving of yourself and your time and your resources to fulfill the calling on your life
-- that is why in our membership covenant that we ask people who are coming to join our church if they will commit to supporting God and the church through their prayers, presence, gifts, witness, and service -- to be faithful is to do all of these things

-- verse 3

3. I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself.
4. My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me.
5. Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men's hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God.

-- real quickly here, let me wrap this up for you -- Paul says, "It doesn't matter what other people think of me -- I don't care how you or any human court view me or judge me -- I don't even care how I view myself or what I think of myself -- the only thing that is important is how God sees me -- how God will judge me
-- "at the appointed time -- when the Lord returns -- He will judge not only my actions and my behavior but also the motives of my heart -- it is Jesus that I am serving -- it is the praise of Jesus that I am seeking -- for, in the end, it is the phrase, 'Well done, good and faithful servant,' that I long to hear"

IV. Closing
-- at 8:46 am on September 11th, 2001, American Airlines Flight 11 crashed into the World Trade Center's North Tower -- minutes after that, United Airlines Flight 175 hit the South Tower
-- New Yorkers were in a panic and fled from the scene of the attack as smoke billowed up from the towers -- but while most of the city was running away, one group of dedicated men and women was running toward the disaster -- members of the New York Fire Department and the New York police department were the first to arrive on scene and began helping the people evacuate and get to safety
-- and, as you know, 411 of these brave men and women died as the two towers of the World Trade Center collapsed
-- what was it that propelled these men and women to run to danger instead of fleeing like the rest of the city? -- you can answer that in one word -- faithfulness
-- these men and women had been given a charge -- they had been given a duty to fulfill -- a trust to accomplish -- and in spite of the overwhelming danger to their personal lives, they ran headlong into the flames to save others
-- the very definition of faithfulness -- faith in action -- acting in accordance with what they believed and were called to do

-- while we may never be called to rush into actual flames to save others, we have been entrusted with a responsibility from God to be faithful to His word and to minister to others the gospel of Christ Jesus -- we have been called to be God's servants -- to reflect His nature and character -- and to stand firm in the face of opposition and danger as we snatch others from the flames of hell
-- that is the essence of what we mean by the term "faithfulness" -- and that is what Christ is calling you to today

-- as I close in prayer, I want to encourage you to respond to God's word by rededicating your life to Him -- none of us are as faithful in our walk with Jesus as we should be -- none of us truly copy Him in all of our behavior or attitudes or motives -- none of us are truly committed in all our ways to Him
-- so, I want to encourage you to take a moment to commit your life to God again -- to promise again that you will fulfill your vows to support God and His church through your prayers, presence, gifts, witness, and service -- to promise again that you will be His faithful servants in all that you do
-- let us pray

References:
1. http://bible.org/seriespage/mark-14-faithfulness -- Mark #14: Faithfulness
By: J. Hampton Keathley, III, Accessed 1 August 2009

SERMON: PURSUING HOLINESS: GOODNESS

PURSUING HOLINESS: GOODNESS
26 July 2009

I. Introduction
-- turn in Bibles to 1 Samuel 12

1. Samuel said to all Israel, "I have listened to everything you said to me and have set a king over you.
2. Now you have a king as your leader. As for me, I am old and gray, and my sons are here with you. I have been your leader from my youth until this day.
3. Here I stand. Testify against me in the presence of the LORD and his anointed. Whose ox have I taken? Whose donkey have I taken? Whom have I cheated? Whom have I oppressed? From whose hand have I accepted a bribe to make me shut my eyes? If I have done any of these, I will make it right."
4. "You have not cheated or oppressed us," they replied. "You have not taken anything from anyone's hand."
5. Samuel said to them, "The LORD is witness against you, and also his anointed is witness this day, that you have not found anything in my hand." "He is witness," they said.

-- In an issue of Moody Monthly, George Sweeting wrote an article about the desperate need for honesty in our culture today -- He told the story of Dr. Madison Sarratt, a math teacher at Vanderbilt University many years ago
-- before Dr. Sarratt would pass out a test, he would give this instruction to the class -- "Today I am giving two examinations - one in trigonometry and the other in honesty -- I hope you will pass them both -- If you must fail one, fail trigonometry
-- There are many good people in the world who can't pass trig, but there are no good people in the world who cannot pass the examination of honesty."

-- it goes by many names -- honesty -- integrity -- character -- goodness -- no matter what you call it, it is a trait sorely missing in our world today -- everywhere we look today we see examples of a lack of integrity, even among Christians
-- just this past week we saw in the news the story of how 44 civic leaders in New Jersey were indicted on corruption charges, including three mayors -- two state assemblymen -- several city councilmen -- and even five rabbis -- these leaders were accused of violating the public trust -- of violating the integrity of their offices by taking bribes and laundering money [Geraldine Baum -- LA Times -- 24 July 2009]
-- we’ve reached the point in our nation where the term “politician” is synonymous with “liar” and “cheater” -- but, the problem isn’t just with politicians
-- in a recent survey of our school kids, two-thirds of all high school students have admitted to cheating on tests -- 30% of the students admitted to having stolen something from a store -- 36% admit to having plagiarized assignments from the internet -- and 42% admit to lying if it will save them money
-- and we all know that with the advent of the i-pod and other mp3 players, the percentage of people who illegally download music and movies and software from the internet is astronomical -- three months before Mel Gibson’s movie, “The Passion of the Christ” came out in theaters, I was offered a copy on DVD from a friend at work -- illegally downloaded from the internet -- think about that for a moment -- not only has the illegal downloading of movies become normal practice in our country, they are even stealing Christian movies and have no qualms about it
-- and this is not just a phenomenon that we are seeing among non-Christians -- I was at the Potter’s House not long ago buying a Bible for my niece -- if you’ve bought a Bible there, you know that they come in boxes -- and the store clerk made a point of opening the box and comparing the Bible inside to the Bible that was listed on the box -- when I asked him what he was doing, he said that they have problems with people coming in and putting expensive Bibles in the boxes for less-expensive Bibles -- in other words, they are trying to cheat a Christian bookstore while buying a Bible
-- unethical, immoral, and downright illegal behavior have become the norm in our society -- one more example -- you all know that I just got back from Course of Study at Emory University -- the Candler School of Theology -- one of the seminaries for the United Methodist Church
-- on the cover sheet for all of the precourse work we had to complete, there is a statement at the bottom that defines plagiarism and that we are required to sign indicating that the work we are turning in is our own and has not been copied or plagiarized from someone else
-- and, honestly, it made me a little mad and a little sad to have to sign that form because the implication was that students at the Candler School of Theology and the United Methodist Church Course of Study were dishonest and would cheat by copying another person’s work and turning it in as their own
-- have we reached the point in our society where lying and cheating is so common-place that we can’t even trust seminary students -- those men and women called by God to be our spiritual leaders?

II. Biblical Goodness
-- this morning, we are continuing our sermon series on pursuing holiness through the fruit of the Spirit -- today finds us looking at the characteristic of goodness
-- we’ve already kind of talked about the concept of goodness in a negative sense by pointing out how far our society has fallen, but let me give you a clear definition of goodness as the Bible defines it
-- The Greek word for goodness in Galatians 5:22 is agathosune -- it occurs about 20 times in the New Testament and about 12 times in the Septaguint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament that Jesus used
-- William Barclay defined agathosune as "virtue equipped at every point” -- in other words, it is defined as moral excellence -- as worthy and ethical behavior -- as honesty -- as integrity
-- it carries with it the concept of wholeness or completeness in character as compared to the standard of Christ -- agathosune -- “goodness” -- is generally what we would define as “holy”
-- to be good in this sense means that your character is spotless -- undefiled -- unassailable -- perfect as Christ is perfect

-- we see a very good sense of this type of moral perfection in the life of the prophet Samuel as we just read in this passage from 1 Samuel
-- at this time, the people of Israel had been clamoring for a king so that they could be like all the nations around them -- they were, in essence, rejecting the theocracy -- the leadership and governance of God -- through their demand for an earthly king
-- for many years, God had ruled the nation directly through His prophet Samuel -- from the time Samuel was a young boy, he had heard the word of God and followed God’s commands -- leading the nation of Israel in accordance with God’s word
-- now, as Saul has been appointed as king over Israel, Samuel’s leadership role is drawing to a close -- as he prepares to transfer power to Saul, Samuel reminds the people of how he had acted among them as their leader and as God’s representative and how God expected them to act -- look back at verse 1

1. Samuel said to all Israel, "I have listened to everything you said to me and have set a king over you.
2. Now you have a king as your leader. As for me, I am old and gray, and my sons are here with you. I have been your leader from my youth until this day.
3. Here I stand. Testify against me in the presence of the LORD and his anointed. Whose ox have I taken? Whose donkey have I taken? Whom have I cheated? Whom have I oppressed? From whose hand have I accepted a bribe to make me shut my eyes? If I have done any of these, I will make it right."

-- Samuel is saying, “I have acted honestly and ethically and with integrity as your leader -- I haven’t stolen from you -- not even an ox or a donkey -- I haven’t cheated -- I haven’t lied -- I haven’t oppressed others or sought illegal gain for myself -- in all my ways I have been upright and honest”
-- Samuel says, “If you know otherwise, speak now and I will make it right”
-- verse 4

4. "You have not cheated or oppressed us," they replied. "You have not taken anything from anyone's hand."
5. Samuel said to them, "The LORD is witness against you, and also his anointed is witness this day, that you have not found anything in my hand." "He is witness," they said.

-- the people of Israel agreed and testified in the presence of God and His anointed king that Samuel was a man of integrity -- that his behavior and actions and motives -- his whole being -- was characterized by agathosune -- by goodness
-- can we say the same in our lives?

-- last night I was laying in bed and I kept hearing a strange sound coming from the kitchen -- it sounded like someone was opening and closing the cabinet doors -- and I knew Brooke was in her room and Kim was there beside me and there shouldn’t have been anybody else in the house -- so, I laid there and listened for a few moments and then got up to see what was going on
-- I peeked around the corner and looked in the kitchen, and there was Brooke’s cat, Josh -- he was opening the cabinet under the sink and peeking in before the door closed -- and then when the door closed, he’d do it again -- when Josh saw me, he ran off and I stood there looking and listening for a moment to see what was going on
-- the kitchen was spotless -- Kim had cleaned it before she went to bed -- everything was in its place -- nothing was not as it should have been -- but then I heard a strange noise -- under the sink, there was a rustling -- and I realized what was going on and why our cat was acting the way he had been acting
-- apparently, we have gotten a visitor -- we’ve got a mouse that has decided to take up residence under our sink -- and our cat heard him and was trying to get to him
-- and as I was standing there I realized, this is a great analogy about goodness -- about agathosune -- in our lives
-- goodness is more than just looking right on the outside -- it’s more than just behaving and acting morally and ethically when others are watching - it’s more than just presenting ourselves as clean and spotless to the world
-- goodness is about being totally clean -- totally pure -- totally honest -- inside and out -- not just on the surface -- but also in the dark places -- in the cabinets and closets of our lives
-- agathosune asks the question, “How do I live when no one’s looking?” -- as Ken Boa said, “It’s easy to look like a person of integrity when people are watching, but do I live my private life with the same level of consistency as I live my public life?”

-- I have a college-aged friend that I meet with occasionally who is a good, solid Christian -- he loves the Lord -- he serves in his church -- he participates in other ministries -- he’s always sharing his faith and witnessing to others -- he’s the epitome of what we want our sons and daughters to be as Christians
-- he shared with us one day that he had a problem -- that he had a dark place behind a cabinet door in his life that wasn’t what it should be -- that even though he looked like he had it all together -- even though he looked like his life was spotless and clean and morally pure -- when he was alone -- when no one was watching -- he would look at pornography on the internet
-- but the Holy Spirit spoke to him -- He showed my friend that what he was doing was wrong -- and finally, my friend went to his father and told him what was going on -- and I’ll never forget what his father told him as they worked through this issue -- as he challenged him to open that cabinet of pornography and let God cleanse it from his life -- his father said, “that’s not who you are”
-- that’s not who you are -- that’s not who Christ called you to be -- that’s not what you are capable of doing in your life -- God expects you to live a life of integrity -- to live a life of goodness and cleanness and moral purity inside and out
-- let me ask you this morning -- what secrets do you have closed up in cabinets in your life? -- when you look at yourself in the mirror, who looks back? -- are you happy with who you are when no one else is looking?

-- if you would, turn over to Titus 2 and we’ll close there -- in this pastoral epistle, Paul is giving his protégé Titus instructions on how to serve as the spiritual leader of the Christians in Crete and how to live as a man of God
-- in Chapter 1, Paul gave instructions on how to select leaders in the church -- what they should look like -- and here in Chapter 2, Paul is telling Titus how should teach others in the church how to live through his actions and behavior

-- look down at verse 7a -- In everything set them an example by doing what is good.

-- in everything -- in all your ways -- inside and out -- not just in the areas where others can see -- not just in the areas where you are being watched -- but inside as well -- in everything -- in every way -- set an example for others by being good
-- now, remember, that this call to agathosune -- to goodness -- to integrity -- is not something that we can do on our own -- it is a fruit of the Spirit -- it can only be realized through the power of the Holy Spirit working within us to make us men and women of integrity
-- as my friend’s father implied, as Christians, we are called to be more than what we are -- we are called to reflect the image and nature of Christ in this place -- but we can only do so if we let the Holy Spirit clean out our cabinets and make us holy in the dark places and recesses of our lives

-- look at the second part of verse 7

7b. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness
8. and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us.

-- that phrase, “in your teaching” or “in your doctrine” -- refers to how you live -- how you demonstrate purity and honesty and goodness and integrity to others
-- Paul isn’t just talking about teaching others from the pulpit or during Bible studies -- he’s talking about teaching others through our lives
-- he says our lives should reflect “integrity, seriousness and soundness of speech” -- the KJV says “uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity” -- these lists both refer to agathosune -- to wholeness and completeness of character -- of goodness in and out
-- live this way, Paul says -- show people through your life what a man and a woman of God is to look like -- live in such a way that others will see your example and will follow you
-- just like Samuel, if you live your life in this way, no one will be able to condemn you -- no one will be able to say anything bad about you -- not even the man in the mirror -- the person that lives inside of you and that only you see and know
-- Socrates wrote, “The first key to greatness is to be in reality what we appear to be” -- that is what we are striving for as we seek to acquire goodness in our lives -- we are striving to be complete and whole persons -- men and women of integrity -- who demonstrate truly ethical and moral behavior inside and out

III. Closing
-- in the best western movie that was ever made -- “Lonesome Dove” -- there is a great example of integrity and of a man who is determined to keep his word above all
-- the movie revolves around two main characters, Gus McCrae and Woodrow Call -- friends who had served in the Texas Rangers together and who were now partners in bringing a herd of cattle north to Montana
-- as the movie draws to a close, Gus gets shot in the leg and acquires a fatal infection -- as he’s laying on his death bed, he makes Call promise to carry his body back to Texas and to bury it in a grove of pecan trees where he and his sweetheart used to walk -- and then he dies
-- the trip from Texas to Montana was hard -- it was extremely difficult -- many men had lost their lives along the way -- it took months to get from Texas to Montana -- no one would have faulted Call for not carrying Gus back to Texas -- Gus, for sure, wouldn’t know where his body was buried -- but Call was a man of integrity -- he was a man who kept his word -- and when spring rolled around, he did what he had promised to do -- he took months out of his life to make the long trip back to Texas to bury his friend, demonstrating not only his friendship but also his integrity
-- throughout the whole movie, Call never wavered once but remained steadfast in his behavior and his word, even though it cost him quite a lot along the way -- it is this type of devotion and integrity that God is calling us to demonstrate in our own lives

-- Billy Graham once wrote, “Integrity is the glue that holds our way of life together. We must constantly strive to keep our integrity intact. When wealth is lost, nothing is lost; when health is lost, something is lost; when character is lost, all is lost.”
-- as I close in prayer, I want to invite you to reflect on your character -- not on the person that the world sees -- but the person that you see in the mirror -- the person that you know that lives within you
-- look inside the cabinets of your heart and see what lurks in the darkness, and ask God to cleanse them and to make you a person of integrity -- a person of character -- a person who reflects His goodness in all that we do as we seek to become holy in His eyes
-- let’s pray

SERMON: PURSUING HOLINESS: KINDNESS

PURSUING HOLINESS: KINDNESS
19 July 2009

I. Introduction
-- turn in Bibles to Matthew 7

7. "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.
8. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.
9. "Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?
10. Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake?
11. If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!
12. So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

-- Bob didn't go to church last Sunday -- in fact, Bob hadn't gone to church in a long time -- he used to be an active member -- he used to be involved -- but, then, something happened -- and he just didn't go anymore
-- it wasn't that he didn't want to go -- he just couldn't – you see, ever since the stroke, Bob was unable to go to church -- or to go much of anywhere, for that matter -- he couldn't dress himself -- he couldn't feed himself -- he couldn't bathe himself -- he was, what the church bulletin called, home-bound -- stuck -- stuck within the walls of his home in his bed -- stuck within his own memories as he watched life pass by through the windows of his suburban home
-- but then a small accountability group of three men in Doug's church were given a little book to study – The Three Simple Rules : A Wesleyan Way of Living
-- and as they read and studied this book together, they learned how the three rules of John Wesley -- Do No Harm -- Do Good -- and Stay in Love with God -- could be lived out in our day and in our times
-- and it inspired them to do something more than just go to church -- it inspired them to do something more than just get together once a week at Shoney's for breakfast to talk -- and as they searched for something more to do -- for some way to live out this biblical mandate in their life, they remembered Bob
-- one day – not long ago – Bob was at home, just looking out the window as he always did, when he heard a knock on the door -- his wife answered the door and these three men from their old church stood there, asking if Bob could come outside and play -- Bob's wife explained to them that Bob hadn't bathed that day -- that he wasn't dressed to go out -- that she just couldn't handle taking care of him fully by herself every day
-- no problem, they said -- and they went to talk with Bob -- and, with his permission, they bathed him -- they dressed him – they put him in a wheelchair -- and, for the first time in many years, they carried Bob outside where the sun could shine on his face -- where the wind could blow in his hair -- where he could meet and talk with his neighbors again
-- and every day after that, at least one of those men dropped by to see Bob -- to help him bathe – to help him get dressed -- to take him outside or to the mall or to Shoney’s or to church
-- in fact, Bob's at a worship service right now in Covington this morning -- all because three men decided to quit playing church and to start being the church
-- that’s what this passage from Matthew is all about – it’s about more than just coming to church on a Sunday morning and going home – it’s about more than catchy slogans or bumper stickers or little Jesus fish on the back of your car – it’s about being real – it’s about being like Jesus – it’s about being the church

II. Kindness
-- this morning, we are continuing in our sermon series on pursuing holiness through the fruit of the Spirit as described in Galatians 5:22-23 -- I know I've been gone for the past two Sundays -- but does anyone here remember what the nine fruits of the Spirit are?
-- so far, we have covered love, joy, peace, and patience -- this morning we are covering the next of these on the list – kindness

-- what is kindness? -- what do we mean when we call somebody kind? -- in our culture, this word has gotten somewhat of a bad rap -- the last thing most of us -- especially us men -- like to be called is“kind” -- kindness is something that describes little old ladies -- kindness is something that we use to describe our mothers and our grandmothers -- it’s not something that most men and, for that matter, most women want to be called
-- in our day, we view kindness as being just nice and meek and mild -- we look at kindness as a synonym for “sweet” -- and people who are kind as being weak -- but that’s not the biblical view of kindness
-- the Greek word for kindness that we see in the New Testament is chrestotes [kray-sto-tace]-- it implies more than just a sweet and caring character -- it’s more than just being warm-hearted towards others -- it also means “being useful” to others -- it implies action more so than just character
-- to be kind in the biblical sense is to put your faith into motion -- kindness is “salvation in action” [Debbie Pruden]
-- just like in my opening illustration -- the true story of how these three men displayed more than sweetness and warm-heartedness in their lives but how they took action to make a difference in the life of their friend Bob -- that is kindness personified -- that is what we’re looking at developing in our lives as we pursue holiness through the fruit of the Spirit
-- to be truly kind to another person, then, involves some form of self-sacrifice -- it means giving ourselves to another person -- serving them through our actions, just as those three men served Bob by taking care of him and inviting him into their lives -- and speaking the truth in love to help those around us turn and follow our Lord

-- that’s the point that Jesus was trying to make in this passage from the Sermon on the Mount -- just to refresh your memory over this passage, at this time in Jesus’ ministry, many people had started to follow Him -- to hear His teachings and to experience His miracles of healing and deliverance in their lives
-- Matthew tells us that when Jesus looked around at the crowd of people who was following Him, that He went up on a mountainside -- most likely a large hill that rises near Capernaum west of the Jordan River -- and once He made it to the top and sat down, the people gathered around Him to hear His teachings
-- it is in this section of scripture -- from Matthew Chapter 5 to Chapter 7 that we read the teachings of Jesus called the Beatitudes -- “Blessed is he who”
-- this passage that we are looking at this morning is in the latter half of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount as He’s finishing up His instructions on how to live as citizens of the kingdom of God

-- look back at verse 7 again

7. "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.
8. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.

-- Jesus is giving an insight into the character and nature of God -- that same character and nature that we are seeking to imitate and replicate in our own lives -- what Jesus is saying here is that God wants to bless us -- God wants to give us what we need -- we just need to turn to Him -- ask Him -- seek Him -- and He will show His kindness to us

-- verse 9 again

9. "Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?
10. Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake?
11. If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!

-- Jesus is saying here that it shouldn’t come as a surprise that God wants to bless us -- that God wants to show His kindness to us -- after all, if one of our kids came to us and asked us for something that they needed, wouldn’t we give it to them? -- if they came and asked us to help them, would we give them something that would hurt them?
-- no, we wouldn’t do that -- we wouldn’t think of doing that -- and God is so much more kind and so much more generous and merciful and holy than us -- if we ask Him to show His kindness to us in this way, then He will surely respond
-- and then Jesus -- just like He does throughout this Sermon on the Mount -- ramps it up and takes it a whole ‘nother level -- instead of just being kind to those who love us -- instead of just being kind to those in our family -- Jesus gives us a command here that is greater than ourselves

-- verse 12


12. So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

-- this is a verse that we all know -- even if didn’t grow up in church -- we all know this verse -- the “Golden Rule” -- do unto others as you would have them do unto you
-- now a lot of people get this verse wrong -- they take it out of context -- they divorce it from the overall teaching that Jesus has been giving and make it all about themselves -- for instance, when I started grade school, I got the sage advice from my parents, “If you want to get a Valentine’s card from someone, you have to give them one first” -- in other words, “do unto others as you would have them do unto you” -- and that’s exactly the way it worked -- you made sure that every kid that gave you a Valentine card got one in return the next year
-- we do that with presents at Christmas, too, don’t we -- we give a gift expecting to get a gift in return -- after all, this verse says, “do unto others as you would have them do unto you” -- if you give somebody a gift, then they should give you one back
-- when you approach this verse in this manner, you’re going against the heart of what Jesus was teaching -- we’re making ourselves and our wants and our needs the focus -- not the other person
-- that’s what happens when you take a verse out of context -- that’s what happens when you do things -- even Godly things -- with a wrong motive

-- look back at verse 12 again

12. So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

-- did you notice that little word in there at the start of the verse? -- some Bibles say, “Therefore” -- some say, “So” -- others say, “Because”
-- so let me ask you my favorite Bible study question on verses like this -- what is “therefore” there for? -- why does this verse include that word? -- because that little qualifier -- whether it’s therefore or so or because ties this verse to the teachings that went before it
-- what this means is that Jesus didn’t just give us the Golden Rule in passing -- He gave it to us in the context of God blessing us and showing His kindness to us -- and now He’s telling us, in essence, “go and do likewise” -- therefore, because God has blessed you and answered your requests, you go and meet the needs of others in every way -- in everything
-- not just your family -- not just those you love and care about -- but everyone you meet -- do for them what you would have God do for you -- be for them the hands and feet of God -- be for them the voice of God -- serve them and show God’s kindness to them
-- notice that I said this was God’s kindness -- it’s not ours -- it’s not something that we can do -- that’s why it’s a fruit of the Spirit -- being kind to others -- doing unto others as we would have them do unto us -- is not something that we can do in our own strength
-- we can’t love someone like God loves, unless we allow Him to love through us -- in the same way, we can’t show kindness to someone like God would, unless we let Him direct our actions and our thoughts and our attitudes
-- “doing unto others” is amplified kindness -- it’s faith with feet -- it’s hope with hands -- it’s salvation in action
-- this ain’t your grandma’s kindness -- this isn’t what we normally think about when we hear that word -- this is intentional acts of loving kindness -- this is getting your hands dirty by going out and being the church to someone else -- just like those three men taking care of their friend Bob -- this is what Jesus is talking about -- this is what we should be striving for in our life as we pursue holiness and seek to become more like Jesus in every way

III. Closing
-- so, how do we do this? -- how do we get past the point of being selfish and self-centered and move to the place where we are doing unto others from the heart?
-- well, first, we have to be open to the Holy Spirit within us -- we have to let Him lead -- we have to let Him work through us -- we have to let Him control our eyes and our ears and our hands and our hearts so that we might see the needs of those around us -- we might hear the cries of their hearts -- we might love them as Jesus loves them
-- and, second, we need to try -- there’s a bumper sticker that you might have seen that says, “Do Random Acts of Kindness” -- that’s not what Jesus wants us to do -- He wants us to be intentional -- to do intentional acts of kindness -- to serve others in His name
-- and, in order to do that, we’ve got to try and try and try again -- this means doing more than just coming church on Sunday mornings -- it means that we get outside these walls and into the world around us and we touch lives where ever we are and by whatever means are required

-- let me close by sharing with you a story from a friend of mine that I heard Friday -- he is a bivocational pastor and, of course, is always short on time -- always running here and there -- he made arrangements to eat lunch with his wife and daughter at a McDonalds near his job
-- when he got done eating, he didn’t even have enough time to wait on his wife and daughter -- so he ran on out the door while they were still eating -- as he went out the door, there was this guy sitting on the curb of the restaurant, obviously homeless, and the guy asked him if he could help get him something to eat -- my friend reached in his pocket and pulled out a dollar and handed it to the homeless guy without another thought and ran out to his car and left
-- that night when he got home, his daughter was waiting for him -- she was so excited to tell him what had happened -- you see, as his wife and daughter left that restaurant, they saw the same guy -- and he made the same request to them -- but rather than just throwing money at the man and hurrying along, they carried him inside, and bought him a meal and sat with him while he ate -- feeding his body and his soul at the same time -- showing the kindness of Christ to another person simply because that was what Jesus had done for them
-- my friend -- as good a man as he is -- as good a pastor he is -- thought more about himself that day than the person that God had placed in his path
-- his family, on the other hand, lived out the message that Jesus is giving us in these verses
-- do unto others as you would have them do unto you -- show kindness to others because of the kindness that God has shown to you

-- as I said, the kindness that we are being called to show is not of this world -- it is a supernatural kindness that only comes as we yield ourselves to the power of God and seek to become more like Him in all our ways
-- for that reason, this morning we are going to end our service by sharing in the sacrament of Holy Communion -- through this sacrament, the Holy Spirit will empower us and enable us to live out this holy command to do unto others as we would have them do unto us
-- as always, while the last hymn is played, the altar is open for all who wish to come forward to pray or just to be with Jesus for a little while -- I’ll be happy to pray with you -- but if you don’t want me to intrude, if you just want this to be a time between you and God, just let me know
-- let’s pray

An Aldersgate Experience

After John Wesley returned from his disasterous trip to the colony of Georgia, he was invited to a meeting on Aldersgate Street. With a downcast spirit and a feeling of total abandonment and faithlessness, Wesley went, and experienced a move of God that would change his life forever. In his journal, Wesley wrote: "In the evening, I went very unwillingly to a society in Aldersgate Street, where one was reading Luther's Preface to the Epistle to the Romans. About a quarter before nine, while he was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust Christ, Christ alone for salvation, and an assurance was given me that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death."
While I have had several "heart-warming" experiences in my life, I would have to say that my fondest memory of one such experience was the first time I attended a Promise Keepers event. Just like Wesley, I was rather "unwilling" to go to this. At the time, Promise Keepers was a relatively new movement. It was receiving a lot of controversy and complaints from both those inside and outside the church. Christian talk shows expressed concerns over the founder's Catholic upbringing and encouraged avoidance because Promise Keepers was supporting non-biblical and Catholic teachings as part of their programs. Secular groups protested the men's-only aspect, citing that the group was designed to subjugate women and would lead to spousal abuse or worse. I listened to all of this and had no desire to go, but a friend of mine at work convinced me to go with him. "We've got a group from my church going. You'll have a good time." So, I reluctantly agreed.
The day before the Promise Keepers event, my friend had an emergency come up and said, "I'm not going." And, to make matters worse, because of his situation, he had been unable to hook me up with his church group. So, if I was to go, I had to go alone. "Unwillingly" was an understatement -- at least Wesley knew people at Aldersgate. After going back and forth on this all the next day, planning to go one moment and then deciding it was stupid the next, I finally decided to go. After all, I had already paid almost $100 to go, and, at the time, this was a considerable expense to our family. I felt I needed to go just to experience it and so I could honestly say that I had not wasted the money. My plan was to go for the Friday night event, and if it turned out as I expected, I just wouldn't go back on Saturday.
Driving to Knoxville, I was met with a deluge of biblical proportions. Severe thunderstorms. Torrential rain. But, I was committed at this point and pressed on, making my way into the stadium. And there, in a crowd of 40,000 strangers, in the midst of a driving rainstorm, my heart was strangely warmed as I heard and experienced the presence of the Holy Spirit. My doubts were washed away with the rain, as my voice joined with 40,000 brothers lifting up God in praise. I heard teachings that night and experienced worship that convicted me, that changed me, that convinced me that I was a child of God. No, it convinced me that I was a man of God, and I needed to quit playing at Christianity and start living it as a man. I left that Friday night event different, planning on being the first one back the next morning, because an amazing thing had happened -- I had met God again, and He knew me, and I knew I needed Him.

The Lost Generation

Just finished reading Ernest Hemingway's, "The Sun Also Rises." I was utterly amazed at how much I could relate to this book, although it was written over 80 years ago. I guess that's one mark of great literature.

This first novel of Hemingway concerns the "Lost Generation," a term coined by Getrude Stein to describe the disillusionment and general sense of belonging and hopelessness that characterized the generation that lived through World War I. It was this disillusionment that led so many Americans to become expatriates living in communal settings in Paris and other European countries. They had lost their way as everything they had thought they believed in was shown to be a facade, and so they left, seeking something that would provide value and meaning to a meaningless life.

In Hemingway's novel, the characters live out their lives flitting from party to party, from experience to experience, always seeking but never finding what they long for in their heart of hearts. Men have lost their masculinity and have forgotten what it means to be a man. Women have lost their roles and seek to acquire position and prestige through their beauty and their bodies. These people have no foundation, and instead find themselves standing on sinking sand.

In contrast to this lost generation stands two men, an older aristocrat who belongs to the former generation with a firm moral foundation, and Pedro Romero, a young star bullfighter who demonstrates with his actions the picture of masculinity missing in the others, who knows where he stands and what he stands against.

Reading this book is reading the story of our lives. I work a lot with young people, high school and college aged, and I see the struggles in their lives, the distrust of established religion that has failed them more than once, the disillusionment with a government that promised change but is costing them their future. I watch them flit from party to party, giving themselves over to others sexually and mentally and emotionally with no thought of the consequences just as the characters in Hemingway's novel. They are the "new" lost generation, seeking a foundation, seeking stability, seeking absolutes in a world of relativity.

With every party, with every sexual encounter, with every wasted moment, they are asking the question, "Where is the hope?" Hemingway searched, but couldn't find the answer. Steinbeck, Fitzgerald, and Porter searched in vain, as well. Their generation plunged into hopelessness and despair exemplified in the Great Depression that followed just three years after the publishing of "The Sun Also Rises."

Where is the hope? Where is the foundation of life? Where can the answers be found? The same place as they always have -- in the person of Christ Jesus. The answer to the disillusionment, to the loss of hope, to the despair suffered by the first lost generation and being experienced in our new lost generation is the good news of Christ's death and resurrection, in His ability to make the old new, to create beauty from ashes. Christ is the only answer, the only foundation, that can stand in this climate and environment that we face.

Hemingway and his compatriates were lost, not only emotionally and physically, but spiritually. And, this new lost generation is the same way. It is our responsibility, as people who take the name of Christ, who proclaim to be His body in this world today, to point this lost generation to the Source of life they have been searching for. Christianity was originally known as "The Way" for a reason. We know the path to life. Now, let's show it to those who are so desperately seeking it.

SERMON: PURSUING HOLINESS -- PATIENCE

PURSUING HOLINESS: PATIENCE
28 June 2009

I. Introduction
-- turn in Bibles to James 5

7. Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord's coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains.
8. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord's coming is near.
9. Don't grumble against each other, brothers, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door!
10. Brothers, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.
11. As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job's perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.

-- this morning, we are continuing our sermon series on pursuing holiness through the fruit of the Spirit -- so far, we have covered the first three attributes of God listed in Galatians 5:22-23 -- love, joy, and peace -- this morning, we're going to look at the next attribute of God that is listed there -- patience
-- of all the attributes of God -- of all the Godly characteristics that we are trying to acquire in our lives -- I don't think there's any as hard as patience -- there's just something about patience -- about waiting -- about persevering -- that is difficult for us in this modern age
-- for instance, you probably heard the story about the man in Waco, Texas, who got tired of waiting -- On May 20, 2008, Kevin Waits -- which, by the way, is his real name -- Kevin Waits called for a cab to come pick him up, but the driver didn't arrive fast enough -- when the cab didn't come as fast as he thought it should, Waits called 911 fifteen consecutive times to express his frustration about having to wait on a cab
-- the dispatcher repeatedly told Waits the police could not help with such issues -- After the fifteenth call, the police realized that Waits really wanted a ride and was tired of waiting, so they came by and gave him a handcuffed ride to the police station -- when they got him there, they found out that Waits didn't even have the $26 required to pay for the cab service he was complaining about

-- what is it about patience? -- what is it about waiting that drives us so crazy? -- I consider myself a fairly patient person -- I developed patience on the side of a fish pond -- when I was kid, all I did was fish -- all I did was sit on the side of a pond with a pole -- I could sit out there for hours, even if I wasn't getting a bite -- I could wait forever
-- even today, when I have to wait because of things, it doesn't bother me a whole lot -- I can get stopped by every red light, and I'm fine -- I can have to wait on the computer to boot up, and I have no problem -- but, lately, I have noticed that I have been losing patience in other areas -- especially, with people
-- just yesterday, I was at Walmart -- Brooke and I had swung by there to pick up something for supper -- we weren't in any great hurry, but everyone in that store just tried my patience -- there was this one family that just really got on my last nerve -- they got in the aisle in front of us with a buggy and they spread out -- they acted like they had never been in a store before -- they were just walking along, extremely slow, and looking at everything in sight -- they took up the whole aisle and wouldn't let us pass -- it's like we didn't matter to them -- and I found myself getting more and more frustrated at having to wait for them to get out of our way
-- and, all the while, as I'm getting more and more impatient, in the back of my mind, I'm thinking, "and I've got to preach a sermon on patience in the morning"

-- patience is a virtue -- the Bible says "blessed is he who waits" (Daniel 5:12) -- but, honestly, patience is one of the hardest characteristics to acquire -- one of the hardest things to do
-- patience shows up near the front in the list of attributes of God -- after love, joy, and peace, Paul tells us that patience is the next key characteristic of God -- and if we want to reflect His image -- if we want to be holy as God is holy -- then we must learn to grow this characteristic in our own lives -- we must learn to be patient people

-- now, as I started to study this topic of biblical patience, I came to realize that patience is lived out in three separate areas -- patience with things -- patience with people -- and patience with God
-- as I can so firmly attest to in my own life, you can patient in one area but fail in another -- I can be as patient as Job waiting at red lights but fail to be a patient person when an employee at work just won't get their job done in time -- I can be patient in persevering through a particular trial in my life but get impatient when God doesn't answer my prayers when I think He should
-- Webster picked up on this multi-faceted dimension to patience in his dictionary,although he didn't specifically mention patience with God in his definition
-- Webster defines patience in three ways -- patience is "perseverance in performing a task" or "endurance without complaining" -- that is patience with things
-- he further defines patience as "bearing suffering and provocation with calmness and self-control" and "refraining from retaliation" -- that is patience with people
-- and, finally, he defines patience as "the ability to wait calmly, tolerating a delay" -- which I contend is most clearly seen in the spiritual realm as patience with God
-- so, in order to be truly patient people -- in order to grow in holiness and reflect the goodness of God -- we have to seek to be wholly patient in all three areas of patience -- wholly patient in all that we do and with all that we come into contact with and with God Himself

II. Scripture Lesson
-- here in this passage in James, we read about being patient in all three of these areas of life -- patience with things -- patience with people -- and patience with God
-- so, let's look at each of these separately and see what we might learn from James on this topic
-- I have always liked the Book of James -- it's a hard book -- it's a convicting book -- it's very much in your face about how you are living and how you should be living -- but that's what we need -- I think it's a shame that James is not taught as much as it should be in our day and age
-- here in the fifth chapter of this epistle, James is summarizing his teaching throughout the book -- he's bringing it all home and making it real
-- in the previous four chapters, James has hammered the church on how they had failed to live out their faith in their lives -- on their lack of works and acts of service -- on their favoritism towards those who were wealthy over those who were poor -- on their divisiveness and their grumbling and complaining towards others, especially others in the church -- and on their lack of faith in waiting on God to come again
-- James is trying to get them to see that true faith is not just lived on the mountaintops, but down in the valleys of life -- that we say more about what we believe by how we respond to things and people and God when life isn't going like we expected -- when God isn't doing what we expected
-- so, here, in these verses, James is making the case to his readers and to us that faithfulness is demonstrated through patient endurance in the three areas of life -- with things -- with people -- even with God

-- look back at verse 7

7a. Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord's coming.

-- in other words, hold on, brothers -- don't give up -- wait for the Lord's return and everything will be as it should be
-- until then, be patient -- be patient when trials and troubles come your way -- when you get stopped by every red light on the way to work -- when you get sick -- when you lose a loved one
-- be patient when others talk about you and persecute you -- when others put you down because you are not as wealthy or as famous or as well-dressed and mannered as others -- be patient when people don't act like you think they should -- be patient when people try to drive you crazy
-- and be patient when God doesn't answer in your timing -- when God doesn't come and make things right when you think He should -- be patient when you're walking through the fire and trust and believe that God is with you
-- that is what James is trying to get across to us when he tells us here, "be patient"
-- look back at verse 7 again

7b. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains.
8. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord's coming is near.

-- the first area of life that James tells us to be patient with is with the things around us -- he uses the example of a farmer waiting for the rains and for his crops as an illustration of patience -- as any farmer can attest, there's just so much you can do with the weather -- I don't care how much you stand up and yell -- how much you beg or plead -- how much you rant and rail against the sky -- you are powerless to make the clouds come and send rain or to make the clouds go away and send sun
-- weather is a thing -- it's something that is external to us -- it's something that we can't control and so we shouldn't get bent out of shape because of it -- the only thing we can do is control how we react to it and the other things in life that cause us concern
-- to paraphrase a famous quote, "Things happen" -- we live in a fallen world -- we live in a world where it seems like the universe conspires against us from time to time -- where things seldom go our way -- where people get sick and die -- where people lose their jobs and their homes -- where people face catastrophes and and natural disasters -- where people find themselves having to wait to do what they want to do because a vehicle breaks at the wrong moment -- a tire goes flat -- a light turns red -- a printer runs out of ink
-- things go wrong -- big things and little things -- small irritations and great problems -- but they have one thing in common -- there's just not much we can do about them
-- so, what do we do? -- well, as James says here, "be patient" -- now, that doesn't mean that we do nothing -- the Greek word for "patience" here is not passive -- it implies an active waiting
-- that means that we do what we can in our own power and leave the rest up to God -- for instance, think again about farming -- if the weather's not right, what can we do? -- we can sort of make rain through irrigation, although it's not quite the same as the real thing -- but that's about it -- we can't control the sun or the temperature or the wind
-- so, we do what we can and trust God for the rest -- we make our needs known to Him -- and we wait and trust that everything will turn out just like He wants -- that doesn't mean it will turn out like we want -- but it does imply that we trust God will take care of us -- we quit trying to do things on our own -- we quit getting worked up over something that we can't really control -- and we trust God
-- as Andrew Murray wrote, "The waiting is to teach us our absolute dependence upon God’s mighty working, and to make us in perfect patience place ourselves at His disposal"
-- that is what James means here by patience with things -- that is how we can be faithful through waiting

-- verse 9

9. Don't grumble against each other, brothers, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door!

-- as I've already shared, there are times in my life when my patience is really tried by other people -- that's what James is talking about here -- patience with others -- patience with people
-- we all, from time to time, have problems with other people -- who is it that gets on your nerves? -- slow or careless drivers -- rude clerks -- undisciplined children -- unproductive coworkers -- disorganized people -- indecisive people -- inconsiderate people -- people who call attention to themselves -- self-centered people -- people who interrupt while you talk -- people who repeat themselves -- know-it-alls -- habitual latecomers -- habitual complainers -- people who won’t take responsibility -- argumentative and divisive people -- people who argue from ignorance -- people whose opinions differ from yours -- gossips -- hypocrites -- others?
-- did you find someone on that list? -- I guarantee you that there's someone out there who really tries your patience -- someone that just frustrates you by being there in your way or in your life
-- what do we do with these abrasive people? -- how do we respond?
-- James says "don't grumble against them" -- don't rail against them -- don't moan and complain about what they are doing -- think about what you're doing and whether you are reflecting Christ to them in your words and your actions
-- to quote Andrew Murray again, "Look upon every man, woman, or child who tries your patience or angers you as a means of grace to humble you"
-- these people are a means of grace -- in other words, these abrasive people are like sandpaper in your life -- smoothing off the rough edges of your character and helping to make you look more like Jesus
-- how you respond to these people speaks worlds about your faith in God and your desire to be holy as He is holy
-- keep in mind that Paul listed patience as a fruit of the Spirit -- this tells us that we are incapable of being patient with some people on our own -- we just don't have the strength or inner willpower to deal with them, and we have to rely on God's own presence working in us and through us to respond to them
-- we tend to respond to abrasive people with our flesh and not our spirit -- when you find yourself getting irritated or getting angry or getting upset with someone else -- when you find your patience is growing thin -- the answer is to detach yourself from the situation -- to shift your focus off of yourself and what this person is doing to you and to shift it back to God
-- when you find yourself getting annoyed and impatient with another person, take a breath and ask God to calm your soul and your spirit -- ask Him to give you His patience to deal with this situation -- or, if nothing else, to make a way of escape so that you can avoid sinning in your actions or behavior
-- remember that you can't change this other person, but you can change the way you respond to them -- ask God to help you to respond in a more positive way -- ask God to help you reflect His nature and His character in this situation

-- verse 10

10. Brothers, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.
11. As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job's perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.

-- finally, James gets to the hardest area of patience -- waiting on God
-- this is the area where our faith is most sorely tested -- where we truly demonstrate with our life if we believe what our lips say
-- it's one thing to come to church and know the right words -- to understand the Bible and to accept the gospel message -- but, as James points out in this epistle, it's another thing altogether to live it out -- to actually receive the message in our lives
-- we've all experienced times in our lives when it seems like God doesn't hear us -- when we pray and our prayers don't seem to go past the ceiling -- when we pray and God doesn't answer like we expect -- when we pray and He doesn't answer at all or the thing that we prayed wouldn't happen, does
-- we've all experienced times when our faith has been shaken -- when trials and troubles have come our way -- and God doesn't work -- He seems to be absent -- and things just keep getting worse
-- it's in these times that we are forced to wait -- that we are forced to persevere -- that we are forced to endure what we think we can't endure
-- it's in these times that faith is forged

-- when you are forced to wait on God, you are faced with a decision -- you can either choose to believe in His promises and His message and His goodness -- or you can choose to believe that God is either not there or, if He is, that He doesn't care -- how you respond demonstrates your level of faith and spiritual maturity
-- James points us to the example of Job and the prophets in these verses -- these men and women, he writes, suffered in their lives -- they were beset with troubles too great to mention -- with persecution and martyrdom that took their lives and the lives of those around them
-- their faith was sorely tested, but they didn't give up -- they persevered -- they trusted God and His providence in their lives -- they trusted in God's compassion and mercy -- and they knew that God would take care of them
-- they lived out what James Rye wrote about patience -- "True patience is a calm endurance based on the certain knowledge that God is in control."
-- throughout the Bible, we are told to wait on God
-- Psalm 62:1 -- "My soul silently waits for God; from Him comes my salvation." (Psalm 62:1)
-- Psalm 27:14 -- "Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart"
-- Psalm 59:9 -- "I will wait for You, O You his Strength; for God is my defense"
-- Isaiah 25:9 -- "We have waited for Him and He will save us."

-- when we wait on God, we are saying that we trust Him -- that even though things may not work out as we hope -- we trust and believe that God's will and plan for our lives is better than what we hope for -- we have that "calm endurance" that affirms that "God is in control"
-- James says, "Wait on the Lord -- be patient -- and see what God will do -- see what God will bring about"
-- waiting on God -- trusting in Him -- is the essence of true faith and holiness

III. Closing
-- The great New England preacher Phillips Brooks was noted for his poise and quiet manner -- At times, however, even he suffered moments of frustration and irritability -- One day a friend saw him feverishly pacing the floor like a caged lion -- “What’s the trouble, Mr. Brooks?” he asked -- “The trouble is that I’m in a hurry, but God isn’t!”
-- patience is one of those characteristics of God that just takes time to develop -- it doesn't happen in a moment, but happens over a lifetime of minor and major irritations
-- but, as Kent Crockett points out, "Once God develops the attitude of patience in you, life becomes easier [because] petty things don't bother you anymore."
-- patience works wonders in the life of a person -- it helps us to deal with the things and the people of life -- it helps us to respond to them as Jesus would -- and, it helps us develop our faith as we learn to trust in God in the waiting

-- I know I've gone on a bit long this morning -- and I appreciate your patience with a wandering preacher -- but, this is an important topic and an important attribute that we must develop in our lives if we are to be like Jesus in all that we do -- if we are to be Holy as He is Holy
-- just to sum up our teaching on this, when you are confronted with the irritations of life -- from things and from people -- remember to turn to God -- remember that you have within you His Spirit who will give you the patience and faith that you need to persevere -- take a moment -- say a prayer -- and ask God to give you His patience so you will respond as Jesus would
-- and, let me warn you, when you start to work on this attribute of patience in your life, you are going to be come face-to-face with every little thing that causes you irritation -- because it's in the testing and the trials that patience is forged
-- so, as you leave here, get ready -- if you get annoyed by things, get ready to be stopped by every red light in town and expect other petty problems to come up -- if you get annoyed by people, get ready for abrasive people to get in your way -- if you have a problem trusting in God, get ready for Him to build your faith in this area
-- regardless of what methods God uses to mold your patience, yield to Him and the Holy Spirit, and persevere, trusting that what the Lord finally brings about will be for your good
-- as James says here, "Be Patient"
-- let's pray