7 February 2010
I. Introduction
-- turn in Bibles to Matthew 21
28. "What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, `Son, go and work today in the vineyard.'
29. "`I will not,' he answered, but later he changed his mind and went.
30. "Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, `I will, sir,' but he did not go.
31. "Which of the two did what his father wanted?" "The first," they answered. Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you.
32. For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.
-- a few years ago, I was asked by the Department of Defense to help write a management plan for gopher tortoises in the southeastern U.S. -- this plan was being developed by a group of federal and state agencies, environmental organizations, and a few prominent private landowners -- and I was asked to help because I worked with gopher tortoises at the local level
-- you see, someone had proposed to the Fish and Wildlife Service that the gopher tortoise be added to the federal Endangered Species Act, and if that happened, it would change the rules and the regulations regarding what people could do on their property -- the Fish and Wildlife Service would have the right to tell you that you couldn't do certain things on your own land if it might harm gopher tortoises or their habitat -- so, this team was developed to come up with a management plan for the whole southeastern U.S. that we could use to show the Fish and Wildlife Service that we would protect the tortoise without them forcing us to do it by law
-- when I showed up at the meeting, they divided us into groups based on our area of expertise -- some people were put into a group to write the section on gopher tortoise biology -- others were put into a group to write the section about gopher tortoise diseases -- others were asked to write sections about habitat management or burrow protection or the relocation of tortoises
-- because I had spent the majority of my career managing tortoises -- actually working on the ground changing the habitat and improving conditions for tortoises -- I was put with the group that was tasked with writing the section on habitat management
-- there were about 25 of us in the room, and once we got in there, we started talking about how to write this section on managing the habitat for gopher tortoises -- and, just like any meeting, there were a couple of people there who were the most vocal and the most dynamic and they quickly took over -- very quickly, they quit listening to us and they told us what needed to be done -- how things should be written -- what steps we needed to take to protect gopher tortoises and improve their habitat
-- and as I sat there and listened to all the different things they were proposing, I found myself thinking, "that doesn't make any sense" -- but they insisted they knew what they were talking about and they pressed on and made plans to write the section and present it back to the group some time later
-- after the meeting, I went up and introduced myself to the main guy who was going to write the section on gopher tortoises, just to find out some more about him and what he had been doing -- it turns out this guy, who was selected by the group to write this section on managing gopher tortoises, had never seen a gopher tortoise in the wild -- he had never worked with gopher tortoises -- he had never held a drip torch and started a prescribed burn to improve their habitat -- he had never seen a gopher tortoise burrow or done field surveys or even spent much time in the southeast
-- as I got to talking to him, I found out he was actually from Maryland where they don't even have gopher tortoises -- and that everything he knew about gophers he had learned by reading books and scientific articles -- very quickly I discovered that he knew a lot about gopher tortoises, but he didn't know the animal himself
-- I think all of us can relate to my experience on this team -- we've all seen these so-called experts who don't have any real experience themselves but who only have a whole lot of book-learning on a subject -- I know that was a real complaint of mine when I was going through school -- that many of the professors had never actually been in the field and worked with wildlife, but here they were trying to teach us what to do
-- we see that very often in the church, too, don't we? -- John Maxwell once told the story about coming to a new church and trying to get their Sunday School program revitalized -- the people there listened to all his plans to get it going, but at the end of his presentation, they said, "It sounds good, but it just won't work" -- when he asked why, they told him that years ago they had hired a Sunday School expert to come in and tell them what to do to build up their Sunday School -- this expert had told them that they would never have a successful program because they didn't have trained teachers, they didn't have the right facilities, and they didn't have enough people in the church to get it done
-- well, John Maxwell looked up this so-called Sunday School expert and found out that he had never been in charge of a Sunday School program in his life -- all he had done was go from place to place and advise other people on what was wrong with their program -- Maxwell started working with his church and got them excited about Sunday School and just two years later, his church won an award for the fastest growing Sunday School program in the nation
-- there's a difference between knowing about something and doing something -- there's a difference in hearing the word and doing the word -- there's a difference between knowledge and obedience -- James, the brother of Jesus, reminds us of this in James 1:22 -- he wrote, "Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says."
II. Scripture Lesson (Matthew 21:28-32]
-- that is what this passage here in Matthew 21 is all about -- it's not about knowing the things of God -- it's not about how well you know the word -- it's about actually getting out and getting your hands dirty and doing what God calls you to do
-- just to give you the background of this teaching by Jesus, this occurs right after Palm Sunday -- right after Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem and right after He goes into the temple and overturns the tables of the money changers and runs them out of the temple
-- the next day, He sees a fig tree and goes up to it to get some fruit, but there wasn't any fruit there, so He curses the tree and causes it to wither
-- immediately after that, the chief priests and the elders came up to Jesus and wanted to know what authority He had to do these things -- and so Jesus questions them about the baptism that John the Baptist had done and then gives them this parable of the two sons
-- so, let's see what we can learn through Jesus' words to the Pharisees and the chief priests and elders here in Matthew 21
-- look back at verse 28
28. "What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, `Son, go and work today in the vineyard.'
29. "`I will not,' he answered, but later he changed his mind and went.
30. "Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, `I will, sir,' but he did not go.
31. "Which of the two did what his father wanted?" "The first," they answered. Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you.
32. For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.
-- just at first glance, we can see that this parable, like many of Jesus' parables, is an allegory -- an allegory is a story with fictional characters who represent real people or real events -- not all of Jesus' parables were allegories, but many of His more well-known parables were, such as the story of the Prodigal Son and the Man Sowing Seed
-- sometimes, allegories can be difficult to interpret and apply, but in this case, the allegory is pretty straight-forward and easy to understand
-- the man -- the father -- in this story stands for God the Father -- one son represents the religious people in Jesus' day -- the Pharisees, and the chief priests, and the elders -- the other son represents those who are distant from God -- the Gentiles and the tax collectors and prostitutes and sinners -- the vineyard, of course, represents the world and the people of the world who needed to hear the message of God
-- the focus of this parable is on hearing and obeying the call of God in our lives -- the Father in the story goes to both sons and asks them to go into the vineyard and work
-- now, the first thing we see here is that both groups of people -- Jews and Gentiles -- belong to God -- they are both part of His family -- there is no distinction
-- 1 Timothy 2:4 tells us that God wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth -- by going to each son and asking them to go into the vineyard and work, God is letting us know that He wants all people -- Jews and Gentiles -- men and women -- black and white and every race inbetween -- to hear His call and to be part of His family -- this tells us that there is no one beyond the reach of God -- there is no one that God does not want in His kingdom
-- with that in mind, look back at verse 28 at what the Father asks the sons to do -- He tells them, "go and work today in the vineyard" -- the word I want you to pay attention to there is "today" -- God's focus is always on today -- we fret about the past -- we worry about the future -- but God tells us repeatedly in His word that our focus should be on "today"
-- Jesus told His disciples in Matthew Chapter 6 to stop worrying about tomorrow and to start focusing on today -- Jesus said, "don't worry, saying, `What shall we eat?' or `What shall we drink?' or `What shall we wear?' -- but seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well"
-- along those lines, we read in 2 Corinthians 6:2, "Now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation." -- in other words, the message of God is to focus on today -- on the here and now -- and on hearing the call of God
-- the other thing that word "today" points out in this passage is that when we hear the call of God to do something, He expects us to do it today -- God doesn't like excuses -- He doesn't like it when we say, "Sure, I'll be a Sunday School teacher when I know more about the Bible," -- "Sure, I'll go in the mission field when I learn survival skills and how to evangelize others" -- "Sure, I'll go help the homeless when I get done with this project I'm working on"
-- when God calls us to do something, He wants us to do it now -- remember, God doesn't call the equipped, He equips the called, and if He has called you to do something, then He has given you everything you need to be obedient to His call right now, today
-- now, let's look at the difference in responses to the two sons in this story -- the Father goes to the first son and asks him to go and work in the vineyard today, and the son replies, "I will not" -- when God calls us, we always have a choice -- we can either do what He says or we can refuse -- in this case, the son heard the call of God and made a decision -- "I will not go"
-- and notice what the Father does here in response to the first son's answer -- He does nothing -- God has given us free will -- He doesn't force us to love Him -- He doesn't force us to obey Him -- He offers the call and then waits for our decision -- He'll do everything He can to encourage us to make the right choice -- but, the response is totally up to us
-- I've had people tell me that they don't believe in God because a loving God would never send His children to Hell -- and I tell them that they're right -- God doesn't send anyone to Hell -- we make that choice ourselves by refusing to respond to God's call of salvation
-- Jesus tells us that after the first son refused to go into the vineyard and work, that he changed his mind and went -- another word for "changed his mind" would be "repented"
-- originally, he didn't want to follow God -- originally, he didn't want to be obedient to the call of God -- but then he had a change of heart -- he made a decision and he chose to respond to God's call and go out into the vineyard to work
-- but, what about the second son? -- Jesus tells us that the Father went to him and made the same request that He made to the first son, "Go and work in the vineyard today" -- and look at the second son's response in verse 30, "I will, Sir"
-- there's a couple things I want you to see here
-- first, notice how quickly the second son responded -- as soon as the Father told him to go into the vineyard, he said, "I will"
-- next, notice that the second son called his father, "Sir" -- that's a sign of respect -- that's a sign that the second son knew the Father and respected and Him and His authority
-- just at first glance, you would think the second son was the more obedient of the two -- but, when you look closer, you quickly see that that was not the case -- while the second son acted like he respected the Father -- while he knew the right words to say -- and while he promised go out and work in the vineyard, Jesus tells us that he didn't go
-- keep in mind who the second son in this parable represents -- he represents the people of God -- the church people of Jesus' day -- the Pharisees and the chief priests and the elders -- these were the people who knew the Scriptures -- who knew the law -- who knew what they were supposed to do -- these were the people who claimed to know God in a real and personal way
-- however, in this case, they may have sounded obedient and looked obedient but they were not really doing what God had called them to do
-- most of you know that I was really involved in Promise Keepers in the past -- I had a spiritual awakening at a Promise Keepers event in Knoxville, TN, in 1997 that really changed my life
-- the focus of Promise Keepers was calling men to live lives sold-out for Jesus by keeping seven promises:
1. Being committed to honoring Jesus Christ through worship, prayer and obedience to God's Word in the power of the Holy Spirit
2. Being in an accountability group with other men
3. Practicing spiritual, moral, ethical, and sexual purity
4. Being committed to building strong marriages and families through love, protection and biblical values
5. Supporting the church through prayer, time, and resources
6. Being committed to biblical unity beyond racial and denominational lines
7. Being committed to being obedient to the Great Commission and the Great Commandment
-- these are sound, biblical promises -- these are things that all of us need to be doing to grow in our Christian faith -- but what good is making these promises if we turn right around and don't keep them?
-- that is the point that Jesus is making in this passage -- look back at verse 31
31. "Which of the two did what his father wanted?" "The first," they answered. Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you.
32. For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.
-- it doesn't matter what you say -- it doesn't matter what you know -- it doesn't matter how much of an expert you are about the Bible or religion or any other spiritual matter -- what matters is what you do with what you know
-- the difference between the two sons in this parable is that one was a talker and one was a doer -- and in God's kingdom, He doesn't care so much for your words as He does your obedience
III. Closing
-- a research group out of England just conducted a survey about the effectiveness of preaching and teaching in our churches today -- they looked at all denominations -- from the mainline denominations such as United Methodism to the more evangelical denominations, such as the Southern Baptists
-- and what they found was discouraging -- only 17% of the people who took the survey said that sermons "frequently changed their attitudes towards others or helped them look afresh at controversial or topical issues" [Christian Post, http://www.christianpost.com/article/20100122/survey-sermons-fail-to-inspire-change-in-believers/index.html]
-- what that means is that 83% of the people in any given congregation attend a worship service, listen to the Word of God being read and to a sermon being preached, and then go home and do nothing with what they hear
-- what that means is that 83% of all church-goes are just like the second son -- they look right and they sound right, but they don't do the right things -- they fail to act on what they have heard and don't obey the call of God
-- A wise man once said that Christianity is what you do when the sermon is over -- along those lines, Francis Bacon said that it is not what we preach and pray, but what we practice and believe that makes us Christians.
-- This is what Jesus is saying in this parable: it is what we DO, and not just what we say that ultimately makes the difference in our lives -- this parable asks the question, "What are we like when the sermon is over?" -- We may present an outward show of holiness, but are we really spiritual in the eyes of God?
-- as we close today, I want to encourage you to take a real, honest look at your life -- I see you every Sunday -- I see some of you in Bible study during the week -- and I know that many of you come to Sunday School on a regular basis -- I know that some of you meet with others one-on-one or in small groups to learn more about Jesus
-- but, let me ask you this, are you practicing what you preach? -- are your actions living up to what you profess? -- are you being obedient to the call of God to go into the vineyard today and work, or are you just giving Christianity lip-service by knowing a lot about God but without really showing you know God through you actions?
-- this parable shows that simply coming to church and reading the Bible is not enough -- you have to act in response to what God is calling you to do
-- as I close, spend some time thinking about what you are doing and about what God wants you to do
-- let us pray
Saturday, February 13, 2010
SERMON: CORRECTING MISTAKES
31 January 2010
I. Introduction
-- turn in Bibles to 2 Corinthians 7
8. Even if I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it. Though I did regret it--I see that my letter hurt you, but only for a little while--
9. yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us.
10. Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.
11. See what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done. At every point you have proved yourselves to be innocent in this matter.
-- the last time I went to Disney World in Orlando, we went on the kid's ride, "It's a small, small world" -- more from nostalgia than anything else -- but, as I was on that ride, it occurred to me just how small the world has really gotten
-- if you were to look at a newspaper from 150 years ago, the focus of the paper was on its immediate vicinity -- people didn't care what was going on outside of where they lived -- they really didn't concern themselves with what was going on with others in this country, much less on the other side of the world
-- but now, with the advent of the internet and satellite TV and all of the other technology that we have, we have reached the place where, not only can we instantly know what is happening on the other side of the world, but we care about it -- 150 years ago, we wouldn't have worried about an earthquake in Haiti -- we probably wouldn't have even heard about it for months -- but now, because of technology and the shrinking of our world, we knew about it instantly and it spurred us to action
-- along these lines, our leaders no longer concern themselves only with the affairs of just our country -- but they worry about the global impact of their decisions -- no longer are we an isolated nation or an isolated people, but we find ourselves increasingly becoming more and more part of a global community -- and with that brings new struggles
-- how do we come to grasp with this changing, new world? -- what do we have in common -- what do we share with people in Asia or eastern Europe or South America? -- how do we move forward in this age of increasing globalism? -- What can we find that ties us together with all the citizens of the world?
-- well, as I was pondering that question, it occurred to me that there is one thing that we all have in common -- regardless of race, religion, natural origin -- regardless of whether we live in a mansion or a corrugated hut in the desert region of the world, we all share one common characteristic -- we all make mistakes
-- all of us -- you've heard that before -- I certainly heard it growing up -- I would drop a glass and spill milk all over the floor and my mother would say, "Don't worry about it -- just clean it up -- there's no use crying over spilled milk -- everyone makes mistakes"
-- and that is true -- everyone does make mistakes
-- for instance, you probably heard about the woman who was taking an art class at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York this past weekend -- as she bent in to take a closer look at Pablo Picasso's famous painting, The Actor, she stumbled and fell into the picture and ripped a 6-inch vertical tear near the bottom
-- now, you might be thinking to yourself, "So what -- it was only a 6-inch tear in a canvas that is 4 foot by 6 foot in size -- it was only a mistake" -- but this was a $65 million mistake -- the total cost of the painting was estimated at $130 million, and that little 6-inch tear reduced the value of that painting by half and damaged a priceless work of art -- thankfully, the damage can be repaired, but still, how would you have liked to have been that woman who made a mistake such as that?
-- everyone makes mistakes -- some mistakes are minor, like a spilled glass of milk -- others are more costly, like a 6-inch rip in a Picasso painting -- but some mistakes are so large and so devastating that there is nothing we can do to make amends -- there is nothing we can do to correct our mistake
-- so, what do we do with mistakes like that? -- what do we do when our mistakes cost more than $65 million? -- what do we do when our mistakes destroy relationships with our family and friends? -- what do we do when our mistakes destroy our lives and the lives of those around us? -- what do we do when our mistakes separate us from God?
-- those are the questions that bring us together today -- those are the questions that form and inform the church -- those are the questions that Christ came to answer
II. Scripture Lesson (2 Corinthians 7:8-11)
-- in this passage that we opened with, we find the second letter from the Apostle Paul to the church at Corinth -- the Corinthians had made some mistakes -- some really big mistakes -- if you've ever spent some time reading the first letter of Paul to the Corinthians, it reminds you of a Jerry Springer show
-- Corinth was a very large and prosperous Roman city located right between the east and the west -- it was a crossroads for commerce and culture and community -- the people there enjoyed a wealthy lifestyle as travelers from all over the known world converged there to trade on their journeys from Europe into Asia and back -- but, with this prosperity and influence came pride and excess and iniquity
-- the Corinthians excelled at making mistakes -- at doing things that God did not want them to do and that He distinctly told them not to do -- for instance, the church there actually boasted of their tolerance by accepting into membership a man who was sleeping with his father's wife -- we're talking about mistakes and sins on unprecedented levels
-- and, so, the Apostle Paul wrote them his first letter with two purposes in mind -- first, he needed to open their spiritual eyes -- he needed them to see that what they were doing was wrong -- that the sexual immorality -- the pride -- the division in that church were mistakes -- they weren't something to be proud of -- they were sin -- it was not what they should have been doing -- so, the first thing Paul did was point out to them that everyone makes mistakes
-- secondly, Paul made sure they knew what to do about the mistakes -- he pointed them back to the cross -- he pointed them to repentance -- he pointed them to forgiveness and reconciliation and healing
-- and here, in Chapter 7 of Paul's second letter, we see him referring back to what happened and how they responded when they got his first letter -- so, let's take just a moment and look at what God had to say to the church of Corinth through Paul
-- verse 8
8. Even if I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it. Though I did regret it--I see that my letter hurt you, but only for a little while--
9. yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us.
-- Paul's first letter had the desired effect -- it opened the Corinthians' spiritual eyes -- it made them see that what they were doing was wrong
-- sometimes, that's the first step that we have to take in overcoming mistakes in our lives -- we have to be made aware of them -- we have to know that they are there
-- one of Satan's main strategies to keep Christians powerless is to hide their sins from them -- to keep them from knowing about the mistakes that they make -- and, unless we know about our sins -- unless we are made truly aware of the mistakes that we have made -- we can do nothing about them -- that's where having a good friend or being in a small group can help by holding you accountable and by holding a mirror to your life to let you know when you have done wrong
-- Paul says that when the Corinthians were made aware of their mistakes, they became filled with sorrow -- they were sorry for what they had done -- that's a common stage for us in our spiritual lives -- when we realize that we've made a mistake -- that we've done something wrong -- maybe we've hurt someone that we love -- we get sorry -- we feel bad about it
-- we go to God and confess our sins and tell Him, "We're sorry -- we didn't mean to do that" -- sometimes we might even go to the person that we wronged and apologize to them and tell them, "I'm sorry"
-- there's many afternoon talk show hosts on TV that have made their living simply by bringing people on their shows and getting them to own up to their sins and to apologize right there on stage
-- but being sorry doesn't erase the mistake -- being sorry is not enough -- Paul points out that here -- being sorry is just the first step
-- Tiger Woods is learning that lesson now -- when it finally came out that he had had multiple affairs and had cheated on his wife and his family, Tiger was sorry -- he was especially sorry when his wife beat him with that golf club and when he lost all of his endorsements -- but he found out that going on TV and confessing your sin and saying you're sorry doesn't make everything better -- he is still separated from his wife -- he has damaged their relationship to the point that it may never get repaired -- the Corinthians had learned what Tiger is learning now -- being sorry is not enough -- being sorry is just the first step
-- verse 10
10. Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.
-- you see, being sorry is the world's way of covering up problems -- it really comes down to this -- we want people to suffer for what they have done -- when a celebrity makes a really big mistake -- whether it's Tiger Woods or John Edwards or Michael Vick -- it's not enough for us to just have them admit they made a mistake -- we want them to suffer -- we want them to pay for what they have done the rest of their life -- that's the goal of worldly sorrow -- and that's the difference between worldly sorrow and Godly sorrow
-- Godly sorrow is constructive -- Paul intentionally hurt the Corinthians with his first letter, but he did it for a reason -- he wanted them to be sorry -- not so they would feel bad -- but so they would do something about it
-- in God's kingdom, the purpose of pointing out another's mistakes is not to just make them feel sorry about what they did, but to get them to the next step -- repentance
-- God uses sorrow to get us to repentance -- outside of the word, "faith," there is no other word in the Bible that is more important to us -- all of prophets in the Old Testament preached repentance to the nation of Israel -- John the Baptist made his career by preaching repentance in the wilderness -- and repentance was the sole message of Jesus -- "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand"
-- being sorry is not enough -- you have to repent, as well
-- that word, "repentance," is so misunderstood in our day and time -- repentance is not the same thing as feeling sorry -- repentance starts with sorry and goes on from there
-- to repent means that you know you've made a mistake -- you're sorry about what you have done -- you're telling God that you don't want to do it again and you're asking Him to forgive you of what you have done and to keep you from doing it again
-- repentance is turning around -- it's making a U-turn on a lifestyle of mistakes and sins and wrong decisions -- but, repentance is not just a matter of the will -- it's a matter of the heart
-- a lot of times, we get sorry about the sins in our lives -- we make a vow that we're not going to do them again -- but, after a little while, depending on how strong your will is, you find yourself going right back and making that same old mistake again -- that's not what we are talking about
-- to repent of your sins and mistakes means that you ask God to forgive you and deliver you from the burden of sin -- to repent of your sins means that you change your focus -- your focus is not on avoiding the mistake -- your focus is on following God
-- this seems like a minor thing, but it's not -- it's the heart of what repentance is all about -- let me give you an example -- I once watched a young girl learning to ride a bicycle -- what she was trying to do was ride down the lane to the end of the road and back -- simple task, right?
-- but, there was a big, green trashcan sitting out there next to the road -- and I told her, "Don't hit the trashcan" -- and from that moment on, that's all she could think about -- that was all she saw -- that big, green trashcan -- and, sure enough, she steered her bike right down that lane and ran smack dab into the side of that trashcan, both going and coming
-- if she had ignored the trashcan -- if she had focused on the end of the road and blocked out everything else, she wouldn't have made a mistake and she certainly wouldn't have made that same mistake twice
-- that's what we're talking about with repentance -- repentance means you shift your focus from the sin and the mistake to God -- you let God take care of it -- you let God remove that burden -- and you put your eyes on Him
-- in other words, when you sit down at the end of the day and think about what you have done, you don't review in your mind and say, "I did good -- I stayed away from this sin today" -- not, you review in your mind and say, "I did good -- I walked with God today"
-- if sin is still your focus, you haven't repented -- you haven't left it behind -- you haven't let God take care of it for you -- and if you're still focusing on it -- if you're still fixated on it -- then you're not letting God take control of your life -- you're still in charge
-- repentance means letting go and letting God take care of it -- repentance doesn't mean "Don't do this" -- repentance means, "Don't do this -- do this instead"
-- think about what the prophets and John the Baptist and Jesus all preached, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand" -- they didn't just focus on the sin and say nothing more -- they said, "Don't sin -- but live for God" -- shift your focus from sin to the kingdom of heaven -- shift your focus from sin to God
-- that is what repentance is -- it's a total change in heart and mind and will -- it's not just being sorry about a sin -- but, it's choosing to live a life of obedience for God
-- verse 11
11. See what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done. At every point you have proved yourselves to be innocent in this matter.
-- see how the focus of the Corinthians has changed? -- before, they were worried about the sin -- they focused on the sin and on avoiding the sin -- now, they're focused on God and the things of God -- Godly sorrow led them to repentance which led them to living lives for Jesus
-- that's why we're here -- that's what our churches are supposed to look like and to be like -- not fixated on sin, but on the grace and the abundant life that follows true repentance and reconciliation with the Father
III. Closing-- you know, we all have a problem with understanding and applying repentance in our lives -- I know that after I got saved, I kind of got stuck at the altar -- I became stagnant and didn't grow in Christ because I was worried about sin -- I focused on sin -- sin became for me that big green trashcan in my life -- and no matter what I did, I kept steering my bicycle right into it, because that's all I was focused on
-- I stayed in that pattern for 10 years until a friend convinced me to go to a Promise Keepers conference -- I didn't want to go -- I knew I was struggling -- I knew I wasn't doing right and I knew I wasn't following God's plan for my life -- I didn't want to go to a meeting like Promise Keepers and be reminded of just how bad I was -- but I ended up going anyway
-- and through the messages that weekend and through the fellowship with thousands of other Godly men -- I became convicted that what I was doing wasn't right -- I rededicated my life to Christ and asked for His forgiveness and His power to fix all the mistakes I kept making -- I asked Him to help me focus on walking towards Him rather than just trying to live life by avoiding sin -- and once I did that, my spiritual life began to grow
-- do I still sin? -- sure -- do I still make mistakes and allow things to come between me and God and between me and the others in my life? -- of course
-- but the difference now is that I recognize them and I carry them to the cross and I allow God to remove them from my life so they don't hamper my spiritual growth -- I let Godly sorrow over my sin lead me to repentance and the cross and fix my eyes on the prize and not the obstacles in my path
-- as I close today, I want to encourage you to embrace the life that God has given to you -- to embrace the life that God has planned for you
-- the Christian life is a daily decision to repent of our sins and to take up our cross and follow Jesus Christ -- this means that you let Christ rule in your life -- this means that you let the power of the Holy Spirit work in your life to keep your focus on God and to fix any mistakes or sins that are affecting your relationship with God and with others
-- everyone makes mistakes -- the difference is what we do with those mistakes -- do we continue to hold them up and let them trap us in a dead-end way of living -- or do we give them to Jesus and put them behind us, repenting of them and focusing on life with God?
-- this morning, as I close, I want you to encourage you to take a moment and consider your life and the mistakes you have made -- most of here are Christians -- think about where you are in your walk with Christ -- what are you focusing on? -- is it following Him or just avoiding sin? -- until we reach the point where our focus is on Christ and Christ alone, we will never be the people that God has called us to be
-- for those of you here who don't know Christ -- who are still weighed down by your sins and your burdens and your mistakes, then I want to introduce you to my friend Jesus -- Jesus wants to help -- He wants to take care of your problems -- He wants to fix your life -- but, you have to take the first step -- you have to believe in Him -- you have to admit your sins and confess them to Him -- and you have to repent and move forward in faith in Jesus
-- whatever you need to do today -- whatever steps you need to take -- I would invite you to do so as we close in prayer and as the last hymn is played -- as always, the altar is open for any who wish to come or who need special prayer for themselves or a loved one
-- let us pray
I. Introduction
-- turn in Bibles to 2 Corinthians 7
8. Even if I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it. Though I did regret it--I see that my letter hurt you, but only for a little while--
9. yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us.
10. Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.
11. See what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done. At every point you have proved yourselves to be innocent in this matter.
-- the last time I went to Disney World in Orlando, we went on the kid's ride, "It's a small, small world" -- more from nostalgia than anything else -- but, as I was on that ride, it occurred to me just how small the world has really gotten
-- if you were to look at a newspaper from 150 years ago, the focus of the paper was on its immediate vicinity -- people didn't care what was going on outside of where they lived -- they really didn't concern themselves with what was going on with others in this country, much less on the other side of the world
-- but now, with the advent of the internet and satellite TV and all of the other technology that we have, we have reached the place where, not only can we instantly know what is happening on the other side of the world, but we care about it -- 150 years ago, we wouldn't have worried about an earthquake in Haiti -- we probably wouldn't have even heard about it for months -- but now, because of technology and the shrinking of our world, we knew about it instantly and it spurred us to action
-- along these lines, our leaders no longer concern themselves only with the affairs of just our country -- but they worry about the global impact of their decisions -- no longer are we an isolated nation or an isolated people, but we find ourselves increasingly becoming more and more part of a global community -- and with that brings new struggles
-- how do we come to grasp with this changing, new world? -- what do we have in common -- what do we share with people in Asia or eastern Europe or South America? -- how do we move forward in this age of increasing globalism? -- What can we find that ties us together with all the citizens of the world?
-- well, as I was pondering that question, it occurred to me that there is one thing that we all have in common -- regardless of race, religion, natural origin -- regardless of whether we live in a mansion or a corrugated hut in the desert region of the world, we all share one common characteristic -- we all make mistakes
-- all of us -- you've heard that before -- I certainly heard it growing up -- I would drop a glass and spill milk all over the floor and my mother would say, "Don't worry about it -- just clean it up -- there's no use crying over spilled milk -- everyone makes mistakes"
-- and that is true -- everyone does make mistakes
-- for instance, you probably heard about the woman who was taking an art class at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York this past weekend -- as she bent in to take a closer look at Pablo Picasso's famous painting, The Actor, she stumbled and fell into the picture and ripped a 6-inch vertical tear near the bottom
-- now, you might be thinking to yourself, "So what -- it was only a 6-inch tear in a canvas that is 4 foot by 6 foot in size -- it was only a mistake" -- but this was a $65 million mistake -- the total cost of the painting was estimated at $130 million, and that little 6-inch tear reduced the value of that painting by half and damaged a priceless work of art -- thankfully, the damage can be repaired, but still, how would you have liked to have been that woman who made a mistake such as that?
-- everyone makes mistakes -- some mistakes are minor, like a spilled glass of milk -- others are more costly, like a 6-inch rip in a Picasso painting -- but some mistakes are so large and so devastating that there is nothing we can do to make amends -- there is nothing we can do to correct our mistake
-- so, what do we do with mistakes like that? -- what do we do when our mistakes cost more than $65 million? -- what do we do when our mistakes destroy relationships with our family and friends? -- what do we do when our mistakes destroy our lives and the lives of those around us? -- what do we do when our mistakes separate us from God?
-- those are the questions that bring us together today -- those are the questions that form and inform the church -- those are the questions that Christ came to answer
II. Scripture Lesson (2 Corinthians 7:8-11)
-- in this passage that we opened with, we find the second letter from the Apostle Paul to the church at Corinth -- the Corinthians had made some mistakes -- some really big mistakes -- if you've ever spent some time reading the first letter of Paul to the Corinthians, it reminds you of a Jerry Springer show
-- Corinth was a very large and prosperous Roman city located right between the east and the west -- it was a crossroads for commerce and culture and community -- the people there enjoyed a wealthy lifestyle as travelers from all over the known world converged there to trade on their journeys from Europe into Asia and back -- but, with this prosperity and influence came pride and excess and iniquity
-- the Corinthians excelled at making mistakes -- at doing things that God did not want them to do and that He distinctly told them not to do -- for instance, the church there actually boasted of their tolerance by accepting into membership a man who was sleeping with his father's wife -- we're talking about mistakes and sins on unprecedented levels
-- and, so, the Apostle Paul wrote them his first letter with two purposes in mind -- first, he needed to open their spiritual eyes -- he needed them to see that what they were doing was wrong -- that the sexual immorality -- the pride -- the division in that church were mistakes -- they weren't something to be proud of -- they were sin -- it was not what they should have been doing -- so, the first thing Paul did was point out to them that everyone makes mistakes
-- secondly, Paul made sure they knew what to do about the mistakes -- he pointed them back to the cross -- he pointed them to repentance -- he pointed them to forgiveness and reconciliation and healing
-- and here, in Chapter 7 of Paul's second letter, we see him referring back to what happened and how they responded when they got his first letter -- so, let's take just a moment and look at what God had to say to the church of Corinth through Paul
-- verse 8
8. Even if I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it. Though I did regret it--I see that my letter hurt you, but only for a little while--
9. yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us.
-- Paul's first letter had the desired effect -- it opened the Corinthians' spiritual eyes -- it made them see that what they were doing was wrong
-- sometimes, that's the first step that we have to take in overcoming mistakes in our lives -- we have to be made aware of them -- we have to know that they are there
-- one of Satan's main strategies to keep Christians powerless is to hide their sins from them -- to keep them from knowing about the mistakes that they make -- and, unless we know about our sins -- unless we are made truly aware of the mistakes that we have made -- we can do nothing about them -- that's where having a good friend or being in a small group can help by holding you accountable and by holding a mirror to your life to let you know when you have done wrong
-- Paul says that when the Corinthians were made aware of their mistakes, they became filled with sorrow -- they were sorry for what they had done -- that's a common stage for us in our spiritual lives -- when we realize that we've made a mistake -- that we've done something wrong -- maybe we've hurt someone that we love -- we get sorry -- we feel bad about it
-- we go to God and confess our sins and tell Him, "We're sorry -- we didn't mean to do that" -- sometimes we might even go to the person that we wronged and apologize to them and tell them, "I'm sorry"
-- there's many afternoon talk show hosts on TV that have made their living simply by bringing people on their shows and getting them to own up to their sins and to apologize right there on stage
-- but being sorry doesn't erase the mistake -- being sorry is not enough -- Paul points out that here -- being sorry is just the first step
-- Tiger Woods is learning that lesson now -- when it finally came out that he had had multiple affairs and had cheated on his wife and his family, Tiger was sorry -- he was especially sorry when his wife beat him with that golf club and when he lost all of his endorsements -- but he found out that going on TV and confessing your sin and saying you're sorry doesn't make everything better -- he is still separated from his wife -- he has damaged their relationship to the point that it may never get repaired -- the Corinthians had learned what Tiger is learning now -- being sorry is not enough -- being sorry is just the first step
-- verse 10
10. Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.
-- you see, being sorry is the world's way of covering up problems -- it really comes down to this -- we want people to suffer for what they have done -- when a celebrity makes a really big mistake -- whether it's Tiger Woods or John Edwards or Michael Vick -- it's not enough for us to just have them admit they made a mistake -- we want them to suffer -- we want them to pay for what they have done the rest of their life -- that's the goal of worldly sorrow -- and that's the difference between worldly sorrow and Godly sorrow
-- Godly sorrow is constructive -- Paul intentionally hurt the Corinthians with his first letter, but he did it for a reason -- he wanted them to be sorry -- not so they would feel bad -- but so they would do something about it
-- in God's kingdom, the purpose of pointing out another's mistakes is not to just make them feel sorry about what they did, but to get them to the next step -- repentance
-- God uses sorrow to get us to repentance -- outside of the word, "faith," there is no other word in the Bible that is more important to us -- all of prophets in the Old Testament preached repentance to the nation of Israel -- John the Baptist made his career by preaching repentance in the wilderness -- and repentance was the sole message of Jesus -- "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand"
-- being sorry is not enough -- you have to repent, as well
-- that word, "repentance," is so misunderstood in our day and time -- repentance is not the same thing as feeling sorry -- repentance starts with sorry and goes on from there
-- to repent means that you know you've made a mistake -- you're sorry about what you have done -- you're telling God that you don't want to do it again and you're asking Him to forgive you of what you have done and to keep you from doing it again
-- repentance is turning around -- it's making a U-turn on a lifestyle of mistakes and sins and wrong decisions -- but, repentance is not just a matter of the will -- it's a matter of the heart
-- a lot of times, we get sorry about the sins in our lives -- we make a vow that we're not going to do them again -- but, after a little while, depending on how strong your will is, you find yourself going right back and making that same old mistake again -- that's not what we are talking about
-- to repent of your sins and mistakes means that you ask God to forgive you and deliver you from the burden of sin -- to repent of your sins means that you change your focus -- your focus is not on avoiding the mistake -- your focus is on following God
-- this seems like a minor thing, but it's not -- it's the heart of what repentance is all about -- let me give you an example -- I once watched a young girl learning to ride a bicycle -- what she was trying to do was ride down the lane to the end of the road and back -- simple task, right?
-- but, there was a big, green trashcan sitting out there next to the road -- and I told her, "Don't hit the trashcan" -- and from that moment on, that's all she could think about -- that was all she saw -- that big, green trashcan -- and, sure enough, she steered her bike right down that lane and ran smack dab into the side of that trashcan, both going and coming
-- if she had ignored the trashcan -- if she had focused on the end of the road and blocked out everything else, she wouldn't have made a mistake and she certainly wouldn't have made that same mistake twice
-- that's what we're talking about with repentance -- repentance means you shift your focus from the sin and the mistake to God -- you let God take care of it -- you let God remove that burden -- and you put your eyes on Him
-- in other words, when you sit down at the end of the day and think about what you have done, you don't review in your mind and say, "I did good -- I stayed away from this sin today" -- not, you review in your mind and say, "I did good -- I walked with God today"
-- if sin is still your focus, you haven't repented -- you haven't left it behind -- you haven't let God take care of it for you -- and if you're still focusing on it -- if you're still fixated on it -- then you're not letting God take control of your life -- you're still in charge
-- repentance means letting go and letting God take care of it -- repentance doesn't mean "Don't do this" -- repentance means, "Don't do this -- do this instead"
-- think about what the prophets and John the Baptist and Jesus all preached, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand" -- they didn't just focus on the sin and say nothing more -- they said, "Don't sin -- but live for God" -- shift your focus from sin to the kingdom of heaven -- shift your focus from sin to God
-- that is what repentance is -- it's a total change in heart and mind and will -- it's not just being sorry about a sin -- but, it's choosing to live a life of obedience for God
-- verse 11
11. See what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done. At every point you have proved yourselves to be innocent in this matter.
-- see how the focus of the Corinthians has changed? -- before, they were worried about the sin -- they focused on the sin and on avoiding the sin -- now, they're focused on God and the things of God -- Godly sorrow led them to repentance which led them to living lives for Jesus
-- that's why we're here -- that's what our churches are supposed to look like and to be like -- not fixated on sin, but on the grace and the abundant life that follows true repentance and reconciliation with the Father
III. Closing-- you know, we all have a problem with understanding and applying repentance in our lives -- I know that after I got saved, I kind of got stuck at the altar -- I became stagnant and didn't grow in Christ because I was worried about sin -- I focused on sin -- sin became for me that big green trashcan in my life -- and no matter what I did, I kept steering my bicycle right into it, because that's all I was focused on
-- I stayed in that pattern for 10 years until a friend convinced me to go to a Promise Keepers conference -- I didn't want to go -- I knew I was struggling -- I knew I wasn't doing right and I knew I wasn't following God's plan for my life -- I didn't want to go to a meeting like Promise Keepers and be reminded of just how bad I was -- but I ended up going anyway
-- and through the messages that weekend and through the fellowship with thousands of other Godly men -- I became convicted that what I was doing wasn't right -- I rededicated my life to Christ and asked for His forgiveness and His power to fix all the mistakes I kept making -- I asked Him to help me focus on walking towards Him rather than just trying to live life by avoiding sin -- and once I did that, my spiritual life began to grow
-- do I still sin? -- sure -- do I still make mistakes and allow things to come between me and God and between me and the others in my life? -- of course
-- but the difference now is that I recognize them and I carry them to the cross and I allow God to remove them from my life so they don't hamper my spiritual growth -- I let Godly sorrow over my sin lead me to repentance and the cross and fix my eyes on the prize and not the obstacles in my path
-- as I close today, I want to encourage you to embrace the life that God has given to you -- to embrace the life that God has planned for you
-- the Christian life is a daily decision to repent of our sins and to take up our cross and follow Jesus Christ -- this means that you let Christ rule in your life -- this means that you let the power of the Holy Spirit work in your life to keep your focus on God and to fix any mistakes or sins that are affecting your relationship with God and with others
-- everyone makes mistakes -- the difference is what we do with those mistakes -- do we continue to hold them up and let them trap us in a dead-end way of living -- or do we give them to Jesus and put them behind us, repenting of them and focusing on life with God?
-- this morning, as I close, I want you to encourage you to take a moment and consider your life and the mistakes you have made -- most of here are Christians -- think about where you are in your walk with Christ -- what are you focusing on? -- is it following Him or just avoiding sin? -- until we reach the point where our focus is on Christ and Christ alone, we will never be the people that God has called us to be
-- for those of you here who don't know Christ -- who are still weighed down by your sins and your burdens and your mistakes, then I want to introduce you to my friend Jesus -- Jesus wants to help -- He wants to take care of your problems -- He wants to fix your life -- but, you have to take the first step -- you have to believe in Him -- you have to admit your sins and confess them to Him -- and you have to repent and move forward in faith in Jesus
-- whatever you need to do today -- whatever steps you need to take -- I would invite you to do so as we close in prayer and as the last hymn is played -- as always, the altar is open for any who wish to come or who need special prayer for themselves or a loved one
-- let us pray
SERMON: STANDING FOR LIFE
24 January 2010
I. Introduction
-- turn in Bibles to Isaiah 58
1. "Shout it aloud, do not hold back. Raise your voice like a trumpet. Declare to my people their rebellion and to the house of Jacob their sins.
2. For day after day they seek me out; they seem eager to know my ways, as if they were a nation that does what is right and has not forsaken the commands of its God. They ask me for just decisions and seem eager for God to come near them.
3. `Why have we fasted,' they say, `and you have not seen it? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you have not noticed?' "Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please and exploit all your workers.
4. Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife, and in striking each other with wicked fists. You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high.
5. Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only a day for a man to humble himself? Is it only for bowing one's head like a reed and for lying on sackcloth and ashes? Is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the LORD?
6. "Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?
7. Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter-- when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
8. Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.
9. Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.
-- this Wednesday, President Obama will be called upon to deliver his first State of the Union address to the U.S. Congress since serving as President of the United States
-- this is the moment when our nation's highest elected official is called upon to look back over the events of last year and give a report on the current condition of the country and the progress made by his administration -- this speech is also used to outline the president's goals and agenda for the next calendar year, thus setting the tone and direction of the administration for the upcoming political year
-- when President Obama delivered the first major speech of his presidency -- his inaugural address last January -- he continued to speak on the theme of change that had swept him into office and he promised to restore America to its former greatness -- in that speech, President Obama made the following statement:
-- "The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness."
-- as President Obama comes before the nation this Wednesday to deliver his State of the Union address, what will he say his administration has accomplished in regards to this last statement?
-- as the people who call themselves Christians, what will we say we accomplished in regards to this challenge from the President?
-- can we, as a nation and as a Christian people, proclaim that all in our country are equal and free and have been given the "chance to pursue their full measure of happiness" or that conditions have even marginally improved over the past year?
II. Sanctity of Human Life
-- today we will be observing Sanctity of Human Life Sunday -- the one Sunday of the year when churches are encouraged to take a moment to observe and reflect on the sanctity of human life
-- I don't know what President Obama will say about the sanctity in life in his State of the Union address on Wednesday -- I do know that as we start this new year and as we look back on 2009, we find ourselves increasingly surrounded by a culture of death
-- abortion continues to stalk our children like a plague -- calls for physician-assisted euthanasia resound in the media and in the various health-care bills put forth by Congress -- and we find ourselves surrounded by the homeless, the hungry, the sick, and the poor
-- this past year has seen an erosion of pro-life laws and regulations -- and while the dreaded Freedom of Choice Act has not been passed into the law as promised earlier by President Obama, other anti-life changes have been enacted by our government
-- as Congressman Chris Smith pointed out: "in his first year in office, President Obama has moved swiftly to allow the use of U.S. taxpayer's money to fund abortion groups all over the world by rescinding the Mexico City Policy -- he has enabled China’s coercive population control program by funding the United Nations Population Fund -- and [he has] rolled back restrictions on funding for human embryo-destroying stem cell experimentation -- Obama is also in the process of altering federal regulations to roll back the nation’s existing conscience protection laws that protect the rights and freedoms of healthcare providers (such as Catholic hospitals, physicians and nurses) who are opposed to performing abortions on personal or moral grounds." [http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2010/jan/10012301.html]
-- without a doubt, the past year has not been kind to the unborn, the elderly, or the poor in our country or across the world
-- but, all of the blame does not lay with the federal government -- we, too, shoulder much of the responsibility for this erosion of life -- for far too long, the church has been a silent witness to a culture that has devalued human life
-- last year in America, over 250,000 unborn babies were legally killed -- 250,000 souls created and knit together by the Lord God Almighty Himself -- since the passage of Roe vs. Wade legalized abortion in 1972, almost 50 million babies have been killed in the United States alone -- and yet, by and large, the church is silent
-- sure, we have a few who are active in the pro-life movement -- a few who support crisis pregnancy centers -- a few who protest outside abortion clinics -- but where is the outcry for our children -- for God's children -- in the Christian community as a whole?
-- and it's not just the babies -- Kenneth Connor wrote that other than the unborn, "no single age group in our country suffers more from a diminished view of the value of human life than the elderly" -- in the eyes of many in this country, these souls -- the elderly -- the terminally ill -- the chronically afflicted -- the permanently bed-ridden -- the handicapped -- have lost any meaningful quality of life
-- several years ago, former Colorado Governor Richard Lamm declared that the elderly had a duty to die and get out of the way -- statements such as these allowed the question to be raised during the health care debates in the halls on Congress this past summer, "Why not dispose of them for their own and society's good? -- Wouldn't our resources be better spent on the more productive members of society?"
-- and what about those we pass every day who live under bridges in our communities and our cities? -- who is concerned about the plight of the poor and the homeless? -- who is reaching out to them?
-- according to the National Coalition for the Homeless, more than 3.5 million people experience homelessness during any given year in the United States alone, and that figure was before this current economic crisis hit -- this past year alone, we have seen hundreds of thousands of people lose their jobs and join the ranks of the homeless in our country -- this means that more than one percent of the people in the United States this year will be eating out of trash cans and sleeping under bridges
-- what happened to the church? -- what happened to the people that God called to care for the widows and the orphans and the poor? -- what happened to the people that Jesus called to care for the least of these? -- what have we been doing while death has been prevailing in our land?
-- perhaps this passage from the prophet Isaiah might shed some insight on these questions
III. Scripture Lesson -- Isaiah 58:1-9a
-- writing to the people of the nation of Israel, Isaiah was concerned about the hypocrisy of religion, especially the disconnect between the religious life and worship of the people of Israel and their daily lives -- although proclaiming to worship and follow God, the Israelites did not live out their faith in their daily lives, displaying lives of questionable ethical behavior and self-centeredness that ignored the plights of their neighbor
-- this passage occurs within the Book of Comfort, the section of the Book of Isaiah from Chapters 40 through 66 that follow Isaiah's devastating prophecies against Judah and the nations around them -- here in this section, Isaiah speaks of restoration and a return to God from a people exiled because of their idolatry and hypocrisy
-- let's look back at this passage again and see what God's words to the people of Israel say to us today in light of the sanctity of life
-- verse 1
1. "Shout it aloud, do not hold back. Raise your voice like a trumpet. Declare to my people their rebellion and to the house of Jacob their sins.
-- the people of Israel have been asleep -- they have been slumbering in their worship -- going through the motions of religion without realizing that their hearts had drifted from God and from His commands -- and, so, God calls out to the nation of Israel -- telling Isaiah to shout His message to them -- telling Isaiah to raise his voice like a trumpet so that the nation might wake up and hear the word of God and be made aware of their rebellion and their sins
-- what will it take for the church today to wake up from our rebellion and sins? -- what will it take for us to hear the word of God and stir ourselves from our slumbering worship and into action in Christ's name on behalf of the unborn and the elderly and the poor in our midst?
-- Christ did not die on the cross so that we might meet together once a week to praise Him -- He did not die on the cross so that we could huddle together in church on Sundays while those around us suffer -- He died on the cross to redeem humanity -- to restore creation -- to repeal the curse
-- He died on the cross to build His church, so that we might change this world through Him
-- what will it take for us to hear that call from God again?
-- verse 2
2. For day after day they seek me out; they seem eager to know my ways, as if they were a nation that does what is right and has not forsaken the commands of its God. They ask me for just decisions and seem eager for God to come near them.
3. `Why have we fasted,' they say, `and you have not seen it? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you have not noticed?'
-- the people in Isaiah's day were going through the motions of religion -- they were gathering together as God commanded -- they were worshiping Him and fasting and following God's law -- but yet, their hearts were far from Him -- and when they sought Him through their practice of religion, God did not hear
-- God said that the people of Israel seemed eager to know about Him and His ways -- but they didn't know Him and they didn't follow His ways
-- for all their forms of godliness, they were failing to live out the life of faith as God desired -- there's a difference between knowing about God and knowing God -- there's a difference between knowing what God wants us to do and actually doing it -- and that's where the nation of Israel was failing -- that's where we are failing
-- we think God is happy with the form of religion -- but He wants more than lip-service -- He wants our hearts and our hands and our feet
-- look back at the second part of verse 3
3b. "Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please and exploit all your workers.
4. Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife, and in striking each other with wicked fists. You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high.
5. Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only a day for a man to humble himself? Is it only for bowing one's head like a reed and for lying on sackcloth and ashes? Is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the LORD?
-- religion in Isaiah's day had become self-centered instead of God-centered -- it had become a matter of practice and duty rather than a means of communing with God
-- God used the example of fasting to make His point -- the people were following the letter of the law -- they were fasting as commanded, but their hearts were not following their actions -- for them, to fast was a means to an end -- it was the way to get from God what they wanted -- "If I fast," they thought, "then God will hear my prayers and will give me what I desire" -- they were treating God as a great genie in the sky who grants wishes because his lamp is rubbed or as a vending machine that was forced to respond if they put in the right amount of religious activity
-- we do the same thing, don't we? -- "If I come to church, then God will hear me" -- "If I give an offering today, then God will answer my prayer" -- "If I read my Bible, then God will give me what I want"
-- but, God says here, "It's not about what you do -- it's about who you are -- You can't fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high -- you can't just come to Me one day a week and think that means we have a relationship -- you can't pretend to be holy and then turn around in the next moment and fight and quarrel with each other"
-- that's not religion that is acceptable to God -- that's not worship that He finds pleasing
-- so, what does please God? -- what does He truly desire from us?
-- verse 6
6. "Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?
7. Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter-- when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
-- what does God expect from us? -- to loose the bonds of injustice and wickedness -- to set the people free from evil -- to share our food with the hungry -- to provide support to the homeless and the poor -- to not turn away from our own flesh and blood -- whether that is our elderly or our unborn
-- how did President Obama put it -- "to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness."
-- God is not interested so much in our forms of religion -- in whether we attend church and read the Bible and pray and follow the letter of the law -- God is interested in our hearts -- do we have a heart for Him every moment of every day and not just when we gather for one hour on Sunday? -- do we have a heart for His people -- for the people that He died for -- the poor and the homeless -- the oppressed and the weary -- the elderly and the unborn?
-- God doesn't want our promises -- He wants our faith to be lived out in action
-- verse 8
8. Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.
9. Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.
-- when we live lives of faith instead of just going through the motions, God promises healing and restoration -- when we are seeking to do His will on earth, then God promises His glory and His power will be with us -- when we are living righteous lives in His name, then God tells us that His light will break forth like the dawn and will bring about a new day in our hearts and in our homes and in our country
-- this promise that God makes to us and to the Israelites here is similar to that of 2 Chronicles 7:14 -- "if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. "
-- it all begins with us -- we must hear the call of God in our lives -- we must know God and we must show God to others -- we must care for the poor and the helpless -- we must speak life and hope to the hopeless -- we must stand up for those without a voice in our communities
-- and, if we do that, God promises to hear our cries and to heal and restore our land
IV. Closing
-- on Wednesday, President Obama will be presenting the State of the Union to the nation
-- if you were called on to present the state of your heart or the state of the church to God, what would you say?
-- are we doing what God has called us to do in regards to protecting and preserving the sanctity of life in this country?
-- or are we sleeping in our pews? -- are we slumbering while those around us suffer? -- are we keeping our light hidden in a basket while the world grows darker day by day?
-- as we close today, let us pray that God gives us ears to hear His voice -- that He gives us a heart that responds to Him and to the needs of those around us -- and that He empowers our hands and our feet and our voices that we might stand up and make a difference in this country in 2010
-- let us pray
I. Introduction
-- turn in Bibles to Isaiah 58
1. "Shout it aloud, do not hold back. Raise your voice like a trumpet. Declare to my people their rebellion and to the house of Jacob their sins.
2. For day after day they seek me out; they seem eager to know my ways, as if they were a nation that does what is right and has not forsaken the commands of its God. They ask me for just decisions and seem eager for God to come near them.
3. `Why have we fasted,' they say, `and you have not seen it? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you have not noticed?' "Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please and exploit all your workers.
4. Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife, and in striking each other with wicked fists. You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high.
5. Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only a day for a man to humble himself? Is it only for bowing one's head like a reed and for lying on sackcloth and ashes? Is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the LORD?
6. "Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?
7. Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter-- when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
8. Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.
9. Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.
-- this Wednesday, President Obama will be called upon to deliver his first State of the Union address to the U.S. Congress since serving as President of the United States
-- this is the moment when our nation's highest elected official is called upon to look back over the events of last year and give a report on the current condition of the country and the progress made by his administration -- this speech is also used to outline the president's goals and agenda for the next calendar year, thus setting the tone and direction of the administration for the upcoming political year
-- when President Obama delivered the first major speech of his presidency -- his inaugural address last January -- he continued to speak on the theme of change that had swept him into office and he promised to restore America to its former greatness -- in that speech, President Obama made the following statement:
-- "The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness."
-- as President Obama comes before the nation this Wednesday to deliver his State of the Union address, what will he say his administration has accomplished in regards to this last statement?
-- as the people who call themselves Christians, what will we say we accomplished in regards to this challenge from the President?
-- can we, as a nation and as a Christian people, proclaim that all in our country are equal and free and have been given the "chance to pursue their full measure of happiness" or that conditions have even marginally improved over the past year?
II. Sanctity of Human Life
-- today we will be observing Sanctity of Human Life Sunday -- the one Sunday of the year when churches are encouraged to take a moment to observe and reflect on the sanctity of human life
-- I don't know what President Obama will say about the sanctity in life in his State of the Union address on Wednesday -- I do know that as we start this new year and as we look back on 2009, we find ourselves increasingly surrounded by a culture of death
-- abortion continues to stalk our children like a plague -- calls for physician-assisted euthanasia resound in the media and in the various health-care bills put forth by Congress -- and we find ourselves surrounded by the homeless, the hungry, the sick, and the poor
-- this past year has seen an erosion of pro-life laws and regulations -- and while the dreaded Freedom of Choice Act has not been passed into the law as promised earlier by President Obama, other anti-life changes have been enacted by our government
-- as Congressman Chris Smith pointed out: "in his first year in office, President Obama has moved swiftly to allow the use of U.S. taxpayer's money to fund abortion groups all over the world by rescinding the Mexico City Policy -- he has enabled China’s coercive population control program by funding the United Nations Population Fund -- and [he has] rolled back restrictions on funding for human embryo-destroying stem cell experimentation -- Obama is also in the process of altering federal regulations to roll back the nation’s existing conscience protection laws that protect the rights and freedoms of healthcare providers (such as Catholic hospitals, physicians and nurses) who are opposed to performing abortions on personal or moral grounds." [http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2010/jan/10012301.html]
-- without a doubt, the past year has not been kind to the unborn, the elderly, or the poor in our country or across the world
-- but, all of the blame does not lay with the federal government -- we, too, shoulder much of the responsibility for this erosion of life -- for far too long, the church has been a silent witness to a culture that has devalued human life
-- last year in America, over 250,000 unborn babies were legally killed -- 250,000 souls created and knit together by the Lord God Almighty Himself -- since the passage of Roe vs. Wade legalized abortion in 1972, almost 50 million babies have been killed in the United States alone -- and yet, by and large, the church is silent
-- sure, we have a few who are active in the pro-life movement -- a few who support crisis pregnancy centers -- a few who protest outside abortion clinics -- but where is the outcry for our children -- for God's children -- in the Christian community as a whole?
-- and it's not just the babies -- Kenneth Connor wrote that other than the unborn, "no single age group in our country suffers more from a diminished view of the value of human life than the elderly" -- in the eyes of many in this country, these souls -- the elderly -- the terminally ill -- the chronically afflicted -- the permanently bed-ridden -- the handicapped -- have lost any meaningful quality of life
-- several years ago, former Colorado Governor Richard Lamm declared that the elderly had a duty to die and get out of the way -- statements such as these allowed the question to be raised during the health care debates in the halls on Congress this past summer, "Why not dispose of them for their own and society's good? -- Wouldn't our resources be better spent on the more productive members of society?"
-- and what about those we pass every day who live under bridges in our communities and our cities? -- who is concerned about the plight of the poor and the homeless? -- who is reaching out to them?
-- according to the National Coalition for the Homeless, more than 3.5 million people experience homelessness during any given year in the United States alone, and that figure was before this current economic crisis hit -- this past year alone, we have seen hundreds of thousands of people lose their jobs and join the ranks of the homeless in our country -- this means that more than one percent of the people in the United States this year will be eating out of trash cans and sleeping under bridges
-- what happened to the church? -- what happened to the people that God called to care for the widows and the orphans and the poor? -- what happened to the people that Jesus called to care for the least of these? -- what have we been doing while death has been prevailing in our land?
-- perhaps this passage from the prophet Isaiah might shed some insight on these questions
III. Scripture Lesson -- Isaiah 58:1-9a
-- writing to the people of the nation of Israel, Isaiah was concerned about the hypocrisy of religion, especially the disconnect between the religious life and worship of the people of Israel and their daily lives -- although proclaiming to worship and follow God, the Israelites did not live out their faith in their daily lives, displaying lives of questionable ethical behavior and self-centeredness that ignored the plights of their neighbor
-- this passage occurs within the Book of Comfort, the section of the Book of Isaiah from Chapters 40 through 66 that follow Isaiah's devastating prophecies against Judah and the nations around them -- here in this section, Isaiah speaks of restoration and a return to God from a people exiled because of their idolatry and hypocrisy
-- let's look back at this passage again and see what God's words to the people of Israel say to us today in light of the sanctity of life
-- verse 1
1. "Shout it aloud, do not hold back. Raise your voice like a trumpet. Declare to my people their rebellion and to the house of Jacob their sins.
-- the people of Israel have been asleep -- they have been slumbering in their worship -- going through the motions of religion without realizing that their hearts had drifted from God and from His commands -- and, so, God calls out to the nation of Israel -- telling Isaiah to shout His message to them -- telling Isaiah to raise his voice like a trumpet so that the nation might wake up and hear the word of God and be made aware of their rebellion and their sins
-- what will it take for the church today to wake up from our rebellion and sins? -- what will it take for us to hear the word of God and stir ourselves from our slumbering worship and into action in Christ's name on behalf of the unborn and the elderly and the poor in our midst?
-- Christ did not die on the cross so that we might meet together once a week to praise Him -- He did not die on the cross so that we could huddle together in church on Sundays while those around us suffer -- He died on the cross to redeem humanity -- to restore creation -- to repeal the curse
-- He died on the cross to build His church, so that we might change this world through Him
-- what will it take for us to hear that call from God again?
-- verse 2
2. For day after day they seek me out; they seem eager to know my ways, as if they were a nation that does what is right and has not forsaken the commands of its God. They ask me for just decisions and seem eager for God to come near them.
3. `Why have we fasted,' they say, `and you have not seen it? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you have not noticed?'
-- the people in Isaiah's day were going through the motions of religion -- they were gathering together as God commanded -- they were worshiping Him and fasting and following God's law -- but yet, their hearts were far from Him -- and when they sought Him through their practice of religion, God did not hear
-- God said that the people of Israel seemed eager to know about Him and His ways -- but they didn't know Him and they didn't follow His ways
-- for all their forms of godliness, they were failing to live out the life of faith as God desired -- there's a difference between knowing about God and knowing God -- there's a difference between knowing what God wants us to do and actually doing it -- and that's where the nation of Israel was failing -- that's where we are failing
-- we think God is happy with the form of religion -- but He wants more than lip-service -- He wants our hearts and our hands and our feet
-- look back at the second part of verse 3
3b. "Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please and exploit all your workers.
4. Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife, and in striking each other with wicked fists. You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high.
5. Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only a day for a man to humble himself? Is it only for bowing one's head like a reed and for lying on sackcloth and ashes? Is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the LORD?
-- religion in Isaiah's day had become self-centered instead of God-centered -- it had become a matter of practice and duty rather than a means of communing with God
-- God used the example of fasting to make His point -- the people were following the letter of the law -- they were fasting as commanded, but their hearts were not following their actions -- for them, to fast was a means to an end -- it was the way to get from God what they wanted -- "If I fast," they thought, "then God will hear my prayers and will give me what I desire" -- they were treating God as a great genie in the sky who grants wishes because his lamp is rubbed or as a vending machine that was forced to respond if they put in the right amount of religious activity
-- we do the same thing, don't we? -- "If I come to church, then God will hear me" -- "If I give an offering today, then God will answer my prayer" -- "If I read my Bible, then God will give me what I want"
-- but, God says here, "It's not about what you do -- it's about who you are -- You can't fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high -- you can't just come to Me one day a week and think that means we have a relationship -- you can't pretend to be holy and then turn around in the next moment and fight and quarrel with each other"
-- that's not religion that is acceptable to God -- that's not worship that He finds pleasing
-- so, what does please God? -- what does He truly desire from us?
-- verse 6
6. "Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?
7. Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter-- when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
-- what does God expect from us? -- to loose the bonds of injustice and wickedness -- to set the people free from evil -- to share our food with the hungry -- to provide support to the homeless and the poor -- to not turn away from our own flesh and blood -- whether that is our elderly or our unborn
-- how did President Obama put it -- "to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness."
-- God is not interested so much in our forms of religion -- in whether we attend church and read the Bible and pray and follow the letter of the law -- God is interested in our hearts -- do we have a heart for Him every moment of every day and not just when we gather for one hour on Sunday? -- do we have a heart for His people -- for the people that He died for -- the poor and the homeless -- the oppressed and the weary -- the elderly and the unborn?
-- God doesn't want our promises -- He wants our faith to be lived out in action
-- verse 8
8. Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.
9. Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.
-- when we live lives of faith instead of just going through the motions, God promises healing and restoration -- when we are seeking to do His will on earth, then God promises His glory and His power will be with us -- when we are living righteous lives in His name, then God tells us that His light will break forth like the dawn and will bring about a new day in our hearts and in our homes and in our country
-- this promise that God makes to us and to the Israelites here is similar to that of 2 Chronicles 7:14 -- "if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. "
-- it all begins with us -- we must hear the call of God in our lives -- we must know God and we must show God to others -- we must care for the poor and the helpless -- we must speak life and hope to the hopeless -- we must stand up for those without a voice in our communities
-- and, if we do that, God promises to hear our cries and to heal and restore our land
IV. Closing
-- on Wednesday, President Obama will be presenting the State of the Union to the nation
-- if you were called on to present the state of your heart or the state of the church to God, what would you say?
-- are we doing what God has called us to do in regards to protecting and preserving the sanctity of life in this country?
-- or are we sleeping in our pews? -- are we slumbering while those around us suffer? -- are we keeping our light hidden in a basket while the world grows darker day by day?
-- as we close today, let us pray that God gives us ears to hear His voice -- that He gives us a heart that responds to Him and to the needs of those around us -- and that He empowers our hands and our feet and our voices that we might stand up and make a difference in this country in 2010
-- let us pray
SERMON: THE PUNISHMENT OF GOD?
17 January 2010
I. Introduction
-- turn in Bibles to Luke 13
1. Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices.
2. Jesus answered, "Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way?
3. I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.
4. Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them--do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem?
5. I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish."
-- as I'm sure most of you are aware, on Tuesday of this week at 4:53 pm, a powerful earthquake hit the island country of Haiti, causing extensive damage to the capital city of Port-au-Prince -- this earthquake, though not as large as the one that caused the tsunami in Indonesia in 2004, has proven to be more devastating because the nation simply was not prepared for it
-- by all estimates, Haiti is one of the world's poorest countries -- it's people lived in squalor and got by on about $1 per day -- their homes, if they had homes, were not constructed to withstand the effects of a tremor of this magnitude -- in fact, very little in this island country was built strong enough to withstand such a devastating quake
-- we have had a problem getting accurate information from Haiti this week because the quake destroyed most of our means of communication, but as international relief efforts began and our military hit the ground, we began to see images here of the aftermath of the quake
-- Port-au-Prince has basically been destroyed -- the Presidential Palace -- the sea ports that were the main point of commerce for the nation -- the motels and the businesses in the capital city -- all destroyed -- and, on top of the physical destruction, we hear estimates that the number of dead from the quake may range from 50,000 to almost 500,000 -- at this point, no one knows
II. The Question
-- in the aftermath of a natural disaster like this, questions always arise -- people always want to know "Why? -- Why do such things happen? -- How can there be such evil in the world? -- Where is God in the midst of this pain and suffering? -- Why has God allowed this to happen?"
-- these questions have haunted mankind from the beginning of time -- we asked them after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 -- we asked them after the tsunami in 2004 -- we asked them after the events of September 11th, 2001 -- and we continue to ask them when natural disasters such as this earthquake in Haiti occur or when personal tragedies affect our own lives
-- as the Bible shows, these questions are not unique -- ever since the dawn of time, men and women have looked to the heavens and asked these very same questions as they sought solace for the pain and suffering in their lives
-- the technical term for questions such as these is "theodicy" -- it comes from two Greek words that mean "God" and "justice" -- but it comes down to this -- how do we reconcile the presence of evil in this world and in our lives if God is good and right and just and loving?
-- or, to put it another way, "Why do bad things happen to good people?" -- How can an all-knowing -- all-powerful -- all-loving God stand idly by and allow the devastation that an earthquake brings?"
-- people are always quick to come up with answers for questions like this -- some point to disasters such as these and proclaim this is proof there is no God or, if there is a God, He is powerless to prevent such things from occurring -- others offer different insights, such as Pat Robertson
-- for those who haven't heard, the televangelist Pat Robertson, the founder of Christian Broadcasting Network and the American Center for Law and Justice and one-time presidential candidate, proclaimed that this earthquake was the result of the Haitian people's pact with the devil made by the country's founders in exchange for freedom from French control
-- without going into great detail on Haitian history, Robertson was referring to a voodoo ritual led by Dutty Boukman in the early days of the Haitian revolution when he gathered the rebelling slaves together in a pact “to throw away the image of the god of the whites who thirsts for our tears and listen to the voice of liberty that speaks in the hearts of all of us.” -- this pact was sealed by drinking the blood of a pig that Boukman killed on an altar in the Caiman Woods and is typically regarded as the moment when Haiti rejected the God of the Bible for the gods of voodoo
-- so, based on this, Pat Robertson has asserted that the earthquake of this week is God's judgment on the nation of Haiti for their sins and their continuing rejection of Him
-- is Pat Robertson right? -- is God, in 2010, punishing one million people because Boukman sacrificed a pig and made a voodoo pact with the devil in 1791?
-- if not, then how would answer those who are seeking answers? -- how would you explain the presence of evil and sin and the devastation of natural disasters in light of the God that we know through Jesus?
-- while we may never be able to fully answer these questions or to explain why bad things such as this earthquake in Haiti occur, the Bible does give us insights into how these situations arise and how God uses them in our lives
III. God Did It
-- we find the first of these insights in Luke 13 -- if you would, look back at verse 1
1. Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices.
-- as Jesus was teaching the people, someone in the crowd told him the story about a tragedy that had recently occurred in the temple -- a group of Galilean Jews had gathered together to worship in the temple and Pontius Pilate, the Roman Governor over Jerusalem, had gone into the holy temple of God and had shed their blood in that very place -- mixing their blood with the blood of the sacrifice they were offering
-- I think this story was told to Jesus because the person who shared it thought it proved exactly what Jesus had been trying to teach earlier in the Book of Luke -- in other words, the person was trying to say, "Jesus, you're right -- the ungodly will suffer and will be punished by God when He comes -- just look at what happened to these Galileans -- they were sinners and they paid for their sins with their death"
-- this is the same argument that Pat Robertson was making this week about the people of Haiti -- in essence, Robertson was saying that the people of Haiti were sinners -- they had rejected the God of the Bible and had made a pact with the devil -- and because of their sins, God was punishing them -- because of their sins, God allowed this earthquake to fall on them and destroy their capital city
-- we heard the same argument made both during Katrina and the Indonesian tsunami -- I heard preachers say in the aftermath of Katrina that the hurricane hit New Orleans because God was punishing the city for its sin -- along those same lines, I heard others say that the tsunami hit Indonesia because the country has been allowing the persecution of Christians by Muslim extremists
-- people who make this assertion point to the story of Sodom and Gomorrah from the Book of Genesis -- this is proof, they say, that God punishes cities and nations for their sin -- that He brings about the total destruction and annihilation of people because of their ungodly behavior
-- but, is that true? -- can we look at all of these disasters -- whether natural or man-caused -- and say that they are God's righteous judgment on sinners?
-- look at verse 2
2. Jesus answered, "Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way?
3. I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.
-- when Pat Robertson made his statement earlier this week about the earthquake in Haiti being the punishment of God, he was basically saying that they were singled out for punishment because they were worse sinners than him
-- just like the people who told Jesus this story about the Galileans, Robertson missed Jesus' point in His earlier teachings -- yes, the ungodly -- the unrighteous -- the sinners will be punished -- but we are all ungodly and unrighteous by nature -- and we will stay that way until we turn from our sins and repent of all that we have done wrong -- Jesus clarified His teaching by saying that "these Galileans weren't worse sinners than any others -- everyone is a sinner and deserves to die"
-- as it says in Romans 3:23, "all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God" -- it is only through the grace of God that any of us are rescued from the bondage of sin and the penalty of death
-- in other words, the message of the Bible is that we are all sinners and we all have to face the penalty for our sins -- I am no better than you -- you are no better than me -- and certainly Pat Robertson is no better than the people of Haiti because a sin is a sin is a sin -- in God's kingdom, the sin of a white lie is just as deserving of death as the sin of rejecting Jesus
-- however, the overall message of the Bible is God is going to do everything He can to bring us to the point of salvation -- He doesn't want us to die in our sins -- He doesn't want us to end up in Hell -- in fact, He cares so much for us that He sent Jesus to die in our place so that we might not suffer eternal death and separation from Him
-- in 1 Timothy 2:3-4 we read that it is God's will that everyone would be saved and would come to know the truth through His Son Jesus Christ and in John 3:16 we read that God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son into the world to save the world
-- in other words, God is not the vengeful, spiteful, vindictive God that Robertson and others portray Him to be -- but He is a God who cares so much that He is willing to die in our place so that we might be saved
-- this is the point that Jesus was trying to make to the people who were around Him -- and just to make sure they understood, Jesus gave them another illustration
-- verse 4
4. Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them--do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem?
5. I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish."
-- according to the historians, these Jews who died when the tower of Siloam fell on them were probably working for the Romans -- Siloam was a suburb of Jerusalem, and the Romans were digging aqueducts through the area to transport water -- historians believe that these Jews might have been killed as they worked on the aqueduct because they weakened the foundation of the tower, causing it to collapse and fall on them -- many Jews considered these men sinners because they aligned themselves with the Romans and worked for them
-- once again, Jesus is pointing out that regardless of how you view those around you -- their sins are no greater than yours or anyone else's -- all of us are sinners -- all of us are condemned to death -- and it is only through repentance and the acceptance of Christ's forgiveness that we are saved from a fate worse than physical death
-- these verses point to our calling as Christians in light of natural disasters such as these -- as Christians, we are not called to pronounce judgment on others -- we are not called to exclaim with glee that this came on them because of their sinful natures
-- instead, we are called to speak to the world the good news of Jesus Christ -- to remind them that we are all sinners in need of a Savior -- and to point the way to repentance and the forgiveness of sins by telling them about the Christ who came to die for them
-- did God send the earthquake to Haiti this week as divine punishment for their sins? -- I don't believe so -- I don't believe that aligns with what I know of God from the Bible
-- did God allow the earthquake to come to Haiti this week? -- certainly, but for what reason and what purpose we may never know -- one thing is certain, when God allows evil to come into our lives -- whether it is the evil of the world or the evil of man -- God works through the evil to touch our lives and to bring Himself glory
-- if you would, turn over to John 9 and let's look at verses 1-3
-- verse 1
1. As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth.
2. His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"
-- one day, as Jesus was walking through Jerusalem near the temple, He and His disciples happened upon a man who was blind -- His disciples looked at the man and saw his condition and immediately assumed that his blindness was because of sin
-- so they asked Jesus, "Why did this happen? Was it because of this man's sin or his parent's sin?" -- and look at Jesus' response
-- verse 3
3. "Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.
-- in other words, Jesus is saying, "The Father did not send this blindness to this man as a punishment for his sin -- The Father did not send this blindness to this man as a punishment for his parent's sin -- but the Father did allow this to happen because through the blindness, He would receive honor and glory"
-- bad things happen -- to individuals -- to families -- to cities -- to nations -- diseases and sicknesses come -- people have accidents and die -- terrorists fly planes into buildings -- the earth trembles and entire cities are devastated -- floods and hurricanes fill the streets with water
-- bad things happen, but they don't always come about because of individual sin -- they come about because we live in a fallen world where evil runs rampant -- where God's perfect, original creation has been corrupted and people get hurt as a result
-- sometimes God protects us from the evil around us -- but other times, He allows the earthquakes to come -- He allows the evil to fall in our lives and He allows us to suffer the consequences of our sins for two reasons
-- first, because of the reason Jesus spoke of here in verse 3 -- God allows the storms to come because it helps us to see His presence at work in the midst of the storm and because His name will be exalted and glorified as a result
-- but, there's another reason, too
-- if you would, turn over to Hebrews 12 and we'll end there
-- look down at verse 5
5. And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons: "My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,
6. because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son."
7. Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father?
8. If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons.
9. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live!
10. Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness.
11. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.
-- contrary to Pat Robertson’s assertions, sometimes God allows judgment and the consequences of our sins to fall on Christians -- on those who know Him and who have been saved according to His word
-- the Bible tells us that God brings His discipline in our lives to get our attention -- to let us know that we have strayed from His paths -- to remind us of His call to obedience and righteousness -- and to encourage us to make whatever changes we need to in our lives to get back on the straight and narrow
-- sometimes, when bad things happen, it is God's way of warning us about the danger we face through our sins and it is His way of trying to get us to willingly change and come back to Him
-- the writer of Hebrews makes that point clear here for us -- he tells us that just as an earthly father disciplines his children when they do wrong so that they will make better choices in the future, God disciplines us so that we will turn from our sins and make better choices so that we might live holy lives in Him
-- we like to say that the United States is a Christian nation -- that, unlike Haiti, the founders of this country dedicated themselves and this nation to God and pledged to follow Him and His ways -- could it be, then, that the devastation of Hurricane Katrina and the events of 9-11 were not the punishment of God on sinners but the loving discipline of the Father to get our attention and to get us to turn back to Him?
III. Closing
-- so, what can we say in closing in response to the inevitable questions that have arisen this week? -- "Why? -- Why do such things happen? -- How can there be such evil in the world? -- Where is God in the midst of this pain and suffering? -- Why has God allowed this to happen?"
-- what should be our response?
-- well, I think our first response should be to weep with those who are weeping and to mourn with those who are mourning
-- all of us should feel pain at the destruction of human life -- all of us should feel empathy towards those who have been hurt or displaced or left homeless and hopeless in the aftermath of this tragedy -- for we recognize that all humans are made in the image of God and we recognize the sanctity of all of these lives -- whether we are talking about the unborn or the elderly or the people in Haiti
-- secondly, I think we should we should never gloat over the misfortunes of others or assume that their pain and suffering somehow makes us superior to them -- we should not follow the path of the publican in the Bible who looked at the tax collector next to him and prayed, "Thank you, God, that I am not a sinner like him"
-- we should always remember that we are no different from anyone else around us -- we are all sinners in need of a Savior -- and if we have been saved and have received the forgiveness of sins, it is through no effort on our part but only the grace of God through Christ Jesus
-- third, if, as Pat Robertson asserts, the nation of Haiti is a nation of sinners who do not know the saving grace of Jesus, then we should seek forgiveness for our failure to spread His message -- Haiti is in our back yard -- it is within boating distance from the United States, from a nation that proclaims itself a Christian nation -- and, if we have done nothing to bring these people to Christ, we have a greater sin to atone for than the people who are suffering in the aftermath of the earthquake
-- we should never forget that Sodom was destroyed because God could not find 10 righteous people there -- because Lot had failed to witness to the truth of God to his neighbors
-- finally, I think that we should always use situations such as these to magnify and glorify the name of God -- we should use situations such as these to share the good news of Jesus -- to point people to the saving grace of the cross and the forgiveness of sins that Jesus offers -- we should be the hands and the feet and the voice of Jesus so that, in the midst of the suffering, those affected might truly say, "We have seen God"
I. Introduction
-- turn in Bibles to Luke 13
1. Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices.
2. Jesus answered, "Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way?
3. I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.
4. Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them--do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem?
5. I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish."
-- as I'm sure most of you are aware, on Tuesday of this week at 4:53 pm, a powerful earthquake hit the island country of Haiti, causing extensive damage to the capital city of Port-au-Prince -- this earthquake, though not as large as the one that caused the tsunami in Indonesia in 2004, has proven to be more devastating because the nation simply was not prepared for it
-- by all estimates, Haiti is one of the world's poorest countries -- it's people lived in squalor and got by on about $1 per day -- their homes, if they had homes, were not constructed to withstand the effects of a tremor of this magnitude -- in fact, very little in this island country was built strong enough to withstand such a devastating quake
-- we have had a problem getting accurate information from Haiti this week because the quake destroyed most of our means of communication, but as international relief efforts began and our military hit the ground, we began to see images here of the aftermath of the quake
-- Port-au-Prince has basically been destroyed -- the Presidential Palace -- the sea ports that were the main point of commerce for the nation -- the motels and the businesses in the capital city -- all destroyed -- and, on top of the physical destruction, we hear estimates that the number of dead from the quake may range from 50,000 to almost 500,000 -- at this point, no one knows
II. The Question
-- in the aftermath of a natural disaster like this, questions always arise -- people always want to know "Why? -- Why do such things happen? -- How can there be such evil in the world? -- Where is God in the midst of this pain and suffering? -- Why has God allowed this to happen?"
-- these questions have haunted mankind from the beginning of time -- we asked them after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 -- we asked them after the tsunami in 2004 -- we asked them after the events of September 11th, 2001 -- and we continue to ask them when natural disasters such as this earthquake in Haiti occur or when personal tragedies affect our own lives
-- as the Bible shows, these questions are not unique -- ever since the dawn of time, men and women have looked to the heavens and asked these very same questions as they sought solace for the pain and suffering in their lives
-- the technical term for questions such as these is "theodicy" -- it comes from two Greek words that mean "God" and "justice" -- but it comes down to this -- how do we reconcile the presence of evil in this world and in our lives if God is good and right and just and loving?
-- or, to put it another way, "Why do bad things happen to good people?" -- How can an all-knowing -- all-powerful -- all-loving God stand idly by and allow the devastation that an earthquake brings?"
-- people are always quick to come up with answers for questions like this -- some point to disasters such as these and proclaim this is proof there is no God or, if there is a God, He is powerless to prevent such things from occurring -- others offer different insights, such as Pat Robertson
-- for those who haven't heard, the televangelist Pat Robertson, the founder of Christian Broadcasting Network and the American Center for Law and Justice and one-time presidential candidate, proclaimed that this earthquake was the result of the Haitian people's pact with the devil made by the country's founders in exchange for freedom from French control
-- without going into great detail on Haitian history, Robertson was referring to a voodoo ritual led by Dutty Boukman in the early days of the Haitian revolution when he gathered the rebelling slaves together in a pact “to throw away the image of the god of the whites who thirsts for our tears and listen to the voice of liberty that speaks in the hearts of all of us.” -- this pact was sealed by drinking the blood of a pig that Boukman killed on an altar in the Caiman Woods and is typically regarded as the moment when Haiti rejected the God of the Bible for the gods of voodoo
-- so, based on this, Pat Robertson has asserted that the earthquake of this week is God's judgment on the nation of Haiti for their sins and their continuing rejection of Him
-- is Pat Robertson right? -- is God, in 2010, punishing one million people because Boukman sacrificed a pig and made a voodoo pact with the devil in 1791?
-- if not, then how would answer those who are seeking answers? -- how would you explain the presence of evil and sin and the devastation of natural disasters in light of the God that we know through Jesus?
-- while we may never be able to fully answer these questions or to explain why bad things such as this earthquake in Haiti occur, the Bible does give us insights into how these situations arise and how God uses them in our lives
III. God Did It
-- we find the first of these insights in Luke 13 -- if you would, look back at verse 1
1. Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices.
-- as Jesus was teaching the people, someone in the crowd told him the story about a tragedy that had recently occurred in the temple -- a group of Galilean Jews had gathered together to worship in the temple and Pontius Pilate, the Roman Governor over Jerusalem, had gone into the holy temple of God and had shed their blood in that very place -- mixing their blood with the blood of the sacrifice they were offering
-- I think this story was told to Jesus because the person who shared it thought it proved exactly what Jesus had been trying to teach earlier in the Book of Luke -- in other words, the person was trying to say, "Jesus, you're right -- the ungodly will suffer and will be punished by God when He comes -- just look at what happened to these Galileans -- they were sinners and they paid for their sins with their death"
-- this is the same argument that Pat Robertson was making this week about the people of Haiti -- in essence, Robertson was saying that the people of Haiti were sinners -- they had rejected the God of the Bible and had made a pact with the devil -- and because of their sins, God was punishing them -- because of their sins, God allowed this earthquake to fall on them and destroy their capital city
-- we heard the same argument made both during Katrina and the Indonesian tsunami -- I heard preachers say in the aftermath of Katrina that the hurricane hit New Orleans because God was punishing the city for its sin -- along those same lines, I heard others say that the tsunami hit Indonesia because the country has been allowing the persecution of Christians by Muslim extremists
-- people who make this assertion point to the story of Sodom and Gomorrah from the Book of Genesis -- this is proof, they say, that God punishes cities and nations for their sin -- that He brings about the total destruction and annihilation of people because of their ungodly behavior
-- but, is that true? -- can we look at all of these disasters -- whether natural or man-caused -- and say that they are God's righteous judgment on sinners?
-- look at verse 2
2. Jesus answered, "Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way?
3. I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.
-- when Pat Robertson made his statement earlier this week about the earthquake in Haiti being the punishment of God, he was basically saying that they were singled out for punishment because they were worse sinners than him
-- just like the people who told Jesus this story about the Galileans, Robertson missed Jesus' point in His earlier teachings -- yes, the ungodly -- the unrighteous -- the sinners will be punished -- but we are all ungodly and unrighteous by nature -- and we will stay that way until we turn from our sins and repent of all that we have done wrong -- Jesus clarified His teaching by saying that "these Galileans weren't worse sinners than any others -- everyone is a sinner and deserves to die"
-- as it says in Romans 3:23, "all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God" -- it is only through the grace of God that any of us are rescued from the bondage of sin and the penalty of death
-- in other words, the message of the Bible is that we are all sinners and we all have to face the penalty for our sins -- I am no better than you -- you are no better than me -- and certainly Pat Robertson is no better than the people of Haiti because a sin is a sin is a sin -- in God's kingdom, the sin of a white lie is just as deserving of death as the sin of rejecting Jesus
-- however, the overall message of the Bible is God is going to do everything He can to bring us to the point of salvation -- He doesn't want us to die in our sins -- He doesn't want us to end up in Hell -- in fact, He cares so much for us that He sent Jesus to die in our place so that we might not suffer eternal death and separation from Him
-- in 1 Timothy 2:3-4 we read that it is God's will that everyone would be saved and would come to know the truth through His Son Jesus Christ and in John 3:16 we read that God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son into the world to save the world
-- in other words, God is not the vengeful, spiteful, vindictive God that Robertson and others portray Him to be -- but He is a God who cares so much that He is willing to die in our place so that we might be saved
-- this is the point that Jesus was trying to make to the people who were around Him -- and just to make sure they understood, Jesus gave them another illustration
-- verse 4
4. Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them--do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem?
5. I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish."
-- according to the historians, these Jews who died when the tower of Siloam fell on them were probably working for the Romans -- Siloam was a suburb of Jerusalem, and the Romans were digging aqueducts through the area to transport water -- historians believe that these Jews might have been killed as they worked on the aqueduct because they weakened the foundation of the tower, causing it to collapse and fall on them -- many Jews considered these men sinners because they aligned themselves with the Romans and worked for them
-- once again, Jesus is pointing out that regardless of how you view those around you -- their sins are no greater than yours or anyone else's -- all of us are sinners -- all of us are condemned to death -- and it is only through repentance and the acceptance of Christ's forgiveness that we are saved from a fate worse than physical death
-- these verses point to our calling as Christians in light of natural disasters such as these -- as Christians, we are not called to pronounce judgment on others -- we are not called to exclaim with glee that this came on them because of their sinful natures
-- instead, we are called to speak to the world the good news of Jesus Christ -- to remind them that we are all sinners in need of a Savior -- and to point the way to repentance and the forgiveness of sins by telling them about the Christ who came to die for them
-- did God send the earthquake to Haiti this week as divine punishment for their sins? -- I don't believe so -- I don't believe that aligns with what I know of God from the Bible
-- did God allow the earthquake to come to Haiti this week? -- certainly, but for what reason and what purpose we may never know -- one thing is certain, when God allows evil to come into our lives -- whether it is the evil of the world or the evil of man -- God works through the evil to touch our lives and to bring Himself glory
-- if you would, turn over to John 9 and let's look at verses 1-3
-- verse 1
1. As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth.
2. His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"
-- one day, as Jesus was walking through Jerusalem near the temple, He and His disciples happened upon a man who was blind -- His disciples looked at the man and saw his condition and immediately assumed that his blindness was because of sin
-- so they asked Jesus, "Why did this happen? Was it because of this man's sin or his parent's sin?" -- and look at Jesus' response
-- verse 3
3. "Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.
-- in other words, Jesus is saying, "The Father did not send this blindness to this man as a punishment for his sin -- The Father did not send this blindness to this man as a punishment for his parent's sin -- but the Father did allow this to happen because through the blindness, He would receive honor and glory"
-- bad things happen -- to individuals -- to families -- to cities -- to nations -- diseases and sicknesses come -- people have accidents and die -- terrorists fly planes into buildings -- the earth trembles and entire cities are devastated -- floods and hurricanes fill the streets with water
-- bad things happen, but they don't always come about because of individual sin -- they come about because we live in a fallen world where evil runs rampant -- where God's perfect, original creation has been corrupted and people get hurt as a result
-- sometimes God protects us from the evil around us -- but other times, He allows the earthquakes to come -- He allows the evil to fall in our lives and He allows us to suffer the consequences of our sins for two reasons
-- first, because of the reason Jesus spoke of here in verse 3 -- God allows the storms to come because it helps us to see His presence at work in the midst of the storm and because His name will be exalted and glorified as a result
-- but, there's another reason, too
-- if you would, turn over to Hebrews 12 and we'll end there
-- look down at verse 5
5. And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons: "My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,
6. because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son."
7. Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father?
8. If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons.
9. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live!
10. Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness.
11. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.
-- contrary to Pat Robertson’s assertions, sometimes God allows judgment and the consequences of our sins to fall on Christians -- on those who know Him and who have been saved according to His word
-- the Bible tells us that God brings His discipline in our lives to get our attention -- to let us know that we have strayed from His paths -- to remind us of His call to obedience and righteousness -- and to encourage us to make whatever changes we need to in our lives to get back on the straight and narrow
-- sometimes, when bad things happen, it is God's way of warning us about the danger we face through our sins and it is His way of trying to get us to willingly change and come back to Him
-- the writer of Hebrews makes that point clear here for us -- he tells us that just as an earthly father disciplines his children when they do wrong so that they will make better choices in the future, God disciplines us so that we will turn from our sins and make better choices so that we might live holy lives in Him
-- we like to say that the United States is a Christian nation -- that, unlike Haiti, the founders of this country dedicated themselves and this nation to God and pledged to follow Him and His ways -- could it be, then, that the devastation of Hurricane Katrina and the events of 9-11 were not the punishment of God on sinners but the loving discipline of the Father to get our attention and to get us to turn back to Him?
III. Closing
-- so, what can we say in closing in response to the inevitable questions that have arisen this week? -- "Why? -- Why do such things happen? -- How can there be such evil in the world? -- Where is God in the midst of this pain and suffering? -- Why has God allowed this to happen?"
-- what should be our response?
-- well, I think our first response should be to weep with those who are weeping and to mourn with those who are mourning
-- all of us should feel pain at the destruction of human life -- all of us should feel empathy towards those who have been hurt or displaced or left homeless and hopeless in the aftermath of this tragedy -- for we recognize that all humans are made in the image of God and we recognize the sanctity of all of these lives -- whether we are talking about the unborn or the elderly or the people in Haiti
-- secondly, I think we should we should never gloat over the misfortunes of others or assume that their pain and suffering somehow makes us superior to them -- we should not follow the path of the publican in the Bible who looked at the tax collector next to him and prayed, "Thank you, God, that I am not a sinner like him"
-- we should always remember that we are no different from anyone else around us -- we are all sinners in need of a Savior -- and if we have been saved and have received the forgiveness of sins, it is through no effort on our part but only the grace of God through Christ Jesus
-- third, if, as Pat Robertson asserts, the nation of Haiti is a nation of sinners who do not know the saving grace of Jesus, then we should seek forgiveness for our failure to spread His message -- Haiti is in our back yard -- it is within boating distance from the United States, from a nation that proclaims itself a Christian nation -- and, if we have done nothing to bring these people to Christ, we have a greater sin to atone for than the people who are suffering in the aftermath of the earthquake
-- we should never forget that Sodom was destroyed because God could not find 10 righteous people there -- because Lot had failed to witness to the truth of God to his neighbors
-- finally, I think that we should always use situations such as these to magnify and glorify the name of God -- we should use situations such as these to share the good news of Jesus -- to point people to the saving grace of the cross and the forgiveness of sins that Jesus offers -- we should be the hands and the feet and the voice of Jesus so that, in the midst of the suffering, those affected might truly say, "We have seen God"
SERMON: RELIGION OR RELATIONSHIP?
10 January 2010
I. Introduction
-- turn in Bibles to John 3
1. Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council.
2. He came to Jesus at night and said, "Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him."
3. In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again. "
4. "How can a man be born when he is old?" Nicodemus asked. "Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born!"
5. Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.
6. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.
7. You should not be surprised at my saying, `You must be born again.'
-- Wayne Cordeiro, pastor of New Hope Christian Fellowship O'ahu in Honolulu, Hawaii, told the story about the time some people in his church gave him and his wife a gift card to a 4-star restaurant in their town
-- being a pastor and living on a pastor's salary, this was not their usual dining experience -- never in their life had they taken a meal at an expensive 4-star restaurant -- so they were very excited about this generous gift
-- they made arrangements and scheduled a free evening -- they dressed up in their finest clothes -- Wayne's wife put on her best pearls -- Wayne even washed and waxed his car because he knew the restaurant had valet parking and he wanted everything to be just right -- the night finally came, and both of them were excited to be going out on the town in such a way
-- when they got to the restaurant, they handed the keys to the valet and strolled in to this ritzy restaurant for their first fine dining experience -- the maiterde' seated them at a nice, candlelit table overlooking a lagoon adjacent to a moonlit bay there in Hawaii -- the evening was turning out better than they could ever have imagined
-- since their meal was covered by the generous gift from their members, Wayne and his wife didn't worry about price, but ordered the most expensive items on the menu -- the food arrived and it was just as they had anticipated -- it was a most magical evening
-- when the bill came, Wayne turned to his wife and said, "Honey, hand me the gift card" -- She replied, "I don't have the gift card -- I thought you brought it." -- Wayne said, "You have to have it. You're supposed to have it. You're the wife!" -- but she replied, "I don't have it."
-- Wayne relayed what was going through his mind at that moment -- and I quote: "I thought, "We are in deep yogurt -- Here we are -- We look rich -- we act rich -- we even smell rich -- But if we don't have that [card], it invalidates everything"
-- There are times when can be just like Wayne and his wife in our spiritual lives -- we can look holy -- we can act holy -- we can smell holy -- But without a relationship with the Lord, we've forgotten something -- because it's the relationship that validates everything else"
-- that's what Jesus was talking about in His conversation with Nicodemus in the passage that we opened with -- and it's what caused Him to say in Matthew 7:21-23. "Not everyone who says to me, `Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. -- Many will say to me on that day, `Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' -- Then I will tell them plainly, `I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'"
-- the most important thing is not what we say or do or even look like on the surface -- the most important thing is the relationship that we have with Jesus
II. Scripture Lesson (John 3:1-11)
-- so, let's turn to this passage here at the start of John 3 and let's see what we can learn from Jesus' talk with Nicodemus
-- look back at verse 1
1. Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council.
-- before we go any further, let's talk for a moment about Nicodemus -- who was Nicodemus?
-- John tells us here that Nicodemus was a Pharisee -- you know, right away,when I read that word, most of us immediately have a negative image of Nicodemus -- for us, as New Testament Christians, who have read the Bible and know the story of Jesus, we tend to look at the Pharisees as one of the bad guys in the story -- if this was a western, Jesus and His disciples would be wearing the white hats and the Pharisees would be wearing the black hats -- it's the way we look at them -- but, it's not really the way they were
-- in Jesus' day, the Pharisees were some of the most admired religious people that there were -- they were widely respected by both Jews and Gentiles for their piety -- for their holiness -- for their spiritual lifestyle -- the Pharisees were the men who not only talked about the things of God, but lived them out in their daily lives
-- they were also known as students of the Bible -- they were renowned for their scholarship -- for their knowledge of the Scriptures -- they would study God's word and expound on it and write commentaries to help the common people understand and apply God's word in their lives -- these weren't what we would call "Sunday Christians" -- these were men who were very serious about their faith -- who held fast to the orthodox Judaism that was handed down to them through Moses -- these were men who kept the old, traditional ways of worshiping God and didn't adopt every fad or compromise their beliefs to get along better with the Romans and the other religious groups
-- in our day, we would regard the Pharisees as the conservative Christians -- as the group of people who stand firm and hold to traditional biblical principles in their life and worship and who believe in a literal understanding of the Bible -- most of us would be honored to be counted in their number
-- John also tells us that Nicodemus was a member of the Jewish ruling council -- the Sanhedrin was a select group of 70 men who served as a kind of combination Congress and Supreme Court -- In our day, Nicodemus' position would have been similar to that of a United States senator or a Supreme Court justice -- they were the highest ruling body of the Jews -- and they were concerned with the social and moral and legal and religious lives of the people
-- as you can imagine, only the best of the best -- only the most moral -- the most pious -- the most honest men were selected to serve on the Sanhedrin -- so, as a Pharisee and as a member of the Jewish ruling council, Nicodemus would have been highly respected and admired, not only as a leader, but also as a man of God
-- verse 2
2. He came to Jesus at night and said, "Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him."
-- the fact that Nicodemus came at night has always been a major topic of this passage -- but don't read too much into that -- some people have suggested that perhaps Nicodemus was embarrassed and didn't want to be seen coming to speak with Jesus -- others have said that his coming at night was reflective of the evil and darkness that lurked in his heart -- I think people may be reading too much into this
-- you know, it could have been just as simple as the fact that Jesus' was constantly surrounded by the crowds during the day and there was no opportunity for Nicodemus to sit down and have a lengthy conversation with Him -- I don't think he was trying to sneak in without anyone seeing him -- obviously, John and the other disciples were there because they heard and recorded this conversation -- it could be that Nicodemus only came at night so that he could sit around the fire and talk with Jesus one-on-one without interruption
-- Nicodemus calls Jesus "Rabbi" -- it was a term of respect -- we sometimes translate this as "Teacher" -- he goes on to say "we know you are a teacher who has come from God" -- here is Nicodemus -- a man of learning -- a man who is known for his spirituality -- for his knowledge of the Scriptures and the law -- a man who is highly respected as a leader of the people of Israel
-- and here he comes to Jesus -- a back-woods carpenter who has all of a sudden decided to become a preacher -- a man, who, in the Pharisee's eyes had no religious or legal standing -- yet, Nicodemus comes to Him and defers to Him and calls Him, "teacher" -- this would be the same as a Supreme Court Justice coming to a local evangelist here in Valdosta today and calling him, "Sir" and seeking his audience
-- the question is, "Why?" -- Why would Nicodemus come to Jesus like this? -- it seems obvious that he was seeking something -- perhaps he saw in Jesus something that he was lacking in his own life
-- right before this nighttime visit occurs, Jesus had visited the temple and seen the tables of the money changers -- and the people selling livestock to be used for sacrifice right within the gates of the Lord's house -- and Jesus got angry and made a whip and overturned the tables and ran the money changers and the livestock dealers out of the temple
-- and maybe Nicodemus had thought about Jesus' zeal and dedication to the Lord and had begun to realize that religion -- that the man-made practices and adherence to the law that the Pharisees so cherished -- was getting between the people and God
-- you know, one of my earliest memories of childhood is singing in Sunday School -- I can't remember a single lesson that was ever taught when I was five or six years old -- but I remember standing up and singing those great children songs -- and one of the favorite was "Old Time Religion" -- do you know that one? -- do you remember it?
-- "Give me that old time religion -- give me that old time religion -- Give me that old time religion -- It's good enough for me"
-- it seems that this might have been the theme song for Nicodemus and the Pharisees -- over time, they had taken the goodness and the simplicity of the worship of God and turned it into religion -- into rules and into practices and into things that, on the surface, looked holy and sounded holy and felt holy -- but that really kept God at an arm's distance -- that really hindered people from knowing God in their heart -- from having a relationship with Him
-- I think this is the reason that Nicodemus came to Jesus that night -- because he was tired of religion and was seeking a true relationship
-- verse 3
3. In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again. "
-- a lot of times when we read this passage, we kind of jump over what Jesus is saying to Nicodemus here -- keep in mind who Nicodemus was -- this was a Pharisee of Pharisees -- a leader of the temple -- a man who followed the commandments of God -- a man who lived a holy life -- who prayed three times a day -- who read the scriptures daily and reflected on them -- a man who taught others and who was a living example of what it meant to follow God
-- and Jesus tells him here, "What you're doing is not enough -- what you're doing will never be enough -- it doesn't matter how many times you pray -- it doesn't matter how often you read the Bible -- it doesn't matter whether you follow every single law in the scriptures -- the only way you can enter the kingdom of heaven is to be born again"
-- do you see how radical this teaching of Jesus must have sounded to Nicodemus? -- Jesus was shattering all that Nicodemus knew and believed and trusted in
-- Jesus said, "If you want to see God, you have to know God -- you have to be born again"
-- that phrase there, "born again" is one that has a double meaning -- it can mean "born again" or "born from above," referring to a heavenly birth -- and I think Jesus meant it in both ways -- I think He was pointing out to Nicodemus that in order to come to God, you had to be recreated in His image -- you had to be born of the Father in order to have a relationship with Him
--a scholar once wrote, "One can love religion like anything else in life: sports, science, stamp collecting. -- One can love it for its own sake without relation to God or the world or life. -- Religion fascinates; it is entertaining. -- It has everything that is sought after by a certain type of person: aesthetics, mystery, the sacred, a feeling of one's importance and exclusive depth, etc. -- but, that kind of religion is not necessarily faith."
-- that is what Jesus is trying to get Nicodemus to see -- it's not about religion -- it's about relationship
-- verse 4
4. "How can a man be born when he is old?" Nicodemus asked. "Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born!"
5. Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.
6. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.
7. You should not be surprised at my saying, `You must be born again.'
-- Nicodemus' real question is there in verse 4 -- "How? -- How can you know God in this way?" -- you can hear the heart cry in that question -- here is a man of God -- someone who has spent his whole life learning religion -- trying to make his own way to heaven by following the rules of the church -- and if that isn't enough, then how -- how can he find what he is truly looking for?
-- Jesus replied, "You have to be born again -- you have to be born of the Spirit -- you have to be in a relationship with God" -- it's not enough to know about God -- you have to know God -- personally -- intimately -- in your own life
-- and notice what Jesus says here -- when Nicodemus came to Jesus, he began by saying in verse 2, "We know" -- but here in verse 7, Jesus makes it personal -- it's no longer "we" -- it's "you" -- Jesus is speaking to Nicodemus' heart and He says, "You, Nicodemus, must be born again"
-- in other words, Jesus was not asking about Nicodemus' church membership -- He wasn't asking about his giving record or his Sunday School attendance -- He wasn't asking about his personal morality or whether he read his Bible and prayed daily -- Nicodemus had all those things down cold -- Jesus was asking about his heart -- "You must be born again, Nicodemus -- I don't really know you -- I don't have a relationship with you -- but I want to"
III. Closing
-- religion had gotten in the way of Nicodemus' path to God -- he couldn't see God for all the godly things he was going -- he couldn't find God because he was staying too busy doing "churchy" stuff -- he acted holy -- he looked holy -- he felt holy -- but all he was doing was staying busy following the rules and the practices and the rituals without ever involving his heart
-- in Psalm 51:16-17, King David wrote, "You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. -- The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise."
-- "Religious activity apart from fellowship with God is empty ritual." [Henry Blackaby] -- it's not about what we do -- it's not about what we can bring -- it's about what's in our heart -- there's a difference between religion and relationship -- Nicodemus was beginning to realize that
-- all his life he had been told that if he wanted to get to heaven, he needed to go to church -- he needed to go to Sunday School and Bible study -- he needed to read his Bible -- he needed to pray -- he needed to stand up and sing the songs in church -- he needed to sit and listen to the preacher
-- but you can do all that and never know Jesus -- Henry Blackaby asks the question, "Is it possible to pray, to attend a worship service, or to give an offering yet not to experience the presence of God?" -- the answer is a resounding, "Yes" -- It certainly is possible -- and not only for non-Christians, but for us Christians, as well
-- the follow-up question then is, "What do I do about it?"
-- well, the first thing is to ask yourself if you know Jesus -- have you been born again? -- have you been born from above? -- have you asked Jesus to forgive you of your sins -- to cleanse you from all unrighteousness -- to come into your life and to fill your heart with His presence? -- have you received Him as your Lord and Savior? -- are you in a personal relationship with Him? -- do you know Him?
-- if not, then that's the place to start -- you can do that this morning -- you can that right now -- just simply tell Jesus that you believe in Him and that you trust Him and ask Him to forgive you and come into your life -- and you will start on your personal relationship with Him
-- but, what about us -- what about us Christians who have already done that? -- well, for us, it's a matter of attendance -- by this I don't mean just physically showing up -- I mean attending with our heart
-- men are good about being in a place physically without ever really attending to the people who are there with them -- calling myself out, I can't tell you how many times Kim and I have been in the same room and I'm watching a game or something on t.v. and she tells me something that happened or something that we need to do -- and five minutes later, I have no clue what she's said
-- I was there physically, but I was not attending to her -- even though I heard what she said and I acknowledged it at the time -- I wasn't really paying attention
-- well, all of us -- men and women -- can do that in church, too -- how many times have you stood up to sing the hymn in the bulletin without ever once thinking of Who you are singing to? -- how many times have you just mouthed the words and done what was asked while your mind was on something entirely different?
-- how many times have you just prayed before a meal out of habit rather than really thinking about God and talking to Him from your heart?
-- how many times have you just thrown your money in the offering plate because that's what you do when it comes by without ever stopping to thank God for this opportunity and for His blessings in your life?
-- how do you think God feels at the end of our worship services or at the end of your day? -- do you think He would say that you spent time with Him or would He just say that you were there, but not paying attention?
-- this is the difference between religion and relationship -- between just going through the motions and truly experiencing God in our lives
-- as Henry Blackaby wrote, "Christianity is an intimate, growing relationship with the person of Jesus Christ. It is not a set of doctrines to believe, habits to practice, or sins to avoid. Every activity God commands is intended to enhance His love relationship with His people."
-- I want to close by leaving you with this challenge -- "Don’t settle for a religious life that lacks a vital relationship with Jesus Christ -- When God is present, the difference will be obvious" [Henry Blackaby]
-- as I close now, I want to encourage you to take just a moment and pay attention to God -- seek His presence with your heart -- listen for His voice -- look for His face -- He's here and He wants to be with you -- but you have to seek Him first -- God tells us that if we seek Him with all our heart, we will find Him -- that if we draw near to Him, He will draw near to us -- isn't that the real reason we are here?
-- don't leave here with this morning with this just being another empty religious service -- don't leave here saying, "I didn't get anything out of that today" -- but leave here knowing that you have been with God
-- let us pray
I. Introduction
-- turn in Bibles to John 3
1. Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council.
2. He came to Jesus at night and said, "Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him."
3. In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again. "
4. "How can a man be born when he is old?" Nicodemus asked. "Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born!"
5. Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.
6. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.
7. You should not be surprised at my saying, `You must be born again.'
-- Wayne Cordeiro, pastor of New Hope Christian Fellowship O'ahu in Honolulu, Hawaii, told the story about the time some people in his church gave him and his wife a gift card to a 4-star restaurant in their town
-- being a pastor and living on a pastor's salary, this was not their usual dining experience -- never in their life had they taken a meal at an expensive 4-star restaurant -- so they were very excited about this generous gift
-- they made arrangements and scheduled a free evening -- they dressed up in their finest clothes -- Wayne's wife put on her best pearls -- Wayne even washed and waxed his car because he knew the restaurant had valet parking and he wanted everything to be just right -- the night finally came, and both of them were excited to be going out on the town in such a way
-- when they got to the restaurant, they handed the keys to the valet and strolled in to this ritzy restaurant for their first fine dining experience -- the maiterde' seated them at a nice, candlelit table overlooking a lagoon adjacent to a moonlit bay there in Hawaii -- the evening was turning out better than they could ever have imagined
-- since their meal was covered by the generous gift from their members, Wayne and his wife didn't worry about price, but ordered the most expensive items on the menu -- the food arrived and it was just as they had anticipated -- it was a most magical evening
-- when the bill came, Wayne turned to his wife and said, "Honey, hand me the gift card" -- She replied, "I don't have the gift card -- I thought you brought it." -- Wayne said, "You have to have it. You're supposed to have it. You're the wife!" -- but she replied, "I don't have it."
-- Wayne relayed what was going through his mind at that moment -- and I quote: "I thought, "We are in deep yogurt -- Here we are -- We look rich -- we act rich -- we even smell rich -- But if we don't have that [card], it invalidates everything"
-- There are times when can be just like Wayne and his wife in our spiritual lives -- we can look holy -- we can act holy -- we can smell holy -- But without a relationship with the Lord, we've forgotten something -- because it's the relationship that validates everything else"
-- that's what Jesus was talking about in His conversation with Nicodemus in the passage that we opened with -- and it's what caused Him to say in Matthew 7:21-23. "Not everyone who says to me, `Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. -- Many will say to me on that day, `Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' -- Then I will tell them plainly, `I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'"
-- the most important thing is not what we say or do or even look like on the surface -- the most important thing is the relationship that we have with Jesus
II. Scripture Lesson (John 3:1-11)
-- so, let's turn to this passage here at the start of John 3 and let's see what we can learn from Jesus' talk with Nicodemus
-- look back at verse 1
1. Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council.
-- before we go any further, let's talk for a moment about Nicodemus -- who was Nicodemus?
-- John tells us here that Nicodemus was a Pharisee -- you know, right away,when I read that word, most of us immediately have a negative image of Nicodemus -- for us, as New Testament Christians, who have read the Bible and know the story of Jesus, we tend to look at the Pharisees as one of the bad guys in the story -- if this was a western, Jesus and His disciples would be wearing the white hats and the Pharisees would be wearing the black hats -- it's the way we look at them -- but, it's not really the way they were
-- in Jesus' day, the Pharisees were some of the most admired religious people that there were -- they were widely respected by both Jews and Gentiles for their piety -- for their holiness -- for their spiritual lifestyle -- the Pharisees were the men who not only talked about the things of God, but lived them out in their daily lives
-- they were also known as students of the Bible -- they were renowned for their scholarship -- for their knowledge of the Scriptures -- they would study God's word and expound on it and write commentaries to help the common people understand and apply God's word in their lives -- these weren't what we would call "Sunday Christians" -- these were men who were very serious about their faith -- who held fast to the orthodox Judaism that was handed down to them through Moses -- these were men who kept the old, traditional ways of worshiping God and didn't adopt every fad or compromise their beliefs to get along better with the Romans and the other religious groups
-- in our day, we would regard the Pharisees as the conservative Christians -- as the group of people who stand firm and hold to traditional biblical principles in their life and worship and who believe in a literal understanding of the Bible -- most of us would be honored to be counted in their number
-- John also tells us that Nicodemus was a member of the Jewish ruling council -- the Sanhedrin was a select group of 70 men who served as a kind of combination Congress and Supreme Court -- In our day, Nicodemus' position would have been similar to that of a United States senator or a Supreme Court justice -- they were the highest ruling body of the Jews -- and they were concerned with the social and moral and legal and religious lives of the people
-- as you can imagine, only the best of the best -- only the most moral -- the most pious -- the most honest men were selected to serve on the Sanhedrin -- so, as a Pharisee and as a member of the Jewish ruling council, Nicodemus would have been highly respected and admired, not only as a leader, but also as a man of God
-- verse 2
2. He came to Jesus at night and said, "Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him."
-- the fact that Nicodemus came at night has always been a major topic of this passage -- but don't read too much into that -- some people have suggested that perhaps Nicodemus was embarrassed and didn't want to be seen coming to speak with Jesus -- others have said that his coming at night was reflective of the evil and darkness that lurked in his heart -- I think people may be reading too much into this
-- you know, it could have been just as simple as the fact that Jesus' was constantly surrounded by the crowds during the day and there was no opportunity for Nicodemus to sit down and have a lengthy conversation with Him -- I don't think he was trying to sneak in without anyone seeing him -- obviously, John and the other disciples were there because they heard and recorded this conversation -- it could be that Nicodemus only came at night so that he could sit around the fire and talk with Jesus one-on-one without interruption
-- Nicodemus calls Jesus "Rabbi" -- it was a term of respect -- we sometimes translate this as "Teacher" -- he goes on to say "we know you are a teacher who has come from God" -- here is Nicodemus -- a man of learning -- a man who is known for his spirituality -- for his knowledge of the Scriptures and the law -- a man who is highly respected as a leader of the people of Israel
-- and here he comes to Jesus -- a back-woods carpenter who has all of a sudden decided to become a preacher -- a man, who, in the Pharisee's eyes had no religious or legal standing -- yet, Nicodemus comes to Him and defers to Him and calls Him, "teacher" -- this would be the same as a Supreme Court Justice coming to a local evangelist here in Valdosta today and calling him, "Sir" and seeking his audience
-- the question is, "Why?" -- Why would Nicodemus come to Jesus like this? -- it seems obvious that he was seeking something -- perhaps he saw in Jesus something that he was lacking in his own life
-- right before this nighttime visit occurs, Jesus had visited the temple and seen the tables of the money changers -- and the people selling livestock to be used for sacrifice right within the gates of the Lord's house -- and Jesus got angry and made a whip and overturned the tables and ran the money changers and the livestock dealers out of the temple
-- and maybe Nicodemus had thought about Jesus' zeal and dedication to the Lord and had begun to realize that religion -- that the man-made practices and adherence to the law that the Pharisees so cherished -- was getting between the people and God
-- you know, one of my earliest memories of childhood is singing in Sunday School -- I can't remember a single lesson that was ever taught when I was five or six years old -- but I remember standing up and singing those great children songs -- and one of the favorite was "Old Time Religion" -- do you know that one? -- do you remember it?
-- "Give me that old time religion -- give me that old time religion -- Give me that old time religion -- It's good enough for me"
-- it seems that this might have been the theme song for Nicodemus and the Pharisees -- over time, they had taken the goodness and the simplicity of the worship of God and turned it into religion -- into rules and into practices and into things that, on the surface, looked holy and sounded holy and felt holy -- but that really kept God at an arm's distance -- that really hindered people from knowing God in their heart -- from having a relationship with Him
-- I think this is the reason that Nicodemus came to Jesus that night -- because he was tired of religion and was seeking a true relationship
-- verse 3
3. In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again. "
-- a lot of times when we read this passage, we kind of jump over what Jesus is saying to Nicodemus here -- keep in mind who Nicodemus was -- this was a Pharisee of Pharisees -- a leader of the temple -- a man who followed the commandments of God -- a man who lived a holy life -- who prayed three times a day -- who read the scriptures daily and reflected on them -- a man who taught others and who was a living example of what it meant to follow God
-- and Jesus tells him here, "What you're doing is not enough -- what you're doing will never be enough -- it doesn't matter how many times you pray -- it doesn't matter how often you read the Bible -- it doesn't matter whether you follow every single law in the scriptures -- the only way you can enter the kingdom of heaven is to be born again"
-- do you see how radical this teaching of Jesus must have sounded to Nicodemus? -- Jesus was shattering all that Nicodemus knew and believed and trusted in
-- Jesus said, "If you want to see God, you have to know God -- you have to be born again"
-- that phrase there, "born again" is one that has a double meaning -- it can mean "born again" or "born from above," referring to a heavenly birth -- and I think Jesus meant it in both ways -- I think He was pointing out to Nicodemus that in order to come to God, you had to be recreated in His image -- you had to be born of the Father in order to have a relationship with Him
--a scholar once wrote, "One can love religion like anything else in life: sports, science, stamp collecting. -- One can love it for its own sake without relation to God or the world or life. -- Religion fascinates; it is entertaining. -- It has everything that is sought after by a certain type of person: aesthetics, mystery, the sacred, a feeling of one's importance and exclusive depth, etc. -- but, that kind of religion is not necessarily faith."
-- that is what Jesus is trying to get Nicodemus to see -- it's not about religion -- it's about relationship
-- verse 4
4. "How can a man be born when he is old?" Nicodemus asked. "Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born!"
5. Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.
6. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.
7. You should not be surprised at my saying, `You must be born again.'
-- Nicodemus' real question is there in verse 4 -- "How? -- How can you know God in this way?" -- you can hear the heart cry in that question -- here is a man of God -- someone who has spent his whole life learning religion -- trying to make his own way to heaven by following the rules of the church -- and if that isn't enough, then how -- how can he find what he is truly looking for?
-- Jesus replied, "You have to be born again -- you have to be born of the Spirit -- you have to be in a relationship with God" -- it's not enough to know about God -- you have to know God -- personally -- intimately -- in your own life
-- and notice what Jesus says here -- when Nicodemus came to Jesus, he began by saying in verse 2, "We know" -- but here in verse 7, Jesus makes it personal -- it's no longer "we" -- it's "you" -- Jesus is speaking to Nicodemus' heart and He says, "You, Nicodemus, must be born again"
-- in other words, Jesus was not asking about Nicodemus' church membership -- He wasn't asking about his giving record or his Sunday School attendance -- He wasn't asking about his personal morality or whether he read his Bible and prayed daily -- Nicodemus had all those things down cold -- Jesus was asking about his heart -- "You must be born again, Nicodemus -- I don't really know you -- I don't have a relationship with you -- but I want to"
III. Closing
-- religion had gotten in the way of Nicodemus' path to God -- he couldn't see God for all the godly things he was going -- he couldn't find God because he was staying too busy doing "churchy" stuff -- he acted holy -- he looked holy -- he felt holy -- but all he was doing was staying busy following the rules and the practices and the rituals without ever involving his heart
-- in Psalm 51:16-17, King David wrote, "You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. -- The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise."
-- "Religious activity apart from fellowship with God is empty ritual." [Henry Blackaby] -- it's not about what we do -- it's not about what we can bring -- it's about what's in our heart -- there's a difference between religion and relationship -- Nicodemus was beginning to realize that
-- all his life he had been told that if he wanted to get to heaven, he needed to go to church -- he needed to go to Sunday School and Bible study -- he needed to read his Bible -- he needed to pray -- he needed to stand up and sing the songs in church -- he needed to sit and listen to the preacher
-- but you can do all that and never know Jesus -- Henry Blackaby asks the question, "Is it possible to pray, to attend a worship service, or to give an offering yet not to experience the presence of God?" -- the answer is a resounding, "Yes" -- It certainly is possible -- and not only for non-Christians, but for us Christians, as well
-- the follow-up question then is, "What do I do about it?"
-- well, the first thing is to ask yourself if you know Jesus -- have you been born again? -- have you been born from above? -- have you asked Jesus to forgive you of your sins -- to cleanse you from all unrighteousness -- to come into your life and to fill your heart with His presence? -- have you received Him as your Lord and Savior? -- are you in a personal relationship with Him? -- do you know Him?
-- if not, then that's the place to start -- you can do that this morning -- you can that right now -- just simply tell Jesus that you believe in Him and that you trust Him and ask Him to forgive you and come into your life -- and you will start on your personal relationship with Him
-- but, what about us -- what about us Christians who have already done that? -- well, for us, it's a matter of attendance -- by this I don't mean just physically showing up -- I mean attending with our heart
-- men are good about being in a place physically without ever really attending to the people who are there with them -- calling myself out, I can't tell you how many times Kim and I have been in the same room and I'm watching a game or something on t.v. and she tells me something that happened or something that we need to do -- and five minutes later, I have no clue what she's said
-- I was there physically, but I was not attending to her -- even though I heard what she said and I acknowledged it at the time -- I wasn't really paying attention
-- well, all of us -- men and women -- can do that in church, too -- how many times have you stood up to sing the hymn in the bulletin without ever once thinking of Who you are singing to? -- how many times have you just mouthed the words and done what was asked while your mind was on something entirely different?
-- how many times have you just prayed before a meal out of habit rather than really thinking about God and talking to Him from your heart?
-- how many times have you just thrown your money in the offering plate because that's what you do when it comes by without ever stopping to thank God for this opportunity and for His blessings in your life?
-- how do you think God feels at the end of our worship services or at the end of your day? -- do you think He would say that you spent time with Him or would He just say that you were there, but not paying attention?
-- this is the difference between religion and relationship -- between just going through the motions and truly experiencing God in our lives
-- as Henry Blackaby wrote, "Christianity is an intimate, growing relationship with the person of Jesus Christ. It is not a set of doctrines to believe, habits to practice, or sins to avoid. Every activity God commands is intended to enhance His love relationship with His people."
-- I want to close by leaving you with this challenge -- "Don’t settle for a religious life that lacks a vital relationship with Jesus Christ -- When God is present, the difference will be obvious" [Henry Blackaby]
-- as I close now, I want to encourage you to take just a moment and pay attention to God -- seek His presence with your heart -- listen for His voice -- look for His face -- He's here and He wants to be with you -- but you have to seek Him first -- God tells us that if we seek Him with all our heart, we will find Him -- that if we draw near to Him, He will draw near to us -- isn't that the real reason we are here?
-- don't leave here with this morning with this just being another empty religious service -- don't leave here saying, "I didn't get anything out of that today" -- but leave here knowing that you have been with God
-- let us pray
SERMON: THE WAYWARD BUS
THE WAYWARD BUS
3 January 2010
I. Introduction
-- turn in Bibles to 2 Peter 1
1. Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours:
2. Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.
3. His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.
4. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
5. For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge;
6. and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness;
7. and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love.
8. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
9. But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.
10. Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall,
11. and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
-- one of John Steinbeck's lesser known, but more poignant novels, is "The Wayward Bus" -- unlike most of Steinbeck's novels, this novel does not concern itself with politics or the social issues of his day, but instead focuses on the matters of the heart and the purposes of individual lives
-- like most of his novels, this story is set in southern California, just north of the Mexican border -- it is the story of Juan and Alice Chicoy who make a living ferrying passengers between San Juan de la Cruz and Rebel Corners, which is nothing more than a crossroads 42 miles south of San Ysidro
-- at this stage in Juan's life, he has started to realize that nothing really changes in Rebel Corners -- it is the same thing every day -- it is the same people every day -- in fact, the only people that live in Rebel Corners is Juan and his wife Alice and the two young people that they have hired to help them run their bus stop and diner -- even the travelers that pass through on their way to San Juan are just nameless and faceless to Juan -- just people passing through who have no real effect on his life
-- it's safe to say that Juan's life is in a rut and that he is becoming increasingly tired of living life that way -- of living the same-old, same-old, day-in and day-out
-- as Steinbeck's novel continues, we are introduced to the next group of passengers who are traveling on Juan's bus -- first, there is a family of three on vacation, seeking a break from the monotony of their lives and hoping this trip revives not only their lives but their relationships
-- next, there is Ernest Horton, a traveling salesman who has spent his whole life chasing a dream -- trying every get rich quick scheme in the book, but failing to do more than just jump from opportunity to opportunity without any change in his direction or his life
-- the other transient on the bus is a young, blonde woman who has gotten by in life by using her looks to attract male attention -- she is always passing through somewhere on the way to somewhere else, so she never uses her real name -- instead, she uses a series of false names in her encounters with men to create the temporary illusion that she is living a different life rather than getting by as a stripper who sells her body to make a living
-- finally, Juan and Alice's former employee Norma is on the bus -- Norma's whole life has been lived in the fantasy that she was in a relationship with Clark Gable -- she would write him long letters professing her admiration and love and was convinced it was only a spiteful manager who kept Gable from responding to her -- even though this is a fantasy that is only in her mind, Norma has quit her job and is moving to Los Angeles to start a new life with Gable although everyone knows that this will never happen
-- so, in a very real sense, all of the passengers on Juan's bus that day were the same -- they were just like Juan -- they were all trapped in a rut -- trapped in a life that never changed -- continually subjected to the same failing and foibles without ever seeking a change for the better
-- as the story progresses, we learn that the road to San Juan has been turned into a muddy mess and there was a chance that the bus might not make it and might get stuck -- Juan gives his passengers a choice -- they could go forward or they could go back and wait for the road's conditions to improve -- they choose to go forward and Juan, claiming that the bus slipped in the mud, intentionally runs the bus out of the ruts on the road and into a ditch -- he then sets out on foot, ostensibly to seek help but actually running away from his life, leaving his passengers to reflect on their lives and their relationships in life -- while he is gone, the passengers examine their lives and begin to see the rut they have been in and they all resolve to make changes in their lives -- Juan eventually returns and the bus continues on its journey, leaving a lingering question in the air -- will these passengers commit to making a real and lasting change in their lives or will they fall back into their old familiar patterns -- into their old familiar ruts?
-- you know, that's a question that a lot of people ask at the start of each new year -- it's really common for people to use the new year as a time to make changes in their lives -- to get out of their ruts -- to put aside routines or bad habits so that they might make a fresh start and head out in a new direction with new meaning and purpose
-- all you have to do is visit a bookstore to see how so many people are fixated on changing their lives as the new year rolls in -- the shelves of bookstores are filled with self-help books on every topic under the sun -- from finance to weight loss -- from getting better organized to home remodeling
-- even Christians aren't immune from this desire to get out of the ruts in our lives -- I got a flyer in from a Christian bookstore yesterday that was filled with ads for the One-Year Bible and for devotionals and journals because the managers of these stores know that a lot of Christians make spiritual resolutions for this new year -- there were even faith-based diet books and exercise videos for those Christians who had made more traditional resolutions in the new year
-- the question, though, is the same one that Steinbeck asked in his novel -- will all of these people who make resolutions actually change their lives or will they find themselves back in their same rut again in a matter of days or weeks or months?
-- studies show that we are actually a lot better at making resolutions than keeping them -- only about half of us can keep a New Year's resolution for one month -- only about 40% of us can keep them for six months -- and less than 20% of all people can keep a New Year's resolution for two years
-- why is it so hard for us to make a change in our lives? -- why is it so easy to fall back into our familiar ruts? -- scientists tell us that it's part of our nature -- they call it homeostasis -- but what it means is that people are typically resistant to change -- we like things to stay the same -- not that we necessarily like the things we are doing, but we find it more comfortable to accept the familiar than to step out into the unknown -- that's why we can so easily find ourselves in ruts that are too deep to get out of
-- experts have studied the difference in people who are able to keep resolutions versus those who are not able to keep them -- and they have concluded that the difference between the two comes down to motive -- it has to do with your inner desire
-- the people who keep resolutions are those who are actually able to change their thinking -- who are actually able to change their understanding -- people who make and keep resolutions do so because they change from the inside out -- and this change on the inside gives them the motivation to change on the outside -- to change their behaviors in order to make a difference in their lives
-- of course, that should make perfect sense to us -- as Christians, we understand that change has to come from within -- that change is not so much about what we do but more about who we are -- that's the big difference between Christianity and other religions
-- we recognize that we can't become holy -- that we can't just change our lives -- by simply changing our behaviors -- all that does is clean the outside of the glass and leaves the inside dirty
-- we understand that real change comes only when we allow God to transform us from the inside out -- when we allow change to begin inside us -- with our heart and our motives and our desires -- then, and only then, will we see change in our behaviors and our lives
-- that's what the Apostle Peter is reminding us of in this passage -- in this passage, he gives us the keys to transformation -- the route to follow to keep resolutions in our lives -- to make a change in who we are and what we do
-- let's take a few moments and look at these in a little more detail
-- verse 1
1. Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours:
2. Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.
-- the first thing Peter tells us that we have to do to see and make real changes in our lives is to know Jesus
-- this, of course, means more than just head knowledge -- it means more than just knowledge gained through information -- it means knowing Jesus as one spouse knows another -- it means experiencing Him in your life -- knowing Him inside and out -- relying on Him -- trusting in Him -- believing in Him
-- to know Jesus means that you have not only assented with your mind, but also with your heart, that He is God and that only through Him and His atoning death on the cross can you receive forgiveness of your sins and eternal life
-- to know Jesus means that you are covered with His righteousness -- that you are His -- that you are in Him and that you experience His grace and peace and presence in your life
-- you know Jesus in this way through faith -- through the matters of the heart and soul and spirit more than the mind
-- verse 3
3. His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.
4. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
-- the second thing we have to do to see and make real changes in our lives is to know the power of Jesus -- Peter tells us here that Christ's divine power has been given to us -- we know that power through the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives
-- Jesus told us that when we believe on Him -- when we know Him -- that we are filled with the presence of the Holy Spirit -- that God lives in us to comfort us in our sorrows -- to teach us in our ignorance -- and to empower us in our weakness
-- when we talk in the church about spiritual gifts and spiritual power, we aren't talking about some supernatural ability that has been given to us -- we are talking about the power of God made manifest in our lives -- the power of the Holy Spirit working through us to accomplish His purposes in this place
-- Peter tells us that through the Holy Spirit -- through the power He gives us -- that we have everything that we need for life and godliness -- when Peter is talking about "godliness," he's talking about what's on the inside -- he's talking about sanctification -- about the Holy Spirit working within us to make us holy and righteous in our thoughts and our minds and our hearts -- godly and holy lives start on the inside as the Holy Spirit cleanses us and makes us more like Jesus
-- but notice that Peter says that this power is not only for godliness but also for life -- here he is talking about our external life -- you know, we tend to forget that Jesus did not just come to give us eternal life -- in John 10:10 Jesus said, "I have come that you may have life, and have it to the full" -- Jesus was talking about giving us an abundant, Christ-centered life here on earth -- what he's saying is that the Christian life should not just be lived with the end in mind but should be experienced daily
-- Peter points out here that the world corrupts us -- it leads us astray through our own evil desires and draws us into temptation and sin -- this is the rut that all humanity falls into -- this is the rut that Christ came to pull us out of -- this is the rut that Christ came to overcome
-- Peter tells us that we can't do this on our own -- left to their own devices, our hearts deceive us -- our motives betray us -- our desires lead us astray -- that is why he says that we must rely on the power of Jesus through the presence of the Holy Spirit if we want to see change in our lives -- if we want to see our lives transformed into the abundant and holy lives that Jesus promised
-- look back at verse 4 again
4. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
5. For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge;
6. and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness;
7. and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love.
-- the final thing we need to do to see and make real changes in our lives is to know the life of Jesus -- Peter uses the term "participate" or "partake" in the life of Jesus
-- what he is saying is that transformation comes through participation in the life of Jesus -- it implies activity on our part -- it encourages us to step forward in faith and in the power of the Holy Spirit to make changes in our behavior -- to make changes in what we are doing
-- this is part of the overall process of sanctification -- first, we have to change who we are by knowing Jesus -- then, we have to change what we are by actively stepping out in faith
-- Peter points out in verses 5 through 7 that we should be adding to our faith -- that we should be building on the foundation that started when we first came to Christ -- he tells us that to faith we should add goodness or virtue -- this is referring to our integrity -- to our character -- to the change in motives and desires that comes through knowing Jesus
-- next, we add knowledge -- we learn more about Jesus and what it means to walk with Him -- we experience Him in our lives as we grow more and more like Him everyday -- we add self-control -- we begin to change our lives -- we begin to take action and choose to put away the old things of the world that used to control us and take up the new things and the new way of life in Christ
-- the next step is perseverance -- keeping-on, keeping-on -- committing to this new way of life -- not letting ourselves slip back into the ruts of this world but persevering and overcoming through the power of the Spirit -- which leads us to godliness -- to holiness -- to becoming different in our thoughts and minds and desires and behaviors
-- by becoming godly inside and out, Peter tells us that we are able to start loving by showing brotherly kindness -- brotherly love -- the phileo love that we often talk about -- until we reach the point where we can love like Jesus -- where our lives are completely and totally characterized by God's agape, unconditional love for all
-- all of this starts with action on our part -- with participating in the divine nature of Jesus -- that's why Peter tells us to "make every effort" to do this -- it is faith with feet -- it is more than head-knowledge -- it is life experience through the power of the Holy Spirit
-- verse 8
8. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
9. But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.
10. Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall,
11. and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
-- Peter says that this is the way to lasting change -- this is the way to making and keeping resolutions in your life -- this is the way to keep from being ineffective and unproductive -- from living lives devoid of power -- from living lives in a rut
-- notice that Peter says in verse 8 that if these things abound in you -- if they are present in increasing measures -- meaning that this is a process -- this is something that you have to work at and that gets built up in your life step-by-step
-- change is rarely instantaneous -- change usually takes time and starts with incremental steps until the goal is reached -- that's why we don't teach first-graders calculus -- but we start with the basics of addition and subtraction and they work their way up to higher levels of mathematics
-- Peter says that these steps are the way that you make your calling and election sure -- this is how you know that you are saved -- this is how you know that you are continuing on in the path to salvation -- when you can look back and see incremental changes in your life -- when you can look back and see how your faith and how your life has changed through the power of Christ in you
-- do that, Peter says, and you will never fall -- and you will receive a rich welcome into the kingdom of Jesus Christ
III. Closing
-- Jonathan Edwards -- the great preacher who lived in the 1700's and who is best known today for his sermon, "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" -- sat down at the age of 17 and penned 21 resolutions by which he would live his life -- every year, he added to this list until, by his death, he had 70 resolutions -- 70 things that he resolved that he would do to reach his goals in life
-- the first resolution on his list was this: "Being sensible that I am unable to do anything without God's help, I do humbly entreat Him by His grace to enable me to keep these resolutions.…Remember to read over these resolutions once a week."
-- Edwards didn't casually make New Year's resolutions with an expectation of eventually breaking them -- each week he did a self-check -- each week he summed up how he was doing and sought God's help in the process
-- as Peter tells us in this passage, this is the only way to make and keep lasting changes in our lives -- we have to know Jesus -- know His power -- and know His life
-- I once read about this youth group that bought a run-down house to use as their meeting place -- the house was ideal, except for one thing -- it stunk -- it literally stunk to high heaven -- it was almost unbearable -- and they tried everything to get rid of the smell -- air fresheners -- candles -- incense -- even those plug-in fragrances that you see -- but, they couldn't get rid of the smell
-- all those fragrances and scents would do was cover the odor up -- but it would linger -- and the next day when they went back in, it met them in full force once again
-- finally, they figured out how to get rid of the odor once and for all -- they gave the house a deep cleansing -- they pressured-washed the outside walls -- they steam-cleaned the carpets -- they scrubbed the ceiling and the inside walls -- and the smell left, never to return again
-- many of our experiences at keeping resolutions and making changes in our lives is just like that -- all we do is spray a little air freshener over the things that are stinking up our lives, but it does no good -- it covers it up for a while, but the odor keeps coming back
-- the message of this passage -- the message of the Bible -- is that transformation -- lasting change -- only comes through deep cleansing -- it only comes when we allow God to work in us and through us to clean us of our bad habits and our ungodly behavior from the inside out
-- if we are going to see lasting change in our lives -- if we are going to add to our faith -- then we are going to have to allow God to scrub the walls of our heart -- room by room -- by knowing Jesus -- knowing His power -- and knowing and participating in His life
-- as I close, I want to encourage you to take a moment to think about changes that you might need to make in your life -- maybe spiritual -- maybe physical -- maybe you just find yourself in a rut and you realize that you need to get out
-- as I close, I want you to join with me in prayer and ask God to help you take that first step at making a difference in your life -- to take that first step at changing your life forever
-- regardless of what the statistics say, change is possible -- we can keep our resolutions -- if we rely on Christ to help us to do so
-- let us pray
3 January 2010
I. Introduction
-- turn in Bibles to 2 Peter 1
1. Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours:
2. Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.
3. His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.
4. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
5. For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge;
6. and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness;
7. and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love.
8. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
9. But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.
10. Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall,
11. and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
-- one of John Steinbeck's lesser known, but more poignant novels, is "The Wayward Bus" -- unlike most of Steinbeck's novels, this novel does not concern itself with politics or the social issues of his day, but instead focuses on the matters of the heart and the purposes of individual lives
-- like most of his novels, this story is set in southern California, just north of the Mexican border -- it is the story of Juan and Alice Chicoy who make a living ferrying passengers between San Juan de la Cruz and Rebel Corners, which is nothing more than a crossroads 42 miles south of San Ysidro
-- at this stage in Juan's life, he has started to realize that nothing really changes in Rebel Corners -- it is the same thing every day -- it is the same people every day -- in fact, the only people that live in Rebel Corners is Juan and his wife Alice and the two young people that they have hired to help them run their bus stop and diner -- even the travelers that pass through on their way to San Juan are just nameless and faceless to Juan -- just people passing through who have no real effect on his life
-- it's safe to say that Juan's life is in a rut and that he is becoming increasingly tired of living life that way -- of living the same-old, same-old, day-in and day-out
-- as Steinbeck's novel continues, we are introduced to the next group of passengers who are traveling on Juan's bus -- first, there is a family of three on vacation, seeking a break from the monotony of their lives and hoping this trip revives not only their lives but their relationships
-- next, there is Ernest Horton, a traveling salesman who has spent his whole life chasing a dream -- trying every get rich quick scheme in the book, but failing to do more than just jump from opportunity to opportunity without any change in his direction or his life
-- the other transient on the bus is a young, blonde woman who has gotten by in life by using her looks to attract male attention -- she is always passing through somewhere on the way to somewhere else, so she never uses her real name -- instead, she uses a series of false names in her encounters with men to create the temporary illusion that she is living a different life rather than getting by as a stripper who sells her body to make a living
-- finally, Juan and Alice's former employee Norma is on the bus -- Norma's whole life has been lived in the fantasy that she was in a relationship with Clark Gable -- she would write him long letters professing her admiration and love and was convinced it was only a spiteful manager who kept Gable from responding to her -- even though this is a fantasy that is only in her mind, Norma has quit her job and is moving to Los Angeles to start a new life with Gable although everyone knows that this will never happen
-- so, in a very real sense, all of the passengers on Juan's bus that day were the same -- they were just like Juan -- they were all trapped in a rut -- trapped in a life that never changed -- continually subjected to the same failing and foibles without ever seeking a change for the better
-- as the story progresses, we learn that the road to San Juan has been turned into a muddy mess and there was a chance that the bus might not make it and might get stuck -- Juan gives his passengers a choice -- they could go forward or they could go back and wait for the road's conditions to improve -- they choose to go forward and Juan, claiming that the bus slipped in the mud, intentionally runs the bus out of the ruts on the road and into a ditch -- he then sets out on foot, ostensibly to seek help but actually running away from his life, leaving his passengers to reflect on their lives and their relationships in life -- while he is gone, the passengers examine their lives and begin to see the rut they have been in and they all resolve to make changes in their lives -- Juan eventually returns and the bus continues on its journey, leaving a lingering question in the air -- will these passengers commit to making a real and lasting change in their lives or will they fall back into their old familiar patterns -- into their old familiar ruts?
-- you know, that's a question that a lot of people ask at the start of each new year -- it's really common for people to use the new year as a time to make changes in their lives -- to get out of their ruts -- to put aside routines or bad habits so that they might make a fresh start and head out in a new direction with new meaning and purpose
-- all you have to do is visit a bookstore to see how so many people are fixated on changing their lives as the new year rolls in -- the shelves of bookstores are filled with self-help books on every topic under the sun -- from finance to weight loss -- from getting better organized to home remodeling
-- even Christians aren't immune from this desire to get out of the ruts in our lives -- I got a flyer in from a Christian bookstore yesterday that was filled with ads for the One-Year Bible and for devotionals and journals because the managers of these stores know that a lot of Christians make spiritual resolutions for this new year -- there were even faith-based diet books and exercise videos for those Christians who had made more traditional resolutions in the new year
-- the question, though, is the same one that Steinbeck asked in his novel -- will all of these people who make resolutions actually change their lives or will they find themselves back in their same rut again in a matter of days or weeks or months?
-- studies show that we are actually a lot better at making resolutions than keeping them -- only about half of us can keep a New Year's resolution for one month -- only about 40% of us can keep them for six months -- and less than 20% of all people can keep a New Year's resolution for two years
-- why is it so hard for us to make a change in our lives? -- why is it so easy to fall back into our familiar ruts? -- scientists tell us that it's part of our nature -- they call it homeostasis -- but what it means is that people are typically resistant to change -- we like things to stay the same -- not that we necessarily like the things we are doing, but we find it more comfortable to accept the familiar than to step out into the unknown -- that's why we can so easily find ourselves in ruts that are too deep to get out of
-- experts have studied the difference in people who are able to keep resolutions versus those who are not able to keep them -- and they have concluded that the difference between the two comes down to motive -- it has to do with your inner desire
-- the people who keep resolutions are those who are actually able to change their thinking -- who are actually able to change their understanding -- people who make and keep resolutions do so because they change from the inside out -- and this change on the inside gives them the motivation to change on the outside -- to change their behaviors in order to make a difference in their lives
-- of course, that should make perfect sense to us -- as Christians, we understand that change has to come from within -- that change is not so much about what we do but more about who we are -- that's the big difference between Christianity and other religions
-- we recognize that we can't become holy -- that we can't just change our lives -- by simply changing our behaviors -- all that does is clean the outside of the glass and leaves the inside dirty
-- we understand that real change comes only when we allow God to transform us from the inside out -- when we allow change to begin inside us -- with our heart and our motives and our desires -- then, and only then, will we see change in our behaviors and our lives
-- that's what the Apostle Peter is reminding us of in this passage -- in this passage, he gives us the keys to transformation -- the route to follow to keep resolutions in our lives -- to make a change in who we are and what we do
-- let's take a few moments and look at these in a little more detail
-- verse 1
1. Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours:
2. Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.
-- the first thing Peter tells us that we have to do to see and make real changes in our lives is to know Jesus
-- this, of course, means more than just head knowledge -- it means more than just knowledge gained through information -- it means knowing Jesus as one spouse knows another -- it means experiencing Him in your life -- knowing Him inside and out -- relying on Him -- trusting in Him -- believing in Him
-- to know Jesus means that you have not only assented with your mind, but also with your heart, that He is God and that only through Him and His atoning death on the cross can you receive forgiveness of your sins and eternal life
-- to know Jesus means that you are covered with His righteousness -- that you are His -- that you are in Him and that you experience His grace and peace and presence in your life
-- you know Jesus in this way through faith -- through the matters of the heart and soul and spirit more than the mind
-- verse 3
3. His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.
4. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
-- the second thing we have to do to see and make real changes in our lives is to know the power of Jesus -- Peter tells us here that Christ's divine power has been given to us -- we know that power through the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives
-- Jesus told us that when we believe on Him -- when we know Him -- that we are filled with the presence of the Holy Spirit -- that God lives in us to comfort us in our sorrows -- to teach us in our ignorance -- and to empower us in our weakness
-- when we talk in the church about spiritual gifts and spiritual power, we aren't talking about some supernatural ability that has been given to us -- we are talking about the power of God made manifest in our lives -- the power of the Holy Spirit working through us to accomplish His purposes in this place
-- Peter tells us that through the Holy Spirit -- through the power He gives us -- that we have everything that we need for life and godliness -- when Peter is talking about "godliness," he's talking about what's on the inside -- he's talking about sanctification -- about the Holy Spirit working within us to make us holy and righteous in our thoughts and our minds and our hearts -- godly and holy lives start on the inside as the Holy Spirit cleanses us and makes us more like Jesus
-- but notice that Peter says that this power is not only for godliness but also for life -- here he is talking about our external life -- you know, we tend to forget that Jesus did not just come to give us eternal life -- in John 10:10 Jesus said, "I have come that you may have life, and have it to the full" -- Jesus was talking about giving us an abundant, Christ-centered life here on earth -- what he's saying is that the Christian life should not just be lived with the end in mind but should be experienced daily
-- Peter points out here that the world corrupts us -- it leads us astray through our own evil desires and draws us into temptation and sin -- this is the rut that all humanity falls into -- this is the rut that Christ came to pull us out of -- this is the rut that Christ came to overcome
-- Peter tells us that we can't do this on our own -- left to their own devices, our hearts deceive us -- our motives betray us -- our desires lead us astray -- that is why he says that we must rely on the power of Jesus through the presence of the Holy Spirit if we want to see change in our lives -- if we want to see our lives transformed into the abundant and holy lives that Jesus promised
-- look back at verse 4 again
4. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
5. For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge;
6. and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness;
7. and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love.
-- the final thing we need to do to see and make real changes in our lives is to know the life of Jesus -- Peter uses the term "participate" or "partake" in the life of Jesus
-- what he is saying is that transformation comes through participation in the life of Jesus -- it implies activity on our part -- it encourages us to step forward in faith and in the power of the Holy Spirit to make changes in our behavior -- to make changes in what we are doing
-- this is part of the overall process of sanctification -- first, we have to change who we are by knowing Jesus -- then, we have to change what we are by actively stepping out in faith
-- Peter points out in verses 5 through 7 that we should be adding to our faith -- that we should be building on the foundation that started when we first came to Christ -- he tells us that to faith we should add goodness or virtue -- this is referring to our integrity -- to our character -- to the change in motives and desires that comes through knowing Jesus
-- next, we add knowledge -- we learn more about Jesus and what it means to walk with Him -- we experience Him in our lives as we grow more and more like Him everyday -- we add self-control -- we begin to change our lives -- we begin to take action and choose to put away the old things of the world that used to control us and take up the new things and the new way of life in Christ
-- the next step is perseverance -- keeping-on, keeping-on -- committing to this new way of life -- not letting ourselves slip back into the ruts of this world but persevering and overcoming through the power of the Spirit -- which leads us to godliness -- to holiness -- to becoming different in our thoughts and minds and desires and behaviors
-- by becoming godly inside and out, Peter tells us that we are able to start loving by showing brotherly kindness -- brotherly love -- the phileo love that we often talk about -- until we reach the point where we can love like Jesus -- where our lives are completely and totally characterized by God's agape, unconditional love for all
-- all of this starts with action on our part -- with participating in the divine nature of Jesus -- that's why Peter tells us to "make every effort" to do this -- it is faith with feet -- it is more than head-knowledge -- it is life experience through the power of the Holy Spirit
-- verse 8
8. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
9. But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.
10. Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall,
11. and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
-- Peter says that this is the way to lasting change -- this is the way to making and keeping resolutions in your life -- this is the way to keep from being ineffective and unproductive -- from living lives devoid of power -- from living lives in a rut
-- notice that Peter says in verse 8 that if these things abound in you -- if they are present in increasing measures -- meaning that this is a process -- this is something that you have to work at and that gets built up in your life step-by-step
-- change is rarely instantaneous -- change usually takes time and starts with incremental steps until the goal is reached -- that's why we don't teach first-graders calculus -- but we start with the basics of addition and subtraction and they work their way up to higher levels of mathematics
-- Peter says that these steps are the way that you make your calling and election sure -- this is how you know that you are saved -- this is how you know that you are continuing on in the path to salvation -- when you can look back and see incremental changes in your life -- when you can look back and see how your faith and how your life has changed through the power of Christ in you
-- do that, Peter says, and you will never fall -- and you will receive a rich welcome into the kingdom of Jesus Christ
III. Closing
-- Jonathan Edwards -- the great preacher who lived in the 1700's and who is best known today for his sermon, "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" -- sat down at the age of 17 and penned 21 resolutions by which he would live his life -- every year, he added to this list until, by his death, he had 70 resolutions -- 70 things that he resolved that he would do to reach his goals in life
-- the first resolution on his list was this: "Being sensible that I am unable to do anything without God's help, I do humbly entreat Him by His grace to enable me to keep these resolutions.…Remember to read over these resolutions once a week."
-- Edwards didn't casually make New Year's resolutions with an expectation of eventually breaking them -- each week he did a self-check -- each week he summed up how he was doing and sought God's help in the process
-- as Peter tells us in this passage, this is the only way to make and keep lasting changes in our lives -- we have to know Jesus -- know His power -- and know His life
-- I once read about this youth group that bought a run-down house to use as their meeting place -- the house was ideal, except for one thing -- it stunk -- it literally stunk to high heaven -- it was almost unbearable -- and they tried everything to get rid of the smell -- air fresheners -- candles -- incense -- even those plug-in fragrances that you see -- but, they couldn't get rid of the smell
-- all those fragrances and scents would do was cover the odor up -- but it would linger -- and the next day when they went back in, it met them in full force once again
-- finally, they figured out how to get rid of the odor once and for all -- they gave the house a deep cleansing -- they pressured-washed the outside walls -- they steam-cleaned the carpets -- they scrubbed the ceiling and the inside walls -- and the smell left, never to return again
-- many of our experiences at keeping resolutions and making changes in our lives is just like that -- all we do is spray a little air freshener over the things that are stinking up our lives, but it does no good -- it covers it up for a while, but the odor keeps coming back
-- the message of this passage -- the message of the Bible -- is that transformation -- lasting change -- only comes through deep cleansing -- it only comes when we allow God to work in us and through us to clean us of our bad habits and our ungodly behavior from the inside out
-- if we are going to see lasting change in our lives -- if we are going to add to our faith -- then we are going to have to allow God to scrub the walls of our heart -- room by room -- by knowing Jesus -- knowing His power -- and knowing and participating in His life
-- as I close, I want to encourage you to take a moment to think about changes that you might need to make in your life -- maybe spiritual -- maybe physical -- maybe you just find yourself in a rut and you realize that you need to get out
-- as I close, I want you to join with me in prayer and ask God to help you take that first step at making a difference in your life -- to take that first step at changing your life forever
-- regardless of what the statistics say, change is possible -- we can keep our resolutions -- if we rely on Christ to help us to do so
-- let us pray
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