A FAITH-LIFT

Last night was the first team meeting for the 2015 South Georgia Chrysalis weekends. It has been several years since I have served on any of the Chrysalis teams, and I have been looking forward to this for some time.

While it was nice to catch up with some old friends last night, it was a faith-lift to see all those young men and women in high school and college who are willing to stand up and serve their Lord and Savior in this ministry!

Sometimes we get a slanted impression of the world from the media. When we see news shows cutting to a green screen at the mention of Jesus and claiming "technical difficulty," when we see atheists posting billboards around the country proclaiming no Jesus this Christmas, when we see Christians bashed on TV and in movies and in the public realm, it can be discouraging. It can make it seem as if Satan is winning.

But he's not! God has won! The battle was over when the Christ-child was born in a manger on Christmas morning and when Jesus proclaimed from the cross, "IT IS FINISHED!"

Do you want proof the battle is over and Jesus has won? Just look at the young men and women who are serving on this year's Chrysalis and who faithfully stand up for Jesus in their churches, their schools, and their homes every single day!

SERMON: TRUE FREEDOM

16 November 2014

I.  Introduction

            -- turn in Bibles to Acts 16:25-34

            -- before we turn to this passage this morning, I wanted to take an opportunity to share with you a thought about God's word -- as we turned to this passage, you may have noticed that we've been here before -- I preached a sermon from this passage a couple of years ago

            -- I try my best not to repeat passages when I preach, but I know it does happen -- I'm sure you remember a few months ago when I preached two sermons almost back-to-back using the same passage of Scripture -- and here we are again repeating a passage we looked at a couple of years ago -- I thought this might be a good opportunity to explain why that sometimes happens

            -- I have found God rarely gives me a message that is just for the church -- I begin every week with this prayer, "God, show me what You want me to share with the church this week -- give me Your message for Your church" -- and I have learned that God rarely does that -- God rarely gives me a message for a Sunday morning that is not meant, first and foremost, for me

            -- that doesn't mean it doesn't apply to the church and that doesn't mean you can't get anything out of it when you hear what God's been saying to me -- but it means that when God speaks to me through His word, He seems to do so with the intent to first change me -- and, really, that is the purpose of Scripture -- to let us hear the Word of God and to let God's word work in us to change us and make us into the men and women He has called us to be -- in other words, God has not given us His Bible simply to be a source of messages for other people -- God has not given us His Bible for others, but for us

            -- I think that's something we are sorely missing in our churches today -- if you look at the historical New Testament church and compare it to what we have today, we are an anomaly -- the early church didn't have one person who got up and gave a prepared message every Sunday -- no, the early church was more communal -- more relational -- everyone shared what they had -- whether that was food or money or time or a message from God

            -- and when the church gathered, the people would go around the room and talk about what God had told them that week -- they would all share the message God had given them -- whether it was an interpretation of Scripture or a song or a Psalm or whatever -- knowing it was for them, first and foremost, but that others might benefit as well -- we've lost that in our churches -- people don't feel free to share what God's spoken to them but instead come to hear a prepared sermon from a professional minister -- but that's a different subject and maybe we'll talk about that one day

            -- so, to get back to the long point I'm trying to make about why we sometimes repeat passages in sermons -- when it does happen, especially if it happens really close to the last time I preached on a subject, I think it's my fault -- I think it means that I missed what God wanted me to get out of His word -- I may have been faithful and said the words and given the message that He wanted me to give, but maybe I just didn't understand it or apply it to myself -- and, so I think God leads me back to that passage over and over until I do get it -- until I do understand and, more importantly, do something with what He has told me -- now that doesn't mean you need to hear it multiple times in a Sunday morning sermon, but sometimes it happens, and I just ask for your grace and understanding when it does

            -- but there is another reason we sometimes repeat passages -- Paul wrote to Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:16, "All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in all righteousness" -- and in Hebrews 4:12 we read, "For the word of God is alive and active."-- these verses remind us that God's word is living and active and dynamic -- and there are times, like this morning, when God leads us back to a familiar passage to reveal to us some new truth about this passage that we need at this moment

            -- and I think it's important for us to remember this as we move into the holiday season because there are very few passages about Christmas -- and I guarantee you that you've heard all of them -- the stories and the passages and the themes of Christmas are so very familiar to us, we know them by heart

            -- but knowing them by heart can make us deaf to God's voice -- we think to ourselves, "Been there, done that, read that passage, heard that sermon before," and we can miss what God wants us to get out of it -- so we've got to be careful to not ignore God when He does lead us back to a passage we have already studied -- especially a passage we may know very well, because if He's doing that, there's a reason -- and if you will listen for His voice over these holidays as you hear the old familiar stories of the birth of Christ and the visit of the Magi, maybe, just maybe, you will learn something new

II.  Scripture Lesson (Acts 16:25-34)

            -- okay, I've beaten a dead horse that has nothing to do with what God wanted me to say this morning, so let's move on and see what new insight God has for us from this passage in the Book of Acts      

            -- Acts 16:25-34

Acts 16:25-34 (NIV)

25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.

26 Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everybody's chains came loose.

27 The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped.

28 But Paul shouted, "Don't harm yourself! We are all here!"

29 The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas.

30 He then brought them out and asked, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"

31 They replied, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved--you and your household."

32 Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house.

33 At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his family were baptized.

34 The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God--he and his whole family.

            -- as everyone knows, I spent last weekend at Valdosta State Prison on a Kairos Ministry Team -- the theme of Kairos is simple and is summed up in the phrase, "Listen, listen, love, love" -- we don't try to spend our time preaching to the inmates -- heck, many of them know the Bible better than we do -- but instead we spend our time listening to what they have to say and loving them with the love of Christ

      -- at the closing of the weekend, the inmates are given the opportunity to reflect on the weekend and on any changes that might have happened in their lives since they first walked into the gym on Thursday night -- one common thought I heard from the prisoners that spoke at the closing was this -- "Though I may never see freedom again, I am freer now than ever before in my life."

      -- that got me to thinking -- you know, here's these guys sitting in prison-- some of them serving life sentences -- knowing they will never get out into the real world again -- but yet they can say they are freer now sitting behind bars than they've ever been before in their lives

      -- Jesus said in John 8:36, "if the Son sets you free, you are free indeed." -- and that is exactly the spiritual truth these men were expressing -- freedom isn't dependent on your circumstances or your physical location -- freedom is a matter of the heart -- if you have been freed from sin and death by the blood of Jesus Christ, then you can be sitting in a cell in Valdosta State Prison -- you can literally be locked behind bars and razor wire -- but you can be freer than someone outside the walls

      -- look back at verse 25

Acts 16:25 (NIV)

25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.

      -- in this familiar passage, we see Paul and Silas in prison -- just like the men at the Valdosta State Prison, they were behind bars, chained to the wall -- certainly not a place of freedom -- certainly not a place where you would expect a worship service

      -- but here we see them at midnight, praying and singing hymns to God -- you see, for Paul and Silas, it didn't matter where they were, they were still free -- and they knew they were free -- even though it appeared to all the world as if Paul and Silas were in chains, they knew they were free -- so they couldn't help but praise God

      -- this reminds me of a little boy and his father who were on a long car trip -- the little boy was in the back seat, and he kept standing up -- his father kept telling him to sit down -- the little boy would sit down for a few seconds but then he'd stand back up -- this went on time and time again -- finally, the father said, "If you don't sit down, I'm going to stop this car and give you a spanking and make you sit down."  -- the little boy sat down and was quiet for a few minutes and then announced, "I may be sitting down, but I'm standing up in my heart."

      -- freedom isn't about circumstances -- it's not about your physical condition -- it's about having Christ in your heart -- as Paul and Silas show us in this verse, you can be bound in chains in a filthy prison and still be freer than the rest of the world

      -- but, you know, the opposite is true as well -- you can be walking around free in this world, but you can still be bound up spiritually -- prisons don't just exist behind bars and razor wire -- prisons exist in the heart as well

      -- think about the last time you were around a lot of people -- maybe at the store or in a restaurant or at a football game -- did you ever stop to wonder how many of those people around you were in prison -- not a physical prison -- but a spiritual prison?

      -- that cashier that was so rude to you -- that waitress who never brought you a refill of tea -- that grumpy old man who cut you off in the parking lot -- could it be they acted that way because they were living in bondage? -- could it be they acted that way because they were still chained with sin and death?

      -- look at verse 26

Acts 16:26-34 (NIV)

26 Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everybody's chains came loose.

27 The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped.

28 But Paul shouted, "Don't harm yourself! We are all here!"

29 The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas.

30 He then brought them out and asked, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"

31 They replied, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved--you and your household."

32 Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house.

33 At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his family were baptized.

34 The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God--he and his whole family.

      -- in Luke 4:18, Jesus said the Father "has sent Me to proclaim freedom to the prisoners"

      -- Jesus wasn't talking about people in jail -- he was talking about people in the world -- people who were held in spiritual bondage -- I think it's important to note Jesus said He came to proclaim freedom -- He came to announce it's availability to those who would listen

      -- through Jesus, freedom from sin and death had arrived -- it was available as a free gift from God -- you are saved by grace -- but the prisoners Jesus was talking about had to act on His proclamation -- that's why the verse in Ephesians 2:8-9 says, "you are saved by grace through faith" -- it takes faith -- it takes repentance -- it takes a change of mind about Jesus and an acceptance of the free gift of God to open the locks of our spiritual prisons

      -- it reminds me of the Andy Griffith show -- remember Otis, the town drunk? -- Barney would always lock Otis up in the jail, but the key was sitting there on a nail right outside the door -- Otis could get his freedom any time he wanted -- all had to do was reach out through the bars and grab the key and open the door -- it's the same way with the prisoners in our world today -- all they need to do is take the key

      -- after the earthquake shook the prison walls in response to Paul and Silas' worship, we read that the doors of the prison sprang open and the chains came loose -- the Philippian jailer was about to kill himself, but Paul called out to not do that -- that no one had escaped

      -- the jailer called for lights and came before Paul and Silas in fear and trembling and asked, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" -- it was that moment he first realized he was the one who was actually in chains

      -- Paul told him, "Take the key -- reach through the bars and grab the key of salvation Jesus put there -- believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved -- you will be free"

      -- have we ever talked in here about Juneteenth? -- do you know what that is?

      -- Juneteenth is a holiday celebrated by African-Americans here in the south -- as we all know, when Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation and when the Civil War ended and the 13th Amendment was adopted, slavery was abolished and the slaves were freed once and for all -- but, some of them didn't get the word or they didn't believe the word and so they didn't act on the truth that was proclaimed to them

      -- some slaves in Texas and in other parts of the south continued to live and work as slaves for another 2-1/2 years -- they were free, but they continued to live as slaves

      -- Juneteenth commemorates the day in June when the former slaves finally began to believe and live in their freedom

      -- what's funny about this holiday is that the opportunity for them to be free was always there -- they just didn't act on it -- just like all the unbelievers around you who continue to live in prison walls of sin and death because they haven't acted on the free gift of salvation offered by Christ and reached outside their bars and taken hold of the key that's hanging right there to let them free

      -- but, you know, unbelievers aren't the only ones who continue to live in a prison of their own making -- there are many Christians out there -- maybe some of you -- who are still held in chains of some type or the other

      -- unbelievers may be living in a spiritual maximum security prison with bars and razor wire, but there are many Christians living is other prisons -- let's picture them as minimum security prison with open gates -- and sure, the bars are gone and the razor wire is gone and all that separates them from complete freedom in Christ is for them to walk through the gate into the free world, but they won't

      -- Let me explain what I mean -- when Christ went to the cross as an atonement for our sins, He not only purchased for us freedom from our past sins -- but He purchased for us freedom from our present and our future sins and from everything that is keeping us from becoming more and more like Him

      -- but what happens in the life of a lot of Christians, when we get saved, we don't let Jesus remove all our chains -- we keep a few wrapped around us and don't let Him take them off -- these chains are the things that are hindering us in our walk with Christ -- these are the things that are keeping us from growing in grace

      -- for some of us, it's a sin in our lives that is really difficult to get rid of -- maybe it's an addiction to pornography or drugs or alcohol or an impure thought life -- maybe it's pride or arrogance -- maybe it's gossip or anger or hatred -- whatever it is, it's still there in our heart holding us in bondage

      -- maybe we're in bondage to our past sins -- maybe we know that they have been forgiven, but we just can't let them go, and Satan is using them to hold us back

      -- maybe we're in bondage to legalism -- maybe we think that we have to come to church to be saved -- that we have to belong to a certain church to be saved -- that we have to do this good work or that good work or follow this church law to be saved

      -- maybe we're in bondage to the future -- our lives are filled with worry and anxiety and we just can't let it go and move on in faith in Christ

      -- maybe we're in bondage to another person -- maybe someone in our life is controlling what we say or what we do -- maybe we have unforgiveness in our heart towards another -- or maybe we need to ask forgiveness of another

      -- whatever it may be, it's obvious that most Christians have not totally accepted the freedom that Christ has to offer

      -- once again, it parallels what happened to African Americans following their freedom from slavery -- as Martin Luther King, Jr., pointed out in his "I Have a Dream" speech in 1963, President Lincoln proclaimed freedom for the slaves in 1863 with the Emancipation Proclamation, but 100 years later, the blacks still had not accepted all the rights and privileges that went along with that freedom

      -- in other words, although they were free in name, they had never walked through that last gate and left all their chains behind -- freedom was theirs for the taking, but they just wouldn't accept it -- the same is true for many Christians today

III.  Closing

      -- I heard the story one time about a group of commandos who went into Vietnam to rescue some of our POWs -- the men had been in this prison for so long, subjected to physical and mental torture, that they were in very poor condition

      -- in a daring operation, the commandos infiltrated the prison and opened the doors to the cells, expecting the prisoners to rush out into freedom -- but, instead, they wouldn't budge -- they were afraid to leave -- they couldn't accept the freedom they were being offered was real -- and they feared what might happen if they left -- so the commandos had to go in and lead each man out into freedom

      -- in Galatians 5:1 we read, "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery."

      -- freedom -- true, spiritual freedom -- is ours for the taking -- the same spiritual freedom that caused the prisoners on this Kairos to proclaim, "Even though we may never walk outside these prison walls again, we are freer now than we've ever been"

      -- when you don't shake off all the chains and walk through the open gate of your spiritual prison into the freedom that Christ has given, you allow yourself to be burdened again by things which hinder your walk with Christ -- you are keeping yourself in a prison of your own making even though the proclamation of emancipation resounded from the empty tomb three days after Jesus' death on the cross at Calvary

      -- it is time for all of us to reach through the bars of our cells and take hold of the key of salvation and sanctification and step into the freedom Jesus is proclaiming

      -- for some of us, that might mean accepting for the first time the freedom of salvation Jesus is offering, just as the Philippian jailer did in this passage

      -- for others it might mean receiving and living in the freedom from sin Jesus offers -- putting aside the sins that are holding us back and walking in the freedom that comes through Jesus' power in our lives

      -- whatever it is -- wherever you are -- I ask that you respond to God's word this morning as you feel led

      -- let us pray

SERMON: DUE DILIGENCE

2 November 2014

I.  Introduction

            -- turn in Bibles to Hebrews 6:9-12

Hebrews 6:9-12 (NIV)

9 Even though we speak like this, dear friends, we are confident of better things in your case--things that accompany salvation.

10 God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them.

11 We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, in order to make your hope sure.

12 We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.

            -- when I woke up this morning, my thumb hurt, just like it's been hurting off and on for the last several weeks -- and the pain in my thumb that lingers from my alligator bite one month ago reminded me of something I had shared with you in the past -- complacency kills

            -- when my boss asked me what was the cause of my accident, I gave him one word -- complacency -- that feeling of over-confidence in handling an issue -- of overlooking dangers in life because you've done something so many times before and not had a problem

            -- my alligator bite was caused by nothing more than complacency -- in my case, I was blessed it was only my thumb -- but complacency literally kills people each and every day

            -- and this should not be unfamiliar to you -- we've talked about this before -- but there is a concept in theology called "closing the homiletic circle" -- it refers to making sure you complete your message -- you've all heard sermons, probably some from me, that just needed more

            -- they talked about a subject or went into great details about sin or a problem in the church, but they never got around to answering the question what to do about it -- it's kind of like all those talk show hosts you hear on the radio -- they're all good at telling you the problems with our country, but they never have any answers

            -- so the concept of "closing the homiletic -- the preaching -- circle" means you've got to be careful to always give the rest of the story -- to not just talk about the why of an issue but also the how -- answering the question, "yes, this is a problem, but how should I respond?" -- and I realized in my message on complacency I had clearly pointed out complacency leads to death -- but I did not close the homiletic circle and show you a better way -- I didn't point out what leads to life

            -- I was reading some management and productivity articles this week and happened on an article that did just that in regards to longevity -- in our country, the life expectancy for a woman is 82.2 years and for a man is 77.4 years -- but there are some people in our country who live well past that age and the authors of this article wanted to know why -- what was it about them that made them so long-lived? -- was it just genetics? -- was it healthier living? -- or was it something else -- something that all of us could apply to our own lives and extend, not only the days of our lives, but the quality of those days?

            -- and what they found in their research was surprising -- yes, genetics played a big part, but even having those genes did not mean you would live to be 122 years old like Jeanne Clement, the person with the longest confirmed life span

            -- the greater determinant in life expectancy really just came down to three things:  1) relationships -- have meaningful and lasting relationships with others; 2) be a good person -- to quote the authors of the study: "the clearest benefit of social relationships came from helping others. Those who helped their friends and neighbors, advising and caring for others, tended to live to old age"; and, 3) get your act together -- the term the authors used was conscientiousness -- this was "the best predictor of longevity when measured in childhood -- [and it] also turned out to be the best personality predictor of long life when measured in adulthood"¹

            -- Conscientiousness is defined as "the personality trait of being thorough, careful, or vigilant -- it implies a desire to do a task well -- Conscientious people are efficient and organized as opposed to easy-going and disorderly"² -- in other words, conscientious people are not complacent

            -- now I want you to get what I just said -- can you think of a group of people that are supposed to be characterized by those three traits:  relationships, being good people, and being conscientious? -- Oh, I don't know -- Christians?

            -- yeah, that's us -- or to put it a better way, that's supposed to be us -- as Jesus said, "I have come that you may have life -- abundant life -- life to its fullest" -- so this morning let's close the homiletic circle on complacency and let's talk about how we can live life to its fullest by being who God has called us to be

II.  Scripture Lesson on Conscientiousness (Hebrews 6:9-12)

            -- if you would, look back with me at Hebrews 6 and we'll go through these verses together to see what we can learn about relationships, about being good people, but mostly about being conscientious

            -- verse 9

Hebrews 6:9 (NIV)

9 Even though we speak like this, dear friends, we are confident of better things in your case--things that accompany salvation.

            -- we don't know who wrote the Book of Hebrews, so we're just going to call him "the writer"

            -- as the writer opens up these verses, he uses the phrase, "even though we speak like this" -- he's actually referring back to the teachings he had just covered in Hebrews 5:11-6:8 -- we've talked about these verses in here before -- in them, the writer has been harshly rebuking his readers for not maturing in their faith -- he says they are still drinking the milk of Christianity and had not matured yet to the point where they were eating solid food

            -- so you sense a level of frustration on his part as he is still having to answer the basic questions of the faith rather than being able to lead them on to maturity in Christ -- the writer got very frank with them in the previous section -- he wasn't mincing words -- he was getting in their face, such as it were, and saying, "you need to do better"

            -- he tells them in Hebrews 6:1 it was time to leave these elementary teachings and press on to the more mature teachings of faith

            -- but then he softens what he's saying -- remember: we're told in Scripture to speak the truth in love, and that's what we see the writer do here -- he calls them "dear friends" -- some translations say "beloved" -- it is the only time this term is used in the entire book of Hebrews -- in essence, what he's saying is "even though we speak harshly to you like this, we do so because we love you and we're worried about you and we don't want you to fall away in your faith and service to God"

            -- he goes on to tell them here, "we're confident you're going to do better -- we're confident you're going to move forward in your faith, just as we've been saying -- we're in your camp -- we're here for you -- we're going to help you -- but you've got to do this if you are going to make your faith complete"

            -- is it just me, or does this not sound like a football coach in a halftime locker-room? -- "you've been playing poorly -- you haven't been giving it your all -- but I know you can do better, so get out there in the second half and show me what you can do"

            -- the "better things" the writer says he knows the Hebrew Christians are going to do are the "things that accompany salvation" -- don't misunderstand what the writer is saying here to the Hebrew Christians -- these better things -- these works don't save us -- but works accompany salvation and prove our faith

            -- the writer is referring to those evidences of our faith that follow salvation and lead us to maturity in Christ -- he's talking about relationships -- active growth and participation in Christian community -- he's talking about being good people -- Christian love and service -- ministry to others -- and he's talking about being conscientious -- about discipleship and paying attention to the things of faith

            -- these are the things that should accompany salvation -- these are the solid food of Christianity that the writer encourages his readers to start eating instead of the milk of elementary teachings

            -- verse 10

Hebrews 6:10 (NIV)

10 God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them.

            -- as the writer opens verse 10, he is obviously countering a potential argument from his readers -- why is God being unjust? -- why doesn't God remember the things we have done for Him?

            -- I like what David Guzik wrote on this subject -- "When we are discouraged, we often think God has forgotten all we have done for Him and His people -- But God would cease to be God -- He would be unjust -- if He forgot such things -- God sees and remembers -- How many lose sight of the fact that God sees their service? -- How many serve for the applause and attention of man, and are discouraged because it doesn’t come?"

            -- God sees what we do -- He remembers what we have done -- it is written in the book of our life -- God has not forgotten -- but the writer is going to go on in this verse and the rest of our passage today to make the point that having served God in the past doesn't mean our work is finished

            -- notice that almost everything else in verse 10 is past tense -- "the love you have shown Him" -- you "have helped His people" -- the readers of this epistle were living in the past -- like a lot of Christians and a lot of churches they were standing on past accomplishments, past ministries, and past actions -- they were not moving forward and doing new and greater things for Jesus

            -- the point the writer is trying to get across to his readers is that it's not about what you've done -- it's about what you're doing -- it's like God is saying, "What have you done for Me lately?"

            -- I remember when I was at Morven UMC, we had a couple of missionaries who were serving in Brazil come by and spend a couple of weeks with the church, preaching and sharing about their ministry -- one of the missionaries was riding with the pastor one day and asked her, "What has God been doing in your life?" -- and the pastor began telling the missionary about how she was brought to the Lord and called into the ministry and all that had happened to her -- and the missionary interrupted her and said, "I didn't ask you what God had done in your life -- I asked you what He was doing right now"

            -- that was eye-opening to the pastor and it was eye-opening to us in the church when she shared it -- we had all been living on the past, just like these Hebrew Christians -- we were resting on our laurels, and not moving on to the next act of service God was calling us to -- something for us to think about today -- what is God doing in your life right now? -- and what are you doing for God right now?

            -- verse 11

Hebrews 6:11 (NIV)

11 We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, in order to make your hope sure.

            -- the writer says we want each of you to show this same diligence -- some translations say "we desire each of you" -- the Greek word the writer uses here is the same word that is translated in other places in the Bible as lust -- it is an intense longing -- a great and overwhelming desire -- the writer wants this more than anything else for the Hebrew Christians -- he is saying we greatly wish this for you with all that we are -- because this is what you need to be mature in Christ -- this is what you need to live

            -- he reminds them that each of them have to do this -- Christianity is a personal faith -- although we are part of the church -- although we are in a relationship with a Christian community -- there is still an individual calling on our lives -- each of us have to live out our own faith with fear and trembling -- each of us has to strive to be mature in our own lives

            -- I see this tendency to just get by on other's accomplishments at work and in the church -- there's a whole lot of people that do exactly what the writer is saying don't do -- they do as little work as possible -- they just ride in the bus and take credit for what others do while they themselves do nothing

            -- we all need to take account for our own actions and our own faith -- we all need to make sure we are progressing towards holiness -- this is where accountability comes in -- as the church we are to look to others to help us in our journey -- and we are to turn to others to help them in their journey -- honest criticism to make us better

            -- the writer urges his readers to "show this same type of diligence" -- to display -- to demonstrate -- to prove by their actions they are diligent Christians

            -- diligence is the same thing as being conscientious -- diligence means eagerness -- earnestness -- willingness -- or zeal -- it means to do something with intense effort or movement -- it means pressing forward and doing your best -- having a plan and accomplishing your goals

            -- diligence means we work to the very end -- we don't give up -- we keep striving forward towards the goal -- what the writer is saying her is it doesn't matter what you've done before -- it doesn't matter how you start -- what matters is how you finish

            -- just ask Georgia -- scoring on the first drive of the Georgia-Florida game with a 39 yard touchdown run is awesome -- having a running back get 100 yards in the first quarter is outstanding -- but doing nothing else for the rest of the game makes this meaningless -- a lot of Christians start well, but try to slide into the end based on earlier efforts -- we must show diligence to the very end -- we must display conscientiousness

            -- the writer says to do this in order to make your hope secure -- I have had Christians who have been saved for a long time come to me doubting their salvation -- I have had to give them a baby bottle -- I had to walk them through the milk stage of their life with Christ because they were insecure in their salvation -- they were worried they had failed

            -- insecurity comes not so much from a lack of faith as a lack of conscientiousness -- they know they have strayed from what they used to do -- they know they have not been diligent and have gotten complacent in their faith -- and the conviction from the Holy Spirit is causing them concern

            -- but instead of seeing this as a call to persevere and be diligent in their faith and service and love, they are seeing this as a salvation issue

            -- there's a warning here for us -- we all need to check ourselves and make sure we have not become complacent -- we need to make sure we're not just living on past accomplishments and coasting towards the finish line

            -- the writer says be diligent in your faith so you can make your hope secure -- if you're running the race wide open -- if you're doing what you did at first -- if you're active in your faith and growing in Christ, insecurity in regards to salvation is not going to be an issue -- the message here is that assurance comes from diligence

            -- verse 12

Hebrews 6:12 (NIV)

12 We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.

            -- here we see again the warning against complacency -- the writer says we don't want you to become lazy -- we don't want you to become spiritual sluggards -- we want you to be conscientious about your faith

            -- the writer advises his readers to imitate those who show this quality of conscientiousness in their faith -- this is "a call to reproduce in our own way of life those godly qualities that result from salvation and that we see in others."³ -- as Richards wrote, "The idea is intimately linked with the thought that teachers and leaders ought to be clear, living examples of the practical implications of commitment to Jesus."³         

            -- as Christians, we are first and foremost called to imitate Christ -- to do so, we have to be in constant exposure to Him -- I've said it before, I'll say it again -- prayer, Bible study, church, action -- these are the ways God expresses Himself to us and these the means of grace that expose us to His presence and His life

            -- but the writer also urges us to imitate others who know to be diligent in their Christian faith and action -- there is great value in learning about the lives of great Christians and imitating their life and their witness of faith

            -- Jim Elliot, who gave his life while trying to reach the Auca Indians, was largely shaped through the reading of Christian biography.

            -- he wrote in his journal: "“I see the value of Christian biography tonight as I have been reading Brainerd’s Diary much today. It stirs me up much to pray and wonder at my nonchalance while I have not power from God -- I recall now the challenge of Goforth’s Life and By My Spirit, read in the summer of 1947, the encouragement of Hudson Taylor’s Spiritual Secret, and The Growth of a Soul. There are incidents which instruct me now from the reading of J. G. Paton’s biography, read last winter. And now this fresh Spirit-quickened history of Brainerd. O Lord, let me be granted grace to ‘imitate their faith.’"

III.  Closing

            -- let me close by sharing with you these prophetic words from Dr. J. Vernon McGee:

            -- "I wonder what God would say to us today as He sees all of our so-called Christian organizations in constant activity but with little action or movement -- The huge building program proclaiming astronomical figures in cost and “people reached” is indeed impressive -- The mushroom growth of both churches and organizations would seem to indicate a healthy condition -- The polls which give such a large percentage of evangelicals would appear to be a sign that we are marching to Zion.

            -- "But before we sing “Onward Christian Soldiers,” let’s find out how many are marching -- We are not even standing on the promises; we are sitting on the premises

            -- We are not stalwart soldiers of the faith -- We are paper dolls playing church in our bigger and better sanctuaries -- We are seeking entertainment, not instruction or inspiration in our smug complacency -- We do not have a vision or concern for a lost world out there that has not even heard the Word of God."

            -- although Dr. McGee did not use the word, I think the best term to sum up what he saw taking place in modern Christianity over 30 years ago is complacency

            -- what he described then has only gotten worse in the intervening years -- we see a church living in the past -- we see large sanctuaries empty on Sunday mornings -- we see Christians who vote more with their wallet than their convictions -- we see a tempest of sound and fury but no real accomplishment for the kingdom of Christ -- we have become complacent and blind to the danger around us

            -- there was a commercial several years ago that pointed out that our dreams and goals as kids never seem to match the reality of our lives -- the kids in the commercial would say, "when I grow up, I want to be..." and then they would speak out to a path that no one really wanted -- I remember a couple of them -- "when I grow up, I want to be a junkie strung out of drugs" -- and another one said, "when I grow up, I want to be a mid-level manager drowning in a sea of debt"

            -- when we responded to Christ's call for salvation and for new life with Him, none of us looked ahead and said, "When I grow up, I want to be a Christian who just comes to church on Sunday and doesn't do anything else" -- no, that wasn't our goal -- we just settled for being and doing less than what God wanted

            -- do you want to live a long and meaningful life -- not only physically but spiritually?      

            -- the writer of the Book of Hebrews tells us how as he calls us from our current place of complacency to a vibrant journey of maturity in faith through Christ -- listen to his voice from the passage we have been discussing -- he is calling us to express ourselves in our relationships in the church -- he is calling us to be good people -- to do the better things that accompany our salvation -- and he is calling us to be diligent and conscientious Christians -- Christians who don't just get by, but Christians who do great things for Christ

            -- do you want to be alive for Christ? -- then do this

            -- let us pray

1 "The Longevity Project: Surprising Discoveries for Health and Long Life from the Landmark Eight-Decade Study" as cited in Barker, Eric, "How to live a long life, according to science," The Week Online, http://theweek.com/article/index/266851/how-to-live-a-long-life-according-to-science

2 https://www.google.com/search?q=define+conscientiousness&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&channel=fflb

3 (Richards, L O: Expository Dictionary of Bible Words: Regency)

It's not Christmas yet...

Contrary to the traditional expressions of Christmas in our country, beginning with the unofficial Black Thursday/Friday celebrations of commercialism run rampant, and continuing past the ubiquitous Christmas tree hawkers selling on every street corner, hardware store, and specialty shop, Christmas has not arrived.  Nor has the Christmas season arrived, not yet.

This Sunday marks a new season in our Christian calendar, but it is not the Christmas Season, it is the Season of Advent.  Advent means "coming," and this four-week period on the Christian calendar prior to the actual Christmas season was conceived as a time for us to stop and reflect on the miracle of the incarnation and of our condition before Christ was born.  It is a time to think about where we were and who we were and what our future would have been without the birth of a baby in a manger on that first Christmas morn.

Many Christians today do not linger in the Season of Advent, but rush right on past Thanksgiving to Christmas.  But in doing so we miss the longing and the anticipation of what is to come on Christmas Day.  Remember what is was like when you were a child, and it seemed like Christmas would never come?  The presents were wrapped and placed carefully under the tree.  The lights would glisten each night.  Carols would be sung and the family would gather together with each other and friends to celebrate the season.  But the days crawled by.  The anticipation grew.  It seemed as if Christmas morning would never, ever come. 

That feeling, that longing, that utter desire for Christmas from the very soul of your being -- that, my friends, is what the Season of Advent is all about.

As the Psalmist wrote in Psalm 130:5-6, "I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I hope; my soul waits for the Lord more than those who watch for the morning, more than those who watch for the morning."

Advent is celebrated through different themes each of the four Sundays prior to Christmas Eve.  The first Sunday is hope, the second is peace, the third is joy, and the fourth Sunday is love. 

I want to encourage you to make a change this year, to slow down, to enjoy again the true meaning of this season.  To once again anticipate the coming of Christ and of Christmas as a child.  To see once again through the eyes of a child the magic of Christmas morning.  Don't rush Christmas, but enjoy the time of reflection that is the Season of Advent.

SERMON: THE WATER OF LIFE

19 October 2014

I.  Introduction

            -- turn in Bibles to Isaiah 12:2-3

Isaiah 12:2-3 (NIV)

2 Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The LORD, the LORD, is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation."

3 With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.

            -- when I was a kid, we used to watch a lot of westerns on TV -- and, you know, they were always the same -- either they revolved around a lawman in a town who is fighting the bad guys who come into his peaceful little town or else they were about cowboys out on the range, driving cattle across the plains and deserts of the west

            -- good shows and good movies, like Rawhide and Gunsmoke and all those great John Wayne movies

            -- I remember one western in particular -- it was a throwback to the early days of the singing cowboys like Gene Autry and Roy Rogers, and as the cowboys settled down around the campfire after a long day on the range, someone grabbed a guitar and they started playing a song that Marty Robbins made popular back in the 70s -- you might have heard it:

            -- "All day I face the barren waste without the taste of water -- cool water

            -- "Old Dan and I with throats burned dry and souls that cry for water

            -- "Cool, clear, water."

           

            -- there's just something about water that makes you feel alive -- there's just something about water that draws us to it -- I guess because that's one thing we all need to stay alive -- you can survive a long time without food, but you can't go very long without water -- we need water to live

            -- growing up here in the modern south, I never really thought much about water -- we have so much water in the southeast that it's everywhere -- it's a major part of who we are -- our cities and towns are mostly located along rivers and creeks, because our ancestors knew we needed that source of water to live and prosper -- we find bunches of people along the coast -- not just for the beaches -- but because that's where all the fresh water eventually goes -- it's a natural place for people to settle

            -- and with our modern water plants, water is just a turn of the tap away -- water is something we tend to take for granted -- but when you find yourself in a place where water is scarce -- or when you turn the tap and the water doesn't flow -- then we start to panic

            -- I remember what it was like on the Appalachian Trail when I ran out of water on that last day I hiked -- I was already suffering from my oxygen deficit from sleep apnea, and then when I ran out of water because the streams were dry and I got dehydrated, I got in trouble -- if the final shelter that night had been just a few miles more, I'm not sure I could have made it

            -- that's the fear that made Marty Robbins write the song, "Cool Water" -- because to be without water, like that song alludes to, is not a good thing -- it's literally a life or death situation

            -- and in the majority of our world today, people do not have access to clean sources of water, especially in arid areas like Africa and the Middle East -- and it's a major health concern for the people who live there -- there's not only the danger of dying of dehydration, but the danger of dying from sickness and disease because of contaminated water -- so for people like this, the thought of water and where they are going to get their water is never far from their minds

            -- the same was true for the ancient Israelites -- living in the arid region of Israel, water was of primary importance -- the location of springs and wells would be mapped out and guarded -- wars were fought over ownership of wells, because without water, neither the people nor their animals could live -- water was their source of life and they continually prayed to God to provide the rain to fill up their cisterns, to keep their streams and rivers full, to keep them alive

            -- in fact, did you know they even had a special holiday to celebrate the giving of water from God?

II.  Sukkot

            -- the Jewish holiday of Sukkot (pronunciation: SUE coat) -- better known as the Feast of Tabernacles -- ended last Wednesday -- Sukkot is an annual holiday that occurs each fall and lasts for one week -- this year, the Jews celebrated Sukkot from October 8th through October 15th -- and I thought it would be interesting for us to take a look at this holiday in a little more detail, especially in how it relates to water

            -- the thing to remember when we study and discuss Jewish holidays is that they usually have many reasons and meanings for their celebration -- in the case of Sukkot, there is both a historical, agricultural, and spiritual meaning wrapped up with this holiday

            -- Sukkot derives its name from a Hebrew word that means "booths," referring to the temporary structures the Jews lived in while they wandered in the wilderness after leaving Egypt -- so the Jews celebrate this holiday to remember the time their ancestors were in the wilderness

            -- the way they do this is virtually unchanged since biblical times -- the people make booths -- temporary shelters -- that they live in and eat in during the week of Sukkot -- traditionally, the booths were put on the roofs of the homes in Israel -- remember that the roofs of most homes were flat and open to catch the evening breezes, and they would build their booths on the roof and enjoy the pleasant fall evenings under the stars -- now, most Jews build their booths in the backyard -- kind of like backyard camping

            -- according to tradition, the booths must have at least 2-1/2 sides and be made from material that grew from the earth -- tree branches, reeds, corn stalks -- most people now build theirs in panels from wood and then cover the outside with branches and corn stalk to resemble the traditional booths

            -- the people are encouraged to live in the booths during the entire week of Sukkot, but if the weather is bad, they at least try to take all their meals out in the booths

            -- so that's the historical meaning of the holiday -- but, like I said, there is also an agricultural meaning -- Sukkot is a feast of ingathering -- it is a celebration of the fall harvest -- a time to give thanks to God for the bounty He has provided

            -- so once the booths are constructed, they are decorated with symbols of the harvest, like squash and corn and pumpkins -- the decorated booths of Sukkot remind you of Thanksgiving decorations -- they look very similar

            -- in fact, despite what you were taught in school, there is good evidence the pilgrims got their idea of celebrating Thanksgiving from the biblical tradition of Sukkot -- both occur in the fall -- both celebrate the harvest and give thanks to God -- both decorate in similar manners -- both involved meals eaten outside

            -- but the major meaning of the Sukkot holiday I want us to think about is the spiritual meaning -- Sukkot begins five days after Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement -- and, as you probably know, Yom Kippur is a day of fasting and of sorrow -- it is a day when you confess yours sins before God -- when you admit you have sinned and you commit to repenting of your sin -- from turning away from evil and turning to God -- it is on Yom Kippur that the annual sacrifice of sin was made for the nation of Israel

            -- but while Yom Kippur is a day of solemnity -- a day of sorrow and seriousness -- it is followed by Sukkot, which is a time of joy and praise and thanksgiving -- for joy must follow repentance as God's grace and mercy washes over us and our relationship with God is restored

            -- one of the events of Sukkot is the Celebration of Water-Drawing and the water offering at the altar -- historically, when sacrifices were made in the temple, wine was offered and poured on the altar as part of the celebration -- during Sukkot, water was also poured over the altar in a special joyful ceremony celebrated with music and dancing and singing all night

            -- on the last day of the Feast of Sukkot, the priests would lead a procession of worshipers to the stream that flowed south of the temple in Jerusalem within the walls of the city -- making their way to the Pool of Siloam, through which the stream flowed

            -- men holding shofars would line the procession route and would sound them loudly as the priests passed along the route and then walked down the steps to the pool -- once there, the priest would kneel at the pool and draw three "logs" of water -- about two quarts -- from the pool

            -- the next morning, the people would gather in the outer court to celebrate the offering of the water -- there were two holes in the altar for liquid offerings -- a larger hole where wine was poured and a smaller hole reserved for the water offering of Sukkot

            -- as the priest approached the altar, he would lift the ceremonial jug high above him so all in the crowd could see, and then he would pour out the water offering on the altar -- as he did that, the people would wave palm branches and shout the words of Psalm 118:25-26:

"Save us, we pray, O LORD!

O LORD, we pray, let us thrive!

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD!

We bless you from the house of the LORD."

            -- the people would also recite the words from Isaiah we opened with this morning -- look back at that passage with me

Isaiah 12:2-3 (NIV)

2 Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The LORD, the LORD, is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation."

3 With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.

            -- it's important to note that both of these passages can be considered Messianic -- both of them point to the Messiah -- the Hebrew word for salvation used in the Isaiah passage is Yeshua -- this is also the Hebrew name for Jesus -- in fact, that's probably what He was called when He lived on earth -- we call Him "Jesus" because that is the Latin translation of the Greek form of the Hebrew word "Yeshua" or Joshua

            -- and it's interesting to note the people would wave palm branches and say, "Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord," from Psalm 118, just as they did on Palm Sunday when Jesus rode into Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives

            -- the tradition of the water offering is not in the Bible, but it is part of the religious tradition of the people of Israel, supposedly passed on from Moses -- the significance of the act is going to the living water of God and drawing deep from His presence and His revelation and His life -- an act made possible following the repentance and restoration of Yom Kippur

Talmud recorded that "one who had never witnessed the Rejoicing at the Place of the Water Drawing had never seen true joy in his life."

            -- if you would, turn over to John 7 and we'll end there -- John 7:37-41

John 7:37-41 (NIV)

37 On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink.

38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him."

39 By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.

40 On hearing his words, some of the people said, "Surely this man is the Prophet."

41 Others said, "He is the Christ." Still others asked, "How can the Christ come from Galilee?

            -- when John tells us Jesus stood up on the last and greatest day of the Feast, this would have occurred during the water drawing celebration and offering -- as the people waved their palm branches and recited Messianic passages from Isaiah and the Psalms, Jesus stood up and cried out in a loud voice

            -- this was not just a quiet teaching among His disciples -- He didn't do this as a Bible study while sitting on the steps of the temple -- no, He stood up and in the midst of the crowd -- as the water was being lifted high and the people were celebrating -- Jesus stood up and said, "You are celebrating Me -- that water you are lifting up represents Me -- if anyone is thirsty, come to Me and drink deep -- come to Me, the Living Water, and be refreshed for eternity -- come to Me and drink of Me and streams of Living Water will flow from you"

            -- when the people heard Jesus say this, they recognized God in their midst -- some of them said He was the Prophet promised by Moses -- this Prophet was understood by some to be the prophet who would proceed the coming of the Messiah, while others believed the Prophet to be a description of the Messiah Himself -- we know today it was referring to the Messiah since John the Baptist said he was not the Prophet prophesied by Moses

            -- others heard what Jesus said and they got it right away -- in verse 41 we read these people proclaimed Jesus was the Messiah

            -- this promise Jesus made to the people during the water drawing ceremony and offering -- that if we come and drink of Him we will be filled with rivers of living water -- this promise is true for us today

            -- as George Whitten writes, "Our Messiah is the same yesterday, today and forever. -- He did not promise a sprinkling or a tiny stream. -- He promised rivers of living water."

            -- this promise is fulfilled in our lives in two ways -- first, as the passage from Isaiah 12 we opened with said, "with joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation" -- to come and drink from Jesus, the Living Water, is to draw water from the wells of salvation -- to drink of Jesus is to come to faith in Him as our Lord and Savior -- to trust fully in His atoning death on the cross and His victory over sin proclaimed through His resurrection on the third day

            -- but notice Jesus said this is "living" water -- this water is alive -- it is flowing -- it is rushing -- we have already talked about the fact we need water to live -- cool, clean water -- pure water -- and so we must go back to this fount of living water if we are to remain alive in Christ

            -- one thing His living water does for us is cleanse us of impurity -- as we walk in this world, we continually get dirty -- we pick up filth and evil and sin -- we do things we shouldn't do and they contaminate our souls -- and so we go to the living water and the water washes us clean -- it purifies us from our impurities -- it cleanses us of our unrighteousness

            -- every day, we should go to this living water and drink deep of Jesus -- every day, we should go and drink from His life -- every day, we should renew ourselves with His cool, clean water

            -- let us pray